What’s his problem anyway? She fumed as she shrugged off her coat, tossed it over her desk chair and flopped down on the bed. What did I do besides try to protect his sorry ass? The ache in her stomach was no match for the pain in her heart. This was exactly why she had stayed away from relationships since she split with Peter. If she never felt this shitty again, it would be just fine with her.

Nick came in a few minutes later, carrying the package she had abandoned in the chaos. “I believe this is yours,” he said as he put it on her desk and took off his coat.

She couldn’t believe she had forgotten all about the painting. “Thanks.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed his fingers over her sore cheek.

Sam winced when he grazed the spot where Dawn’s elbow had connected.

“You should put some ice on that.” He laced his fingers through hers. “Between the bump on your head, the bruises on your chest and neck, and now this, you’re quite a colorful mess.”

“It’s not usually like this. I swear to God, it’s never this crazy.”

“That’s good to know, because I don’t think I could handle this much drama on a daily basis.” He brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed each of her fingers. “I’m sorry I overreacted.”

Sam’s mouth fell open. “Did you just apologize?”

“Yeah,” he huffed. “So?”

“I didn’t think guys did that. This is a first for me. You’ll have to excuse me while I take a moment to enjoy it.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m about to take it back.”

She laughed. “Please don’t.” Reaching up to touch the soft hair that curled over his ear, she studied the face she had come to love so much in such a short time. “I’m trying to understand why you got so upset.”

“You did what you were trained to do, and just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you were wrong.”

“Wow. This is truly quite a moment for me.”

“Samantha…”

“I’ll always push you out of the way, Nick. If you can’t deal with that, we’re going to have problems.”

“We’re going to have problems anyway. So how about we handle it this way? When I’m wrong, I’ll say so. And when you’re wrong, you’ll say so.”

“I will?”

“Uh huh. That’s how it works. That’s the only way it works.”

“Is this you being anal again and cleaning things up?”

“If that’s how you want to see it.”

“Fine,” she conceded. “On the sure-to-be rare instances when I’m actually wrong about something, I’ll do my best to admit it. Are you happy?”

“For some strange reason,” he said, bending to kiss her, “I really am.”