“Ah okay. You’re the guy who’s all about the sloppy seconds, right?” Yeah, that was a messed up thing to say, but he was flicking my rage switch with his bony finger.

Jake snorted. “Sloppy seconds, huh? No, there’s nothing sloppy about it.” Okay, that was it, I was going to come across the counter and pound his skull into the floor. I had tucked my wallet back into my pocket and braced my hands on the counter when a hand grabbed me by the upper arm.

“Cool it, Jake. Just get the man his coffee and stop being an ass about it.” I grit my teeth, pissed that it looked as though I would have to reschedule kicking the shit out of Jake Fucking Fitzsimmons for another day.

“He’s not getting any, Clay, sloppy or otherwise, so just calm the f**k down, alright?” I wrenched my arm out of Daniel’s grip and took a deep, steadying breath. I didn’t say anything, just waited for my coffee.

Jake came back and shoved the Styrofoam cup across the counter, sloshing hot liquid all over the surface. “And that’s on the house, right?” Daniel said, clearly irritated with his buddy. Jake gave a curt nod and walked away to help another customer. He hadn’t given me my damn croissant but decided I’d made enough of a scene for one day.

I picked up the drink and took a sip, the bitter coffee soothing my jangled nerves. I looked at Daniel and he was watching me as though waiting for me to pounce or something. I held up my free hand in a placating gesture. “I’ll keep my hands to myself, I promise,” I said begrudgingly.

Daniel shrugged. “I wouldn’t blame you for beating his face in. Jake was being a prick. But he’s wanted in Maggie’s pants for years. And with you out of the picture he thought he had a shot. Now you’ve shown back up and he has to get all girly about it. Don’t take anything he says seriously. He’s just got a bad case of PMS going on.”

Huh. This was the most Daniel and I had said to each other…well ever. He had never hidden the fact that he didn’t trust me, so him coming to my defense was surprising.

“Well thanks for the assist and all,” I said; ready to get the hell out of there. Coming to Java Madness was a massive mistake. All I had ended up with was high blood pressure and a shitty cup of coffee.

“Clay, you got a minute?” Daniel called out just before I walked out the door. I should have seen that one coming. It was time for the you hurt my friend and I break your legs conversation. We’d had that same talk several times in the past. I guess Daniel felt it necessary to have a refresher course.

“Sure.” I went and sat down at a table near the window, trying to force down more coffee. It really was crap. I bet Jake I’ve-got-my-panties-in-a-bunch Fitzsimmons spit in it. Asshole. I pushed the cup away from me and crossed my arms over my chest. Daniel flipped his cellphone over and over again in his hand.

“First of all, I really am sorry about Lisa. She was really nice and all. Even though I only met her the one time, she seemed cool,” Daniel said directly. One thing I had always respected about Daniel Lowe was the fact that he told things like they were. He didn’t dance around a subject, he just bulldozed through it. Maggie would get pissed about it at times, thinking he was an insensitive ass. But you couldn’t help but admire someone who never bothered with pretense.

“Thanks, man,” I said, tapping my fingers on the table.

“So how long are you in town for?” Daniel asked me, furrowing his eyebrows as he waited for my answer. We had already been over this once at the funeral, but clearly he needed a more definitive response this time.

“You gonna try and kick my ass if I tell you I’m staying?” I asked him a bit belligerently. I stopped tapping my fingers and laid my hand flat on the table, meeting Daniel’s stare head on. There was a moment when I wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do. He didn’t seem particularly happy with my announcement.

“You gonna give me a reason to kick your ass, Clay?” he asked me pointedly. I blew out a breath and ran my hand through my hair.

“I sure as hell hope not,” I answered honestly. Because I really hoped I wouldn’t be making the same mistakes as before. And if I did, then I deserved whatever ass kicking Daniel dished out.

Daniel frowned. “Does Maggie know?”

I shook my head. “Nope. And just so you know this decision has nothing to do with Maggie alright?” I tried to say it like I meant it. Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Give me a f**king break. Everything you do seems to be about Maggie in some way or another. But I’m telling you right now, Clay, she’s been through hell. You put her through f**king hell. I don’t know everything that went down when you guys were in North Carolina. She’d never tell me. And I don’t want to f**king know. But what I do know is you left. I don’t care what your reasons were. You left her. You don’t call her. You don’t write. You just cut her out of your life. And that is all sorts of wrong. Look, I don’t want to bring up ancient history here. I’m just warning you, that if you f**k with my girl again, I won’t be so forgiving next time.” Daniel’s blue eyes were icy cold and even though we were pretty even physically, I knew he’d fight to the death for Maggie.

The thing I didn’t think Daniel realized, even now, is that so would I.

“I hear you, Daniel. I really do. But I’m not trying to open up a book that is better off closed, okay.” I really wish I meant what I said. Because I still believed Maggie was better off without me. Not that she was better off with some douche like Jake Fitzsimmons (who was still glaring at me from behind the counter; f**king pu**y), but I wanted more for her than what I had ever been able to give.