“Not a chance. Not by those two yahoos.”

“Being cocky does not make you invincible.” She came around to the front of him, tears in her eyes.

“Don’t do that, babe. You’ve held it together this long. If you start now, it’ll push Pepper right over the edge and she’ll be out on her damned white horse, trying to avenge me.”

As he’d hoped, she smiled and wiped at her eyes. “No crying, I promise. It’s awkward enough knowing what they’re thinking without me going typically female.”

He snorted. “Trust me, you don’t have a clue what either of them are thinking, so don’t worry about it.” He lifted her chin and kissed her. “Ten minutes tops. Now go make nice with my sister. If she growls at you, understand that she’s worried and out of sorts.”

Nodding agreement, Avery said, “And she loves you very much.”

“That, too.” The mention of Pepper’s love reminded him. “I’d prefer that you not say anything to her about...” How should he mention something that he didn’t want to discuss with Avery, either?

The tears welled in her eyes again, but she nodded with grave sincerity. “Your old scars, I know. You’ve protected her this long, so of course I won’t say a word.” She smoothed her hair and straightened the dark T-shirt she still wore. “How do I look?”

She looked like his, like she belonged with him. Not just today, but maybe... Rowdy shook his head, disturbed that he kept thinking about forever-type commitments. He was honest enough with himself to know he was out of his element. Way the hell out.

He wanted to lighten the mood with a joke, maybe say, You look totally f**kable, because, hey, she really did.

But he couldn’t be that mocking. Not to Avery.

“You look like a fantasy, honey.” My fantasy. He finally admitted the truth, saying, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Before he got any sappier, Rowdy closed the door. Avery Mullins was the whole package.

And for the first time in his life, he was starting to want it all.

CHAPTER NINE

“SO.” AS IF she expected her to sprout horns at any second, Pepper kept a sharp eye on Avery. “He kept you?”

Avery choked on her coffee.

Logan rolled his eyes. “She’s not a stray dog, Pepper. I told you—she works for him.”

“She works here, in Rowdy’s new apartment, in Rowdy’s shirt? Overnight?”

Avery’s smile started to feel strained. “It was late when we got back from the hospital.”

Pepper narrowed her eyes. “You say you’re the bartender?”

“Yes.” After dabbing her mouth with a napkin, Avery decided to level with Rowdy’s sister. “Believe me, I’m as amazed as you are that I’m still here. Rowdy said I’m the first woman to see the place.” She waved a hand, as nonchalant as she could manage. “Something about hordes of women hounding him for unrivaled sex if they knew where to find him.”

Logan took a turn at choking.

Pepper wasn’t amused.

“It’s probably not far from the truth.” Avery took another, deeper drink of her coffee. She needed the caffeine kick to survive Pepper’s suspicious nature. What did she think? That Avery would somehow work her wiles on Rowdy? Fat chance. She was pretty sure she didn’t have wiles. “He does draw attention from the ladies. I think he fills every available minute with sex.”

Logan looked around, likely wishing Rowdy would hurry it up.

Pepper sat back in her seat. “So if you know that, if you really understand my brother that well—”

Good grief, even his sister knew it to be true!

“—then should I assume that you also—”

“Make no assumptions. That’s always the safest bet.” If Pepper was even a smidge as protective of Rowdy as he was of her, then Avery knew she’d want to chase away the users. “The cut on his back, while not life-threatening or anything, did require some stitches.” Like a million or so. “Rowdy will deny it, just because he’s that way, but sex is out of the question for right now.”

Logan began to whistle.

Both women ignored him. “And the bandages need to be changed each day.” Avery gave a credible shrug. “Rowdy can’t very well reach his own back, now can he?”

“So you’re just here playing Florence Nightingale?”

Wrinkling her nose, Avery leaned in to whisper, “I’m here because I care about him, but if you tell him that, he’ll probably boot me to the curb. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that he’s an incredible boss, but an even more incredible man.”

“Hmm.” One brow going high, Pepper said, “You’re more honest than I expected.”

“I can’t lie to your brother. I figured fudging the truth with you wouldn’t be any easier.”

Logan laughed. “Be forewarned—they’re more alike than you can imagine.”

“You’re saying she’s incredible?”

“Well...” Caught, Logan took the easy route and agreed. “Yeah. Very much so.”

Avery smiled. “What Rowdy did for Marcus...” It astonished her still, how Rowdy hadn’t hesitated to insinuate himself into a bad situation to try to make Marcus’s life a little easier. “I’ve never seen a man so determined to help someone else. It’s enough that Rowdy is so incredibly good-looking, and so rock solid.”