Lessons Learned

no more than picked up the receiver from the kitchen wall phone than she was lifted off her feet.
    “Ain’t much to you. But it sure is a pleasure to look at what there is.”
    She barely suppressed the urge to come back with her elbow. “Tim.” She managed to keep her voice pleasant while she thought how unfortunate it was that most of his muscle was from the neck up. “You’re going to have to put me down so I can make my call.”
    “It’s a party, sweetheart.” Shifting her around with a flex of muscle, he set her on the counter. “No need to go calling anybody when you’ve got me around.”
    “You know what I think?” Juliet gauged that she could give him a quick kick below the belt, but tapped his shoulder instead. After all, he was Bill’s neighbor. “I think you should get back out to the party before all the ladies miss you.”
    “Got a better idea.” He leaned forward, boxing her in with a hand on each side. His teeth gleamed in the style of the best toothpaste ads. “Why don’t you and I go have a little party of our own? I imagine you New York ladies know how to have fun.”
    If she hadn’t considered him such a jerk, she’d have been insulted for women in general and New York in particular. Patiently, Juliet considered the source. “We New York ladies,” she said calmly, “know how to say no. Now back off, Tim.”
    “Come on, Juliet.” He hooked a finger in the neck of her top. “I’ve got a nice big water bed down the street.”
    She put a hand on his wrist. Neighbor or not, she was going to belt him. “Why don’t you go take a dive.”
    He only grinned as his hand slid up her leg. “Just what I had in mind.”
    “Excuse me.” Carlo’s voice was soft as a snake from the doorway. “If you don’t find something else to do with your hands quickly, you might lose the use of them.”
    “Carlo.” Her voice was sharp, but not with relief. She wasn’t in the mood for a knight-in-armor rescue.
    “The lady and I’re having a private conversation.” Tim flexed his pectorals. “Take off.”
    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 itaside, 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