Her laughter fueled his. “Oh my God, I love it! Good going, babe.”

“You think so? I’m worried that Scotty will be pissed if he finds out about it.”

“Then tell him so he knows.”

“I’m scared to.”

Nick laughed again as he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Watch out for mama bear. No one messes with her cub.”

“You know it.”

Scotty came bouncing back into the room. “Thirty-two bucks for a large, a small and a salad.”

“How much of a tip is that?” Nick asked.

“Ten percent would be three dollars twenty cents and twenty percent would be six forty. So seven bucks?”

“Excellent.” Nick withdrew his wallet from the front pocket of his suit coat and handed it to Scotty. “I know exactly how much is in there, mister.”

Scotty seemed stricken by what Nick had meant as a teasing comment. “As if I’d ever steal from you when you’ve given me everything.”

“I was joking, buddy. I know you’d never steal from me.”

The regret she heard in Nick’s voice made her ache.

“Just making sure,” Scotty said tentatively.

Sam held out her hand to Scotty. “Come sit with us. I want to talk to you.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“Don’t be silly,” she said as she settled him between them. “You’re not in trouble.” She met Nick’s challenging glance over Scotty’s head. “I wanted to tell you that I talked to Nathan’s mom about what happened today at school.”

He looked up at her, clearly distressed. “You did?”

Sam nodded.

“What did you say?”

“I told her what happened and that we were upset about it and didn’t want it to happen again.”

“You didn’t go all Police Officer Barbie on her, did you?”

Sam once again met Nick’s gaze over the boy’s head and saw that he was choking back a laugh. “Maybe. A little.” She fought the urge to squirm under the glare coming from a twelve-year-old. “But I was nothing like Barbie,” she added with disdain.

“Tell me exactly what you said.”

“That if he hits you again, we’ll press charges. And that he’s not to give you any grief in school. Or else.”

“Sam! I told you not to do that!”

“Technically you told me I couldn’t involve the principal, which I didn’t do. I want you to know I truly respect your wishes, buddy, but he could’ve really hurt you. I can’t let that happen again.”

“Sam’s right, pal.” Nick to the rescue. “This time it was a punch to the belly. Next time he might push you down the stairs and break a bone or something.”

“I hadn’t thought of a next time.”