As his GTO rumbled into the parking lot at the sushi bar, he was content with his life decisions. As he nudged the car into a parking space and saw who else was headed into the establishment, he wanted to throw them all right out the damned window.

Candace’s friend...Macy. She had come into Dermamania with Candace a couple weeks back and made it extremely difficult for him to concentrate on work. She was f**king beautiful. Beautiful in that she’ll-never-look-twice-at-a-thug-like-me way, except that she had. Oh, yeah, he’d caught her looking...more than twice. Half jokingly he’d pestered Candace for Macy’s phone number on the way to Dallas yesterday, but as he’d imagined, Candace was locked down tight on that information. Oh well. Couldn’t blame a guy for trying.

Now, he sat and helplessly watched Macy walk across the parking lot in front of him. Her long dark hair fell in big loose curls, and now that she was wearing shorts he could see that her legs were lean, tanned, and toned in a way that surprised him. Not just a prim-and-proper princess type like her friend, then. Oh, Jesus, all he could think about right then was getting those legs clamped hard around his hips...

Shaking his head to snap himself out of it, he left the safety of his car...even if every instinct he had screamed at him to jump back in and speed off. Circle the block. Get the food later. If he went in there after her, he was going to make an ass of himself in one way or another.

But he didn’t listen to that little voice that incessantly tried to keep him out of deep shit—he never did. Number one, because he was an idiot. Number two, because he was a glutton for punishment. And girls like her...damn, they got him revved. The ones who had a deer-in-headlights look when they were around him were always far more interesting to him than the ones he should be messing around with...the ones like Raina who were pretty much made for him. Except that he wasn’t completely f**king psycho yet, unlike her.

He caught up to Macy just as her delicate hand began to reach for the door handle and, reaching past her, pulled it open before she could. Startled hazel eyes met his and the faintest gasp left those delectable lips.

“Allow me,” he said, giving her a lopsided grin.

“Oh…thanks.” Without a smile, without further comment, and most importantly without the slightest flare of interest or recognition whatsoever, she went in ahead of him. Well…whatever.

Whatever, my ass. You’re f**king wounded, dude.

What had he expected? Girls didn’t want guys hounding them when they made a sushi run. She also hadn’t seemed to be the most outgoing person in the world. Shrugging it off, he went to the counter and waited while she picked up the order she’d apparently called in ahead of time, her faint vanilla scent igniting his senses. Where did it come from? Her hair? The soft hollow of her neck? Or maybe on the inside of her wrist with its tracery of pale blue veins visible now as she handed her credit card over...

He was focusing way too much on her. But a moment later, as she turned to leave, he found himself focusing on her eyes again. Because they were looking up into his with a directness that made his breath hitch.

“The tattoo parlor. You work with Brian.” She smiled then, knocking the breath out of him…but not for long.

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As confusion began to settle onto her features, he chuckled. “Yeah. I work with Brian. Just f**kin’ with you.”

“Oh.” Cue awkward silence while he couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought after watching her lips make that sound. He only snapped out of it when she began to edge away. “Well…good to see you—”

“We were talking about you yesterday.”

That got her attention. She gave him a wary look, head tilted slightly away while her eyes stayed on his. “Who was talking about me?”

“Me and Candace. On the way to Dallas.”

“What were you and Candace doing going to Dallas?”

“She left Brian. We ran away together for the night.”

Laughing, she shook her head. “Is anything that comes out of your mouth the truth?”

“Occasionally. See, Candace and I did discuss you on the way to Dallas yesterday. That much is truth.”

“She didn’t tell me she was going to Dallas with you or anyone.”

“Does she tell you everything about her life?”

“Yes, she does.” Her chin tilted up with just the slightest bit of defiance. Oh damn, it turned him on.

“Ah.”

“So what were you doing?”

“It wasn’t anything dubious. We all went to a concert. Candace came along.”

“And this was yesterday? She was supposed to be in her cousin’s wedding yesterday.”

“I guess it was dubious, then, because she was with us. Which means she obviously doesn’t tell you everything.”

Macy’s brow furrowed. He wondered if he had struck a nerve. “No wonder she wouldn’t answer my calls. Oh, God. Her parents are going to kill her. I’m going to kill her.” She seemed to be talking to herself now.

“Whoa there. She’s a big girl. She can make her own choices.”

“Excuse me? I’ve known Candace since she was born. I know more about the choices she should make than you do, I think.”

“Maybe an outside perspective would be beneficial to you then. Leave her alone. Let her and Brian get things worked out with her folks.”

“You don’t just ‘get things worked out’ with Candace’s parents.”

“Is it really any of your business, Macy? I mean, really, is it? After all, she didn’t tell you what she was doing, did she? Which implies to me that she didn’t want you to know.”

“Trust me, I know why she didn’t want me to know,” she said bitterly.

He stepped back a moment. This girl was…angry. Over stupid bullshit like this. Like she had stake in Candace’s life or something.

What a f**king control freak.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think I do too.”

She glared up at him as he stepped past her to place his and Starla’s order, and he fully expected her to be gone by the time he was done. But when he turned around, she was still there. Now looking pitiful in the ashes of the annoyance that had gripped her just a minute ago.

He should walk away because the absolute last thing he needed was to get mixed up with all this drama, but despite Macy’s abrasiveness there was something so vulnerable about her that he couldn’t keep quiet. And again, he never listened to that little voice.

“Hey,” he said, “you all right?”

She avoided his eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Do you…” Oh, shit, what the hell was he thinking? But she looked like she’d just lost her f**king best friend, and he couldn’t stand it. Maybe she needed another one. “…I don’t know, want to finish this conversation later or something? I have to get back to work right now but—”

She waved a hand and headed toward the door. “No, that’s all right.”

“Macy. Wait a second.” He caught her arm. She looked down at his hand and, unable to read her expression—was she affronted? Or did she want it there?—he erred on the side of caution and jerked it away. “Don’t go all pissed off at me. I’ll feel bad.”