When the doctor left, Marley closed her eyes. Justin turned her in his arms. She leaned into his tight hug, accepting his comfort as the heat of his body seeped into her limbs. She slid her arms around his waist, under his sport coat. It felt so good to depend on someone other than herself for once.
“He’s going to be okay,” Justin murmured against her temple. His lips caressed her skin, his breath stirring her hair, and a shiver made its way up her spine. She nodded against his shoulder and opened her eyes.
First thing she saw was a man with one arm around Kendra’s shoulders and his other hand on her knee as they sat close to each other. Kendra’s left hand rested on his, showing off a beautiful wedding ring.
Marley’s relief over Nate was magnified by the realization that Justin wasn’t dating the perfect little woman on the couch. She lifted her head, her gaze meeting with Justin’s. His hand rose to brush a strand of hair off her cheek before his fingers cupped the back of her head.
Her pulse kicked up as he leaned forward. Ever so softly, his lips touched to hers, and she wanted nothing more than to press closer to his strength. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Jordan entering the room. Her location hit with the force of a wrecking ball.
What the hell was she doing, kissing him in front of strangers—and Chuck! Not to mention, Nate was Justin and Jordan’s half-brother and he might be responsible for their grandfather’s death!
To protect her brother, she needed to stay away from them, Justin in particular. Clearly, she had no self-control where he was concerned.
She stiffened in his arms and pulled free. He let her go without argument, for which she was thankful and—after her thoughts from a second ago—contradictorily disappointed. The opposite emotions set her even more on edge, and she turned her back to everyone until she reined in her feelings.
“What’s going on?” Jordan asked into the uncomfortable silence.
“They just finished surgery, he’s in recovery right now,” Justin told him. “The nurse will come get us when we can see him.”
Marley swung around to protest, but Justin had turned to his friends.
“It could be awhile, you guys really don’t have to stay,” he said. “Though we appreciate the support.”
They rose to their feet, and Kendra gave him a hug. “Any time, Justin, you know that.”
She moved on to Jordan as the man shook their hands. Marley glanced at the clock to see how long it’d been since the doctor came out. About three minutes. A touch on her arm startled her, and she turned to find the brunette and her husband.
“I’m Kendra, this is my husband, Colton.”
Marley summoned a polite smile for the both of them, feeling like the Wicked Witch of the West. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m glad your brother is okay,” Kendra said.
Marley nodded. “Thank you.”
She watched them leave. Colton said something, and Kendra looked up with a smile as she reached for his hand. Fierce, unexpected longing gripped Marley. The realization that she wanted that started her heart thumping in her chest.
Facing Justin and Jordan again, she tried to act casual. “Nice friends.”
“We’ve known Colton since high school,” Jordan said. “He and Kendra got married a few years back.”
She tried to avoid looking at Justin at the mention of marriage. It worked for about three seconds, then her gaze met his as if drawn by a magnet. He regarded her intently, making her nervous as hell. Desperately searching for something to say that would make sense, she remembered Justin’s repeated use of the word ‘we’ when he spoke of seeing Nate.
“Why are you guys here anyway?” she asked. “Company concern is great and all, but Chuck covers that.”
Justin exchanged a glance with Jordan. Her tension increased when his solemn gaze returned to her. “We know.”
The way he said it, he wasn’t referring to Chuck. Her heart thudded hard. Oh, God. They’d discovered Nate’s part in Karl Hunter’s death. And they were here to confront him.
Her dismay turned to anger. They couldn’t do this now, not after all Nate had just been through. She drew herself up stiff as a board. “You can’t go in there.”
Justin frowned. “Yes we can.”
“No.” She gave a desperate shake of her head. “I won’t let you—I—”
He took her arm and propelled her away from the waiting area. She began to struggle, but realized it was useless to battle him without causing a scene. Earlier she’d welcomed his strength, now she cursed it.
“Let me go,” she demanded in a furious undertone.