Now You See It by Cáit Donnelly

surprised she couldn’t see ice crystals form in the air between them. “Doug came by to make sure I’m all right,” she said.
    “Don’t mind me,” Brady said. “I’m just here to do a home inspection.” He made it sound like a quick throwaway and eased back a fraction of an inch.
    “I know most of the building inspectors and major contractors on the Eastside,” Doug said. “I’ve never heard of you.”
    “If you had, it would mean I screwed up.”
    It was clear Doug didn’t get the reference, and Gemma looked away, embarrassed. There was no reason Doug should be familiar with SEAL taglines, but it just emphasized the gulf between his life and hers.
    Doug gave a short, puzzled laugh. “Look, I’d better take off.” He turned to Gemma and took the load out of her arms, piling it on top of the box. “Will you be all right, Gemma?”
    The softer, possessive tone of his voice irritated her, and all at once she felt more than fed up with posturing males and wanted them both gone. “I’ll be fine,” she said, as pressure built around her chest. What would she do if they started to fight? Doug wouldn’t have a chance against this feral stranger. Feral? Where did that come from? Too bad, it freaking fits. “I’m okay,” she said, trying to defuse the tension. “I’ll be fine. Doug. Thanks for stopping by. And I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow,” she added, deliberately not looking at Brady.
    “I’ll pick you up at seven,” Doug announced. “McGrath,” he added with something like his usual self-satisfaction.
    Brady’s smile was amused, challenging. “Nice to meet you, counselor.”
    * * *
    That was interesting. Brady watched Gemma walk Doug to the entryway.
    She slammed the door and turned on him. “What was that all about?”
    He was still standing on the balls of his feet, glaring at the door. He shifted his gaze to her, and saw her shiver.
    “Who the hell do you think you are?” she raged at him. “Doug is a friend.” She crossed her arms. “He’s a good friend. And I don’t appreciate your coming into my house and spraying testosterone all over my guests—”
    Brady felt his own temper rising. It was hard enough to bank down the instant dislike he’d felt for Doug. And for his perfect blond hair and upper-class diction. And that wasn’t even talking about the guy’s perfect teeth, cleft chin and square, manly jaw.
    Damn . The situation didn’t call for this strong a reaction. As much as it stung, he could admit—to himself, at least—he wanted Doug to be a bad guy because he was raging jealous. He hadn’t realized there was another man in the picture. Gemma hadn’t behaved as if—
    Back to the basics, McGrath. Observe, investigate, assess . He’d been jumping too many steps. Gemma had to be stressed nearly to breaking, and he was surprised by a sudden overwhelming need to protect her. She’d probably hand him his hide if he tried. She looks as if she’s about to burst into flames. I bet if I touched her—don’t go there . His traitor body stirred at the thought.
    “Look,” he said with more control than he’d thought he could muster, “I’m just trying to do the job Mike asked me to do. That doesn’t include playing nice with some slick politician in a two-thousand-dollar suit. I’m trying to keep you safe. And if testosterone is what it takes, then that’s what you’ll get.” He watched her face go from an angry flush to the dead white of sheer rage, and was about to meet her temper for temper when he saw a nearly full glass of orange juice on the shelf behind her head wink out of existence.
    Oh, fuck!
    He softened his expression to neutral, and he reached idly down to scratch Nikki’s head with one hand, trying to get his thoughts together.
    So it did run in Mike’s family, as he’d suspected. Right along with the red hair and scary temper. She didn’t seem to have any idea what had just happened. She just stood in the same position, taut as a bow,