With his thumbs hooked in his pockets, Carlo strolled over. Juliet noted he looked as furious as he had over the canned basil. In that mood, there was no telling what he’d do. She swore, let out a breath and tried to avoid a scene. “Why don’t we all go outside?”

“Excellent.” Carlo held out a hand to help her down. Before she could reach for it, Tim blocked her way.

“You go outside, buddy. Juliet and I haven’t finished talking.”

Carlo inclined his head then shifted his gaze to Juliet. “Have you finished talking?”

“Yes.” She’d have slid off the counter, but that would have put her on top of Tim’s shoulders. Frustrated, she sat where she was.

“Apparently Juliet is finished.” Carlo’s smile was all amiability, but his eyes were flat and cold. “You seem to be blocking her way.”

“I told you to take off.” Big and annoyed, he grabbed Carlo by the lapels.

“Cut it out, both of you.” With a vivid picture of Carlo bleeding from the nose and mouth, Juliet grabbed a cookie jar shaped like a ten-gallon hat. Before she could use it, Tim grunted and bent over from the waist. As he gasped, clutching his stomach, Juliet only stared.

“You can put that down now,” Carlo said mildly. “It’s time we left.” When she didn’t move, he took the jar himself, set it aside, then lifted her from the counter. “You’ll excuse us,” he said pleasantly to the groaning Tim, then led Juliet outside.

“What did you do?”

“What was necessary.”

Juliet looked back toward the kitchen door. If she hadn’t seen it for herself… “You hit him.”

“Not very hard.” Carlo nodded to a group of sunbathers. “All his muscle is in his chest and his brain.”

“But—” She looked down at Carlo’s hands. They were lean-fingered and elegant with the flash of a diamond on the pinky. Not hands one associated with self-defense. “He was awfully big.”

Carlo lifted a brow as he took his sunglasses back out of his pocket. “Big isn’t always an advantage. The neighborhood where I grew up was an education. Are you ready to leave?”

No, his voice wasn’t pleasant, she realized. It was cold. Ice cold. Instinctively hers mirrored it. “I suppose I should thank you.”

“Unless of course you enjoyed being pawed. Perhaps Tim was just acting on the signals you were sending out.”

Juliet stopped in her tracks. “What signals?”

“The ones women send out when they want to be pursued.”

Thinking she could bring her temper to order, she gave herself a moment. It didn’t work. “He might have been bigger than you,” she said between her teeth. “But I think you’re just as much of an ass. You’re very much alike.”