Sputtering, Brie’s face turned bright red as she yelled, “Well, you might want to go back and get your head examined some more. Because I have never flirted with you, and I never will.”

He shrugged as he put Tricksie down, looking back at Brie and knowing damn well she was lying through her teeth. “Sure, you won’t.”

As he started to walk away, she came out into the hall. “I won’t! I haven’t.”

“I am Vaughn Johansson, remember?”

“How can anyone forget?”

“And because of that, you will.”

“You cocky son of a bitch. I will not.”

“Sure.”

“Vaughn! Take it back.”

Looking over his shoulder at her, he found her with her hands on her hips and her eyes still wide with annoyance. “Never.”

“I will cut you.”

“Bring it, baby.”

“I’m not your baby.”

Laughing, he turned as he went to the elevator, fully expecting her to follow him. But when he got in and she hadn’t, it sort of disappointed him.

Before the doors shut, though, he heard her say, “Asshole!”

As the elevator went down, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. When Tricksie barked up at him, he looked down at her, grinning as he nodded. “I know, I like her too.”

And he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant.

For him.

Or her.

Or even Tricksie.

Sitting in the surgery waiting room, Brie was bouncing her leg like crazy as she waited for news on Rodney. He had been in surgery for a little over three hours, and they’d said it would take maybe four, so she was counting down the seconds until she got some news. Running her hands down her face for the umpteenth time, she glanced at the clock and prayed time would go faster. She then asked for Rodney to be safe, to come out fine and ready to take on the world with his new life.

A life she was finally more than okay with.

The past couple days, except for the night before, she had spent all her free time at NateWay with Rodney. Just to look things over, to keep an eye out, and to inform everyone of his tics and his tendencies. Everyone was so sweet and so understanding, taking Brie’s crazy train in stride. Especially Dawn. Brie had never met such a patient woman in her life, but she was honestly a godsend. She would listen to Brie’s concerns, make her feel better about them, and then give her a cookie. She was like a fairy godmother. She had been texting Brie all morning, checking in on Rodney, and she found that just incredibly sweet. Dawn had even sent a picture of a recipe for a chocolate cake she was going to make for Rodney’s coming home party.

On top of that, Rodney’s phone kept going off too. All his friends from NateWay were wishing him well, and while it didn’t surprise her that he had made friends so quickly, she found it awe-inspiring. They had taken him in as their own, and she adored that. It put her heart at ease. His neighbor, Mitch, had even sent a special drawing he had done just for Rodney. It was nice, and she knew it would make him happy once he was out of surgery. As much as it had scared her to put him at NateWay, the transition was going smoothly, and she prayed it stayed that way.

And then…then there was Vaughn.

That cocky ass.

She still couldn’t believe he had said what he said. Flirt with him? Please, cold day in hell! If anything, she was a major bitch to him and picked on him every chance she got in an effort to get back at him for all the shit he put her through. If he mistook that for flirting, he probably also mistook her hitting him for foreplay. Freak. She was not flirting with him, nor trying to engage in foreplay. She didn’t like him. Not one bit.

Right?

Crap. Ignoring that train of thought, she leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh as she stressed over all the things she had to do tomorrow. She’d spend most of the morning with Rodney, but then she had to go get her hair and makeup done for the Assassins’ New Year’s bash. She wasn’t looking forward to it this year, though. Not with Rodney in the hospital. She felt like she should be there with him, but he’d mostly sleep and he wouldn’t want her with him anyway. She tended to hover, which he pointed out he did not like one bit. She wished she could skip out of the event, but she had to cover the first part of the party, asking questions and being silly with the players. She’d probably leave after that, but still, she had to look good for the camera. Couldn’t let the fans of the Assassins know she was really a big slob.

Swallowing hard, she checked the clock again, then she tried to play on her phone, but her nerves were just too much. She hated this. The waiting around part. When her mom had been there, she’d done such a good job of keeping Brie calm. Probably because she took all the worry, bottled it up, and made everyone laugh instead. She was good for that, the wit and instant smile that made Brie’s heart soar. Now, she had nothing. No one to distract her when Rodney had to go through this kind of stuff. And if this procedure didn’t work, and he needed a new heart, God help her nerves. She wasn’t sure she’d make it.

When someone suddenly fell into the seat beside her, she looked over to see Vaughn sitting with two cups in his hands. Handing her one, he grinned. “I just got out of practice.”

Her eyes went wide as she took the cup, drinking him in. His hair was still wet from his shower under the beanie he wore. He didn’t have his pea coat on. Instead, he wore an Assassins sweatshirt with some black gym shorts and a pair of purple high-top Chucks. He looked unlike himself, more playful, but oh, so damn sexy. Still a little stunned, she stuttered with her words as she held his gaze. “W-what are you doing here?”

“My main man is having surgery. Plus, I figured you could use some company.”

“Oh.”

“Drink.” He pointed to the cup as he took a long swig of his own. Doing the same, she choked when the Jack Daniel’s—and there was a lot of it mixed with the Coke!—hit her tongue.

Coughing a bit, she gave him a look as she whispered, “You brought alcohol into a hospital?”

He scoffed. “Hell yeah, this shit is stressful. Takes the edge off.”

With a shrug, she took a smaller sip, letting the warmth of the alcohol rush down her throat. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I wanted to.” Looking out into the waiting room, he made a face. “Wow, it’s dead in here.”