Tony set a disconcerting stare on Amy as he moved confidently across the floor with the other guys, heading for their table. Her pulse ratcheted up a notch, as his eyes went dark and narrow. She broke the connection, grazing over his low-slung jeans and short-sleeve button-down shirt, afraid to try to decipher if it was an angry or an interested look in his eyes. She’d probably see only what she really wanted to see anyway.
Big mistake. Now she was even more nervous.
Several women in the bar turned and watched the four gorgeous men crossing the floor, but Amy knew they had to be looking at Tony. She was held prisoner by his sun-drenched skin, sandy hair that brushed his devilishly long lashes, and squared-off features that amped up his ruggedness and made her pulse go a little crazy. She reached for a glass of liquid courage, having no idea whose it was, and drained it as Tony slid in beside her. His thigh met hers, and his irresistible scent made her hot all over again. She grabbed another glass and drained it, and another, until the glasses were all empty and the nervous stirrings in her stomach stilled.
“Since when did you become Beyoncé?” Tony grumbled.
Beyoncé? Was that good or bad? Amy couldn’t form an answer. All she could think about was that no matter what the outcome, after tonight her life would never be the same.
TONY HAD SPENT the last three hours watching men ogle Amy in that skimpy dress of hers. What was she thinking, dressing like that? He worried about her when she drank. She was too small to protect herself against unwanted advances, and she exuded sweetness like she was made of sugar, making her an easy target for a savvy guy. And he knew for a fact that Amy Maples was made of sugar—and spice and all things in between that were delicious and worthy of being savored. But that was a long time ago, and he’d spent years making sure Amy was treated as she deserved to be and putting his own desires on the back burner. Or trying to, anyway. He didn’t think anyone else noticed that he could barely hold himself together when it came to Amy, and he was grateful for that.
She was looking at him in a way that was reminiscent of that summer years ago, and he assumed it was caused by the far-too-many drinks she’d consumed. She never could hold her alcohol. He ran his hand through his hair and ground his teeth together. Maybe he’d take a walk back up to the bar to get away from the jerks watching her. He’d seen Pete stare them down when they were leering at Jenna, but Pete was Jenna’s fiancé. She was his to protect.
Well, he wasn’t Amy’s fiancé, but she needed protecting too.
She’s with Bella and the girls. They’ll protect her. He mulled that over for a minute or two. Bella and the girls. Yeah, they’d protect Amy. They were about as protective of Amy as he was, but the idea of moving from Amy’s side and having some guy saunter over and hit on her messed with his mind. She was so darn beautiful and way too naive for her own good. One of her gorgeous smiles could stop a man cold, and she was clueless to that fact. It was so easy not to think about those things when they were in different states during the year, but summers? They were torture. And these last few summers, watching his summer friends fall in love, made this time with Amy even more difficult. But they’d crossed that line years ago, and not only had it not ended well, but Amy seemed to have moved on just fine, while Tony never really had.
He thought about all the summer nights since then that he’d spent checking up on her, making sure she got home safely. The summer she’d turned twenty-two and insisted on going out with that bonehead Kevin Palish. Tony’d stalked his window that night until she arrived home safely. Normally he tried to ignore the Seaside gossip about who Amy was dating, and she seemed to keep guys away from the complex, as far as he could see, but a few summers ago she’d dated that other guy who came around more than a handful of times. What was his name? Mr. Tall, Dark, and Annoying. Tony had waited up every night for a week to make sure Amy got home okay—and to make sure the dude left shortly after dropping her off at her cottage. Not that it was any of his business or that he could have done anything about it if they’d spent the night together. That was the problem. It wasn’t his business. Luckily, Amy had come to her senses and broken up with the guy before Tony ever woke up to the guy’s truck in her driveway.
Amy wiggled in the seat beside him, tugging at that way-too-short dress. Her thigh pressed against his, and it suddenly got way too hot in there. He unbuttoned another button of his shirt and exhaled loudly, trying to talk himself out of going up to the bar. He should stay right there to ward off looks, like the one the dark-haired guy from the table of oglers was giving her. Amy smiled and fidgeted with the hem of her dress again. For the love of… Tony’s thoughts drifted to last summer when she’d dated bad-boy, mountain-rescuer, handsome-as-Brad-Pitt Jake Ryder. Tony had seen all the women at the beach party eyeing Jake, and Amy had acted the same adorably nervous way around him. Jake was younger than Amy, too, which pissed Tony off even more, and he was friends with Jake. He actually liked the guy. But she needed a man, not a boy.
Enough. If he couldn’t be the man she deserved, he could at least make sure no other jackass treated her badly. He laced his fingers with hers and set their hands on her thigh.
“What?” Amy asked.
Tony nodded at the guy at the next table. “No need to flirt with a guy like that. He’ll only hurt you.”
“Then maybe you should take me back to my room.” She said it with wide, innocent eyes that tore right through him like lightning.
He rose to his feet and pulled Amy up with him.
“We’re calling it a night,” he said to their friends. He needed to get her to her room before she got herself into trouble—or before he got himself into trouble. “I’m going to walk Amy back to her hotel room. Jamie, Jessica, enjoy your last night of freedom.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Jamie rubbed noses with Jessica. “Who needs freedom? All I want is to wake up with Jessica in my arms for the rest of my life.”
Yeah, and all I want is to wake up with Amy in my arms.
He shifted his eyes to Amy, standing before him pink-cheeked, glassy-eyed, and sexy in that skimpy little black number that looked painted on and high heels that did something amazing to her long, lean legs. He forced his eyes north, over her perfect small breasts to the sleek line of her collarbone, which he wanted to trace with his tongue. Her hair fell over one of her heavy-lidded green eyes, giving her a sultry look that sent heat through his body. When she trapped her lower lip between her teeth, it took all his effort to force something other than, Damn, you look hot, from his lips. Well…how was he supposed to resist her now?
She slid her arm around his waist and leaned her head against his chest.
“Okay, big guy. Take me home.”