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"Mhm," I murmured, reaching for her glass to move it out of her reach and placing my water in front of her. She didn't even notice.
However, I did notice the young man who confidently approached our table. His face didn't look familiar, which made it even more uncomfortable when he slid next to me on the bench and slung his arm around my shoulder with a wide grin as if we were old friends. Or was he imitating Manon?
"You could use a little company, right?" he asked.
Instinctively, I shook his arm off. "Actually, this is more of a private celebration."
"I love private parties."
"And we love being alone," Manon hissed in his direction.
"I wasn't talking to you." His reply made me burst into laughter.
"If I were you, I'd pick up my rear and carry it to the other corner of this room."
He raised his hand, brushing a strand behind my ear. Bewildered, I stared at him. "Sweet. Is that a threat? Or are you telling me to follow you to the restroom?"
"Uh-oh," Manon muttered next to me. Just in time, I looked up to see Gray storming across the room, heading straight for us.
This was going to get ugly. Wilder seemed to think the same as he leaped over the bar counter a second later.
"I believe the lady just made it clear that you should remove yourself from her personal space," he growled. "Take your hands off her or I might forget my manners."
Usually, Gray was calm. Collected. He wasn't one to look for trouble. But tonight…
Manon scooted further down the bench, so I followed her to put some distance between myself and the guy who had uninvitedly joined us.
Now standing up, the man was barely up to Gray's shoulder. "And who are you to speak for her? Her father or something?" he snapped.
His response made me wince; it was dangerously off the mark.
Gray leaned forward, his hand already at the guy's collar. "No, I'm her husband."
Then, without warning, Gray's fist crashed into his face. I saw blood spray from his nose as he screamed like a stuck pig.
The next moment, Wilder grabbed Gray and pushed him in the opposite direction, so I wasted no time and vaulted over the table. I crashed full force into Gray's chest and kept pushing until I managed to shove him backward through the door outside. His gaze remained fixed on the guy, who was now arguing with Wilder until the door slammed shut.
"What has gotten into you?" I exclaimed.
Suddenly, it became clear to me. In that moment, that guy was the face of my past, and Gray had seized the chance to do now what he had missed out on during George's last argument with me. Maybe a punch in the face a few days ago would have sent a clearer message.
Shaking his head, he reached behind his neck and briefly closed his eyes. "I… I don't even know."
"Come here," I replied, but I moved so I could wrap my arms around him—on tiptoes, just to reach his neck. "We do agree that hitting random men isn't the solution, right?"
"He ignored your no, Amelia."
"And I'm sure Wilder would have politely shown him the door." Not that it changed the fact that I was strangely pleased he had stood up for me, protected me. But I wasn't about to rub his nose in it. "Talk to me, Gray. Whatever happened, it's weighing on you. And I'm aware of it. I just don't know how to help."
Finally, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer in his usual firm manner. A quiet relief washed over me, even though there really was no reason for it. When Gray rested his head on mine and held me completely in his embrace, I realized that in some odd way, everything was all right.
His knee-jerk reaction meant nothing more than he had seen red for a moment when that guy had refused to back off.
I heard the door behind me open. It immediately closed again without a word being said. Whoever had ventured out seemed to have quickly changed their mind.
"Maybe it's not the obvious things that are bothering me."
My eyebrows furrowed, which he couldn't see because of our close embrace.
