Finn didn’t bother to hit his guy, but the complaining brute found his face slammed into one of the pillars in the middle of the room before being redirected to the exit. Finn professed a weak apology, but the grim smile on his face was a dead giveaway that he wasn’t really sorry.
After James, Grady, and Finn escorted them out of the building – and the rest of the bar patrons erupted into spontaneous applause – everyone settled back around the table.
“I was expecting more,” Mandy said, sighing with faux disappointment.
James rolled his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“I thought you would beat him down to protect my honor.”
“Weren’t you the one who threw the beer?”
“Maybe.”
“I think you protected your own honor,” James said. “I keep forgetting that you can take care of yourself. I don’t know why I keep forgetting that. You constantly manage to amaze me with your ingenuity.”
“You’re the one who taught me,” Mandy said. “You shouldn’t forget that.”
James slung his arm over the back of her chair. “Still, throwing the beer was probably a bad idea.”
“I knew you were right there to save me,” Mandy said.
“What if I wasn’t?”
“Then I probably would have thrown two pitchers of beer,” Mandy said, causing Sophie and Grady to start giggling.
“See, that’s what I’m afraid of,” James said, waving a finger in Mandy’s face for emphasis. “That right there is what scares the crap out of me.”
Mandy rested her head in the crook of James’ shoulder. “You love me and you know it.”
James pressed his lips to Mandy’s temple, refusing to rise to the bait. On the other side of the table, Grady was fawning over Sophie.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine,” Sophie said. “The only thing insulted was my hair.” Sophie turned to Mandy. “Thanks for not getting the beer on me, by the way. That would have been a total bummer.”
“It’s not my first bar brawl,” Mandy said, smiling.
James cocked an eyebrow. “When were you in a bar brawl?”
“I went to college,” Mandy said. “I’ll have you know, I’ve instigated many a bar brawl over the years. Guys in bars just seem to be drawn to me.”
James chuckled. “I think they’re drawn to your sassy attitude,” he said. “They just want to see if they can find a way to shut you up.”
Mandy couldn’t really argue the point so, instead, she focused on Emma. The beautiful model seemed much more shaken by the exchange than Mandy and Sophie. “Are you okay?”
Finn was cupping Emma’s hands between his, but Mandy could see the woman was shaking. Crap.
“Is she okay?” James asked.
Finn shrugged wordlessly, clearly unsure of why Emma was so upset.
“I’m okay,” Emma gritted out. “I just … I wasn’t really expecting that.”
“What?” Finn asked, pushing a few stray brown waves away from her face. “It really didn’t get out of hand. You were never in any real danger. I wouldn’t let that happen.”
“I’m used to people approaching me in public places,” Emma said. “That’s why I don’t go to bars very often. People get more brazen when they imbibe alcohol – which is why I avoid them. Stuff like this always happens. It gets old. I’ve just never seen … you were amazing.”
“It didn’t do all that much,” Finn said.
“I was talking about Mandy,” Emma said. “I can’t believe the way she went after them. She was so … forceful. She wasn’t going to take any of their crap. I’m just … amazed.”
“Yes, well Mandy has always had a mouth on her,” James said. “She likes to use it whenever she can.”
Mandy scowled.
“But she can take care of herself,” Emma said. “She took care of all of us. She stood up for all of us.”
James considered the statement. “She’s brave,” he agreed. “She stupid sometimes, but she’s always brave.”
Mandy pinched James’ thigh. “Take it back.”
James grunted. “No.”
Mandy pinched harder. “Take it back.”
James yanked his thigh out of her grip. “Fine, I take it back.” He rubbed his thigh ruefully. “Cripes, that hurt.”
“Well, you’re the one who said I could be the boss tonight,” Mandy said.
“Yeah, I thought that was going to include you tying me to the bed and torturing me with an ice cube or something,” James said. “I didn’t think it would include you being mean to me.”