She angled her body so she was between the two men. Facing neither one as they flanked her.

“Stay out of it, buddy,” Andrew said, apparently unfazed that the dark-haired stranger had a couple of inches on him. Not to mention a whole bunch of muscles. Even out of the corner of her eye, she could see that.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.” The reply was as polite as if he were on a job interview.

“The lady’s with me,” Andrew said, still not backing down.

She wasn’t sure if it was hubris or stupidity that kept him there.

“Are you with him?” the tall, dark and handsome stranger asked, his copper-colored eyes focused on hers.

He’d surprised her. She wasn’t prepared to finally be included in the conversation. They’d basically been speaking over her head the whole time.

Alicia was very happy to answer the stranger’s question. “No. I’m most definitely not with him.” She shook her head.

Her self-appointed protector leveled a stare on Andrew and waited. It was the heaviest silence she’d ever felt.

Finally, Andrew read the room and took the hint that he wasn’t wanted there.

He narrowed his eyes and glared at her. “You know what? You can tell your sister to lose my number. I’m not interested. You’re both batshit crazy.”

With that, Andrew stomped out of McP’s, leaving Alicia to watch him go.

Heart pounding, she glanced around the room and saw all eyes on them. Great. Now she was a public spectacle.

Looking up at the man who’d come to her rescue, even though she’d never asked him to, nor had she wanted him to, she let out a sigh. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

She could have handled Andrew on her own. And in a less embarrassing manner too. One that wouldn’t have all of McP’s patrons staring.

He laughed. “Uh, you’re welcome.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.” And she certainly wasn’t going to thank him for making a scene with her in the center of it.

“You might not have asked for help, but you needed it.”

“No, I did not.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I could have handled him myself. I took a class.”

“You took a class?” He snorted. “You’re what? Five-foot nothing?”

“Five two. And what’s the point?” she asked.

“The point is, he had almost a foot on you. And a good hundred pounds.”

“I wasn’t planning on wrestling him.”

He let out a short laugh. “Well, I think he had hopes of wrestling with you.”

She scowled. “That’s crude.”

“It’s the truth. Some guys don’t know how to take no for an answer. Especially when it comes to attractive women.”

He thought she was attractive—No! Focus. It didn’t matter if this stranger was a walking, talking wet dream.

She was annoyed with him and his interference, even though he had come up with the same assessment as she had regarding Andrew’s ability to hear and accept the word no.

“Do you know how to take no for an answer?” she asked him.

He smiled, and damn it took him from just plain hot to panty-melting. “Well, to be honest, I don’t hear no all that often.”