“This whole thing is so shitty,” I say quietly into her ear. “But fighting can get you arrested if somebody calls the cops. And that’s bad for lawyers, right?” Not only did May go to BU for undergrad, she’s an attorney, too.

And, fine, I really don’t want anyone to summon the cops to my place of business. That’s never good.

She blinks once, then seems to relax in my arms. “Okay,” she says softly.

I let her go, and she takes a deep, angry breath. Then she turns toward her girlfriend. (Or former girlfriend?) “Don’t come home tonight,” she barks in the general direction of Daniela.

“She won’t,” the bitch in the booth says. “Daniela says you’re a shitty lay, anyway.”

Apparently my ninja skills aren’t as good as I thought, because this time May lunges before I’m ready. The slap she delivers to the stranger rings out loud and clear. And if any of my bar patrons missed the sound of it, they definitely didn’t miss the stranger’s roar of anger or string of obscenities and threats that immediately follows.

She leaps up onto the booth’s seat to try to get to May, but Daniela is blocking her way, so I have two or three precious seconds to prevent World War III.

I do this by scooping May up—all six feet of her, or near that, anyway—and bodily carrying her toward the door.

The Shipleys are a tall family. Luckily, so are the Rossis. She struggles, but only for a second. And I have her outdoors so fast that a moment later we’re standing in the cool November air, staring each other down.

“Holy crap! That was…” May lets the sentence die.

“Shitty?” I supply.

“Y-yeah,” she breathes. “Jesus. I am a huge idiot. I should have figured this out ages ago.”

“Um…” She’s definitely not an idiot. This girl is fierce. But now I’m not sure how to help her. “Can I walk you upstairs and get you drunk? Owning a bar comes in handy sometimes.”

“Jesus.” May swallows. “That sounds way too appealing right now. But I’m afraid my AA sponsor wouldn’t approve.”

AA? “Fuckity-fuck,” I stammer. I’ve just offered to get a recovering alcoholic drunk? “I’m sorry. Shit. I…”

She holds up a hand. “No need to panic. People offer me drinks all the time. But these days I say no.”

“I’m sorry,” I stammer again anyway. Jesus. I’m such an asshole.

“For most people, it wouldn’t be such a life-changing suggestion.” She meets my eyes with her light brown ones. “But for me, it’s bad news.”

“Okay.” I’m trying to regroup. “Can I drive you somewhere, then?”

May closes her eyes and leans her head against the brick wall of my building. “I never want to see her again.”

“I’ll bet. That woman was a bitch on wheels.”

“I mean Daniela,” May says, opening her eyes.

I’d meant Daniela, too. But I’m smart enough not to say that right now. “You two live together, right? You need somewhere to go?”