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“So, Palmer,” John leans in close, “we should go out sometime.” His eyes are staring directly at my chest when he speaks.
“Palmer!” My name is called in a loud, boisterous voice. I turn my head to see Archer walking my way with purpose. He holds out his hand for me. “You said we could dance.”
I open my mouth to ask him what the hell he’s talking about, but he gives me a look that tells me he’s here to save me. “Sorry, I forgot.” I place my hand in his and allow him to pull me from the lounge chair.
“Where’s this taking place? I think I need your dance card.” John’s eyes are once again trained on my tits.
“Sorry, bud. There are nine of us and her brother. Her card’s full.” Archer doesn’t spare him another glance as he slides his arm around my waist and leads me away from the back porch.
“Thank you,” I tell him. Archer and I graduated together, so we know each other pretty well.
“Yeah, well, I’m just trying to prevent a war.”
“A war?”
He laughs. “Is that how you’re going to play it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“Let’s just say, I saved John from getting his ass beat, and I saved you and your tits from being fondled and ogled and whatever else that jackass tried on you tonight. Make sure one of us is with you at all times.”
“He works with Heath. He can’t be that bad.”
“He’s probably not, but I don’t want to deal with the aftermath. It’s a chill night.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re confusing as hell?” I say the words with as much light and humor as I can, but inside I’m freaking the hell out. Does he know about us? That’s what he’s alluding to, right? That if Brooks were to have seen, he would have been pissed off? Would he have been? I mean, I know we said no one else while we were together, but we were just talking. Maybe he’s talking about my brother? Deacon can be super protective, and if he saw John’s salivating while staring at my chest, he’d definitely be ready to throw hands. Toss out a few words at the very least.
“It’s my charm,” Archer says with a throaty chuckle. “For the rest of the night, you keep your brother, me, or one of mine close. I don’t like that guy.”
“My sister introduced us.”
“Well, she’s been ill-advised to the kind of man he is.”
“Who knew you had this protective streak,” I tease. “But in all seriousness, he was making me uncomfortable. Thank you for rescuing me.”
“Rescuing you from what?” I hear his deep voice behind us.
“Dammit,” Archer mutters. Slowly we turn to face Brooks.
“Hey, I thought you had to work?” I ask, pretending like I didn’t know he was getting off early.
“Got off early.” His eyes bore into mine. “What were you being rescued from, Palmer?” He crosses his strong arms across his chest, and I can’t help but swoon just a little. He’s wearing a gray T-shirt that I know he wears under his scrubs. His hair is messy, and he’s still wearing his scrub pants. He’s all kinds of sexy, and it’s making it hard for me to concentrate.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Archer is just being dramatic.”
Brooks steps closer. “Arch?” He doesn’t look at his brother.
I hear Archer sigh from beside me, and I know he’s going to tell him. “I handled it. Just some guy was hitting on her.”
“We’re all family here.” Brooks finally turns to look at his brother.
“Not all of us.” Archer gives a subtle nod to where John is now talking to Jackie, Jade’s cousin.
“Did he touch her?” Brooks’s voice is calm, but you can hear the underlying threat.
I need to defuse this situation. “Hey.” I place my palm flat against his chest. His eyes snap to mine, and they soften. He runs his gaze over me. Not in a creepy way like John, but in a “are you hurt” kind of way. “I’m fine. He was just asking me to get together sometime.”
His eyes flash with anger.
