“Stop glaring at Jake,” she countered, not at all apologetic.

Amusement sprang up as Andrew and Sharon stared unwaveringly at each other across the table. They really were like siblings. Jake remembered having similar staring contests with Lexie when he was growing up. Granted, they’d been children at the time.

Chuckling, he dropped his arm from Sharon’s shoulders to around her waist, pulling her along the seat of the booth so that her leg pressed against his. Immediately, Andrew switched his glare.

“It’s fine,” Jake said, his thumb stroking the side of Sharon’s thigh where Andrew couldn’t see it. Sharon leaned into him and Jake’s grin widened while Andrew glowered. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Well it’s bothering me,” Sharon muttered, side-eyeing Andrew, who suddenly looked a bit abashed.

“I’m not trying to bother you, just…” Andrew sighed, leaning back against his side of the booth, his gaze jumping back and forth between them. “You two went from having a major fight that caused Sharon to call Kate in the middle of the night, to coming back and saying you’re in a relationship. I think I have the right to be a little worried.”

“I think I have the right to be a little worried,” Sharon mimicked him, but in a much higher tone of voice. Somehow, Jake managed to keep his face straight. She dropped back into her normal voice to respond. “No, you don’t, because you don’t get a say in my relationships.”

“No, but I get a say in how he treats you,” Andrew said, giving Jake a threatening look. It was all posturing and they both knew it, but for some reason Andrew seemed compelled to see it through. They were all aware that if Jake hurt Sharon, Andrew wouldn’t be the only one coming for him. Truthfully, he was less scary to Jake than most of the women in the group.

“I’d say I’m treating you pretty well so far, wouldn’t you, princess?” Jake asked, giving her thigh a little squeeze as he leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

“Oh, definitely,” she purred back at him, sensual heat practically dripping from her voice and nearly making him laugh and ruin their little show. As entertained as Jake was by getting under Andrew’s skin, he wasn’t nearly as good at it as Sharon was. Then again, she had a lot more practice than he did at getting under people’s skin in general – and obviously enjoyed it.

Andrew growled.

“Oh stop,” Kate scolded him. “Just because your sister is dating a loser doesn’t mean that you can take it out on Sharon and Jake.”

“Ah ha!” Sharon said, turning to face Andrew again. “I knew this wasn’t about me! It’s about Iris.”