He turned and stalked off, leaving the five of us to look after him.
“Oh my God,” I stammered. I turned in David’s arms and touched his face and then his side lightly. “Are you okay?”
When I looked up, I stopped as his eyes turned black with rage. “You are never—I meannever—allowed to be alone with him,” he said. “Am I clear?”
“He has a right to be upset, but he let his temper get the best of him,” I said. “As did you.”
“Am I clear?” David boomed into the quiet lobby. I shivered, acutely aware that everyone’s eyes were on us. He stared at me. I stared back. He couldn’t keep me from seeing my own husband. But after a moment, I gave in and nodded. We’d discuss this later, when we could have a rational conversation away from here.
“What happened?” David demanded, looking between all of our startled faces. “What happened before I got here?”
“I don’t know, man,” Brian said. “I ran over here when I saw him dragging Olivia away, and he was calling Gretchen names.”
David’s gaze whipped back to me. My entire body flinched when he reached for me. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said incredulously.
“I know.” I offered my arm. “I’m sorry. I’m just shaken up.”
“Does it hurt?” he asked, touching my elbow.
It smarted a bit from being gripped and twisted, but it was nothing compared to what David had been through. “I’m fine,” I said, my hand hovering where Bill’s punch had landed. “I’m more worried about you.”
“Don’t be,” he said, grasping my face in his hands. “I’m so sorry. That must have been hard to watch, but he had it coming.”
I shifted in my heels and held David’s gaze. “I know you want him to be the bad guy, but he’s not. He’s going through a lot, too.”
“There’s no excuse for coming at you like that.”
“Are you okay, really?” I asked.
He leaned in and pecked me on the lips, then rested his forehead on mine and sighed.
“David?” I asked. “Are you hurt? What about your hand?”
“It’s good.”
“What if you broke something? Should we get an x-ray?”
“No,” he said with a small smile. “I know how to properly throw a punch.”
“Ahem. Um . . .” Brian tapped David on the shoulder. “Excuse me?”
David pulled back and looked me in the eye. “Next time come get me. Scream at the top of your lungs if you have to,” he whispered. “Don’t try to do this on your own.”
“Can someone please inform me what the devil is going on?” Brian asked.
We all looked at his confused expression.
“Oh, God, you are so out of it,” Gretchen said.
Brian frowned. “You’re welcome for sticking up for you, princess. I didn’t exactly see your boyfriend helping out.”
“I was in the bathroom,” Greg said defensively.
“Jesus Christ,” David muttered, looking over at Greg and Brian. “What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there?”
“I would have defended her honor,” Brian said, puffing up.
There was a moment of crackling silence before everyone except David burst into laughter.
