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Nathan felt a hand on his shoulder squeeze hard. “This doesn’t concern you, Nathan. Leave us be.”
He turned and glanced over one shoulder at the also-fuming-mad Cindy. He nodded his head in Suzanna’s direction once. “She concerns me. What’s your interest here?”
Cindy’s whole countenance changed. She stiffened and ignored his question. “Why does she concern you? I thought Gabriel was all in love and stepping out with her.” Her tone was accusatory. Stepping out? That was an odd phrase implying cheating. Did she suspect the ménage relationship between he, Gabriel, and Suzanna, but not understand how it worked?
Gabriel had once mentioned that Cindy somehow had the notion she was his protector because she had a huge crush on him. Her passionate feelings for Gabriel were legendary locally. Nathan told him over and over again to make his disinterest clear, but looking at her now he understood that she might not ever believe it.
“Gabriel introduced us, and now she’s my friend, too.” Nathan turned to face Cindy. “She’s allowed to have more than one friend, if I’m not mistaken. Maybe you should calm down a little bit.” Those words were likely a dangerous thing to say to someone who was so riled up, but the statement was in fact true. She needed to take a pill and calm the fuck down.
She inhaled deeply. Her eyes widened to a wild, sort of angry, accusatory state. “Don’t tell me what do to! And don’t tell me to calm down!” She jabbed a finger in Suzanna’s direction. “She’s the one who needs to explain some things.”
“You’re not my keeper. I do not have to clarify anything to you,” Suzanna said. She started coming around his side to face Cindy again.
Nathan put a hand out to keep her next to him instead of in front of him.
Cindy totally ignored both Nathan and Dylan as if they were no longer in the room. She focused a sneer at Suzanna and said, “Admit it. You’re a married woman. You have a husband who’s sick with worry about you, but you’re sleeping with Gabriel like you’re single and fancy-free. How dare you? He could get hurt. Why don’t you go back home where you belong?”
Suzanna pressed against his outstretched arm. “Let me tell you how I dare. My life is none of your fucking business.” Suzanna advanced another step forward. “And another thing, my marital status is also none of your fucking concern.”
“Did you hear that? She doesn’t even pretend to deny that she’s married,” Cindy said in an overloud voice, and raised her arms as if vindicated by Suzanna’s non-answer.
Dylan stepped forward at this point. “Cindy, let’s go outside. Come on.”
“Why do I have to go outside? She’s the one who’s the problem here.”
“No. She’s not. In fact, she’s a customer, and you’re harassing her. I’m asking you to leave quietly.” He moved in between the three of them, facing Cindy. Nathan slid his fingers around Suzanna’s arm and tugged her away from the other two people.
At first she yanked her arm out of his light grasp and gave him a look that would have melted sand into drops of glass. But her expression changed quickly to one of deference. She pushed out a long, calming breath, and her gaze went to the floor.
She didn’t protest when he grabbed her arm again, and together they backed up a few steps.
“I’m sorry,” Suzanna murmured under her breath.
“You don’t have to say you’re sorry,” Nathan said in a low tone. “And I suspect you aren’t.” Her lips pursed as if quietly agreeing, and then she sent her gaze to the floor.
“I don’t see why I have to leave,” Cindy grumbled again as Dylan guided her to the door and persuaded her to leave the office.
When the door closed and they were alone, Nathan stuck his finger under her chin and brought her gaze back up to his face.
“Are you okay?”
She kept her focus on him. Her gaze wasn’t intense. She just stared. Maybe she waited for him to lecture her. He wasn’t going to. Cindy was the problem. Suzanna reacted appropriately. Although he was curious as to why Cindy was so certain she was married.
