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She still looked pale, and Michael wished he knew what he could do to make her feel better. He didn’t like seeing her like this. He reached out and took her hand.
“It’ll be okay. You can take refuge with me, and they’ll back off.”
“I doubt it. Marley knows how to hold a grudge.”
“Not when I’m around.” Michael squeezed her fingers. “I promise.”
If Marley did end up following them and confronting Paula again, Michael was going to make sure she regretted it. Nobody came after his Paula.
Your Paula? What are you talking about? She’s never going to be yours unless you tell her the truth. And you’re too much of a coward to do that.
Pushing his thoughts away, Michael put his keys in the ignition and turned the engine on, ignoring the shouting from the two deranged women outside the car.
Chapter Four
Paula had expected for Marley to catch up to them at the house, but she hadn’t been prepared for it. She also hadn’t braced herself for the screaming coming from Marley and Tilly. Of course Tilly would follow her friend if it meant bullying someone else. Marley was bad enough on her own, but with Tilly so close behind all the time, it just made it worse.
Not for the first time, Paula wondered how she had stayed friends with Marley for so long. She didn’t care much for Tilly, but she was Marley’s childhood friend and they were often stuck together, especially during the wedding planning.
They really had planned on harassing Paula for what she did, and they were not going to shoulder any responsibility. They were never going to apologise for their behaviour.
Even though she knew it wasn’t her fault, Paula did feel guilty for the wedding getting derailed because of her. But the moment she thought that, she told herself to not be so stupid. It wasn’t her fault that they decided to help Sam and turn this into a bidding game. They had chosen to do this, not her.
Marley would have to accept that she had done the wrong thing this time around. She couldn’t keep blaming everyone else for her actions. It was pathetic, really.
She really needed to cut her off now. Marley was showing that she wasn’t a good friend at all. All she cared about was how it looked on her. And if she could match her friend with someone who liked her, then she could gloat about how she got Paula and Sam together.
Paula felt nauseous at the thought of Marley taking credit for that.
Michael drove in silence, although Paula could feel the anger simmering off him. She didn’t often see him angry - Michael was one of those guys who was always even-tempered - so to witness it was a little unnerving. But Paula was glad it was not directed at her. She would have been trembling. Marley and Tilly didn’t seem to notice it, though. They just brushed it off.
Seeing Michael riled up on her behalf was actually quite sexy. Paula liked seeing the fire coming from him. She just hoped she didn’t get to see that anger often; she was exhausted just witnessing him back at her house.
At least Marley and Tilly wouldn’t know where she was. Hopefully. Paula doubted that they would be following them now, not with Michael taking a long, circuitous route back to his house. It was getting to the point where even Paula didn’t know where they were.
Finally, they pulled into Michael’s driveway. Paula looked over at her brother’s car parked in the space next to them.
“I’m going to need to return Charlie’s car at some point.”
“He can arrange to get it at some point. Don’t worry about that now.” Michael opened the door. “Let’s get you inside. You can make the guest room your home for now.”
Paula was too drained to do much right now. Just a few minutes in Marley’s presence, and she was worn out. Getting out of the car, she followed Michael into the house. Natalie was just coming down the stairs, wearing high-waisted jeans with a cropped t-shirt, her hair up in a high ponytail. She slowed when she saw them.
“That took a while, Dad. I thought you would be back a bit earlier than this.”
“We had a few things to deal with that came up.” Michael shut the door. “Are you still going out, Natalie?”
“I planned to.” Natalie pouted. “Are you wanting me to stay home now?”
“No, I just want you to be careful. Just be aware of everyone around you.”
Natalie rolled her eyes.
“Dad, you keep forgetting I can take care of myself.”
“Even so, given everything going on, I want you to just take extra care, and don’t go anywhere on your own.” Michael held out Paula’s backpack. “Also, could you help Paula get her things upstairs? Once you’ve done that, you can go.”
Sighing, Natalie took the bag and went upstairs. Paula turned to Michael with a frown.
