“Oh my God, you are living in cloud cuckoo land,” Brendon scoffed. “You’re not going to be making any babies with our Megan. She doesn’t want your babies. Why don’t you get that? She’s so over your DNA now and she’s all about finding someone new.”

“What the bloody hell has all this got to do with you?” Dylan scowled and rounded his shoulders. His arms hung at his sides, ape-like, and he took a step closer towards Brendon.

A rush of panic flooded Megan. That was Dylan’s attack mode. She recognised it well from his drunken nights out when he’d decided to get aggressive at the end of the evening. Except this was way more dangerous—because from what she could tell he wasn’t drunk and his thick-muscled aim was likely to land on target.

Brendon’s nose the likely target.

But Brendon didn’t seem worried. He placed a hand on his hip and stared at Dylan. He was only a fraction of the weight Dylan carried but he looked puffed up and ready to fight.

She’d never loved her friend more than in that moment.

“I’ll tell you what it is to me,” Brendon said. “Megan is a special woman who deserves more than a mummy’s boy, a drunken slob and an oaf who only thinks of himself. I care about her as if she were my own sister—”

“Ha, ha, sister, that’s right.” Dylan clapped and pointed at Brendon’s groin. “Because I don’t have to worry about you ever wanting to get off with her.”

“Dylan,” Megan said. “What’s got into you?”

“Him.” Dylan continued to shake his finger in Brendon’s direction. “Why is he here? We need space, privacy to work this out.”

“There is nothing to work out.”

“We were just getting started.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“No we weren’t. I think you should leave.” Megan rubbed her hand over her forehead. If only he would just go. Go and leave her alone.

“You heard her,” Brendon said. He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “Time to sling your hook. Go, be off with you.”

“No, you fuck off.” Dylan took a step closer to Brendon. “Yeah, you go, right now.”

Gucci went into a frenzy of barking. He managed to growl at the same time and he writhed in Brendon’s arms as if desperate to be free and snap at Dylan.

“Keep that dumb mutt under control.” Dylan came to a halt and eyed Gucci warily.

“I will if you leave within the next ten seconds, then he’s loose.” As if to prove the point, Brendon held Gucci forward.

The nipping jaw frenzy increased, as did Gucci’s scrabbling to be free.

Dylan turned to Megan.