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The young man hustled away.
I turned to face Quentin, maintaining a calm demeanor even while I imagined the various ways I might pummel him. "What do you want, Mr. Smith?"
His eyes narrowed to slits, and he squeezed the words out between his clenched teeth. "I want you to stay the hell away from Eve."
Quentin's attempt to intimidate me failed. I folded my arms over my chest, casually, like I didn't give a damn what he said or did. Well, as long as he was badmouthing me, I didn't care. If he said one rotten thing about Eve…
"I'm not leaving," I said. "Eve and I are partners, in every way."
"Fucking her doesn't make you partners."
"My relationship with Eve is none of your business."
His mouth flattened into a slash, and veins stood out on his neck. "She'll see through you eventually. Eve isn't one of you nudie freaks. She's a real lady."
I glared at him. "Yes, Eve is a lady. But a real gentleman would never seduce a woman who'd had too much to drink. What does that make you?"
Quentin jerked backward as if I'd kicked him in the nuts. "She wasn't drunk. A little tipsy was all."
"Any amount of impairment should have been enough to stop you." I jabbed a finger into his chest. "You are the one who's a worm."
He stared at me, his face blank, for a few seconds.
I hoped he might give up and go away, but of course, he didn't.
Quentin snarled, "You son of a bitch. I won't let you ruin Eve."
He pulled his fist back and swung it at me.
I caught his fist in one hand and slugged him in the gut with the other.
Spluttering, Quentin doubled over and staggered backward.
"Never show your face to me or Eve again," I said.
He glowered up at me, still bent over hugging his midsection. "This isn't over."
"Yes, it is."
I stalked down the aisle and out of sight of Quentin. For fifteen minutes, I wandered the aisles collecting the rest of the supplies before I headed back to the paint department. Along the way, I passed the checkout aisles. Quentin was making his purchases there, engaged in conversation with the cashier, a perky young woman who seemed to think Quentin was hilarious. Her giggles faded as I hurried past the checkout lines. She eyed me like I was a cobra about to pounce and sink my teeth into her throat.
Who knew what lies Quentin had told the girl.
Once I'd paid for all the supplies, I drove home to Eve. The tension that had lingered ever since Quentin first approached me dissolved the instant I got out of the truck.
Eve raced out of the house and threw her arms around me. She crushed her lips to mine. With her feet dangling off the ground, she broke the kiss and grinned at me. "I'm so glad you're home."
"I am too. But you're acting like I was gone for months, not a few hours."
"Can I help it if I missed you?" She pecked my lips again. "Besides, I'm excited about having you as my business partner."
"That's obvious." I hugged her tighter to me, loving the feel of her warm, supple body. "I need to get out of these clothes."
"Yes, you do." She slid down my body until her feet touched down. "Let's get naked."
She stripped off her tank top and tossed it onto the truck's hood.
I gaped at her, sure I must've been hallucinating. Eve Holt stripping in public? Well, it wasn't exactly public. This was our nudist resort, but still, I'd never imagined Eve would join the natives.
