Priceless (Forbidden Men #8)(27)

But did the idiot immediately start gushing out an apology? No, not Colton. He didn’t even blush, merely blurted, “Holy shit,” before he swung back to me and extended a fist to pound it out as he grinned. “Nice.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Put that away, dumbass.” Upsetting my new coworker was the very opposite of nice.

Colton wasn’t apologetic, though. He whirled back to Julianna and held out his hand to shake with her. “I’m not really a dumbass. The name’s actually Colton. It is so nice to meet you.”

Julianna merely lifted one eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m not impressed.”

Undeterred, Colton shrugged and kept smiling. “All part of the plan, baby doll. I hate setting the bar too high on first impressions, you see. That way, when I actually do something decent, you’ll be dazzled instead of only mildly bored.” Tipping his head to the side, he studied her a moment before murmuring, “I can’t believe he called you a Halle. You are so not a Halle. You don’t have her cheekbones and your nose is too wide.”

Croaking out a sound of disbelief, Julianna looked hurt and pissed all at the same time as her mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

Colton snapped his fingers and pointed. “You’re a Rihanna. She’s like ten times naughtier than Halle could ever be, anyway, which totally just...rocks my world. The dirtier the chick, the hotter she gets. Am I right?”

When he glanced my way, honestly expecting me to back him up, I growled, “Colton,” in the hopes he’d shut it already.

But the idiot just shook his head, confused. “What? So I’m a Rihanna kind of guy. Sue me.”

As I pressed my hand to my face, shaking my head, Julianna opened her mouth, most likely to lambast him with some kind of cutting remark. Quickly, I popped between them. “I am so sorry; this clown just wandered in. I have no idea who he is.”

“I’m his brother,” Colton announced proudly.

I shot him a killer glare. “He’s leaving.”

“I just got here.” He transferred his grin to Julianna as she joined me behind the bar. “Hey, could you hook me up with some sex on the beach?”

My coworker whirled to send him a look that actually made me worry for his balls. “Sex on the what?”

But he only smiled and lifted his hands harmlessly. “I meant the drink...of course.”

I sighed, realizing I should probably save him before Julianna maimed him beyond repair. “Don’t bother, Juli. He’s only seventeen.”

“But I won’t be forever.” Colton wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Juli, huh? You are so invited to my eighteenth birthday party, Juli. It’s this June. You’re free in June, right?”

Oh, Jesus. He had no notion of self-preservation at all.

“Will you get lost already?”

“But I came here to talk to you.”

“I figured. Except I didn’t care what you wanted the minute you walked in, and I still don’t care now. So scram. You know you can’t be here once they unlock the doors.” Not until he turned eighteen.

“No, seriously, Brandt. I need your help.”

He sounded fervent enough to catch my attention. So I lifted an eyebrow and focused on him, all my protective instincts flaring to life. “What’s up?”

“I need to borrow Sarah.”

Totally not expecting him to say that, I shook my head and blinked. “Say what?”

“Yeah, I need her mad computer skills so I can have a bit of help hacking into my student account and change my last American History test from an A to a B, possibly a C.”

I blurted out a surprised laugh. “Are you f*cking kidding me right now? You want to lower your grade?”

“Hell, yeah. I’m already bordering on becoming salutatorian of my class, and I don’t want to look too smart.” He winked Julianna’s way. “People might start getting nasty expectations.”

“Trust me.” She flashed him a smirk. “I don’t care what your GPA is. I still think you’re an idiot.”

“See.” He grinned at me as he motioned toward her. “A woman after my own heart. You should just step aside and let me have her now.”

When I only stared at him with a look that clearly told him how much of a dumbass he was, he lifted his hands. “So what do you say? Be the best brother ever and hook me up with a little Sarah time? She can hack into school records, right?”

“She’s not for rent, *. Leave her alone.”

He sighed, losing a bit of patience as he sat back. “You know, I could go straight to her, right?”

“Then why didn’t you?” I turned away to make sure everything was set up and good to go before we opened the door to paying customers.

“Because you always get surly and protective whenever I merely mention her. So out of respect for you, I came here first. Plus...if you put in a good word for me, she’d be more inclined to help ya brother out.”

No, she really wouldn’t. But I didn’t tell him that. “Leave Sarah the f*ck alone.”

“But—”

“I said no.”

“Who’s Sarah?” Julianna asked, making me jump because I wasn’t aware she’d been listening in. “Your girlfriend?”