The keys fell from Emma’s grasp and hit the floor with a clanging dissonance that echoed the tension in the room. She made no attempt to pick them up, and nothing could have torn me away from Ozzie’s side. We’d both meant to come clean, but not this way, with Emma seeing my beautiful man in the nude.
“Now before you say anything,” I said. “Take a deep breath, and let’s talk about this like adults.”
“You want me to take a deep breath?” Emma did just that, sucking in a lungful of air, then breathing out slowly. “Why is it not working, Gray? Oh, that’s right. Nothing can calm me down when I just found out you’re sleeping with your son’s fiancé.”
“We’re not just sleeping together. He’s my person, Emma. He’s the one.”
“No. No. I don’t believe this. You’d never do something like this to hurt our son. This is not the kind of man you are.”
“I didn’t think so too. And then I met Ozzie.” I squeezed his shoulder. “We know it’s uncomfortable for everyone, but the way we feel about each other is too real. We can’t throw that away just because of what people—you—think.”
“What about what Carter thinks?” Emma leveled her gaze at Ozzie, her nostrils flaring like one of my irate bulls. “You! You caused all this. Oh my god, it all makes sense now. This explains why you had no interest in planning the wedding, and to think I changed my mind about you not being good enough for Carter.”
“Come now, Emma. We both know Carter doesn’t want this wedding.”
“Has he ever said that to you? Why else would he have sent me here to ensure Ozzie was actually making wedding plans?”
I released Ozzie and put some space between him and Emma. “Are you listening to yourself? Why isn’t he here? I’m sorry to point it out to you, but our son’s been treating him like crap.”
“So you talk to him about adjusting his behavior, not sleep with his fiancé!” Her voice rose with each syllable until it was a shriek that pierced the room. “Is this any way for a father to treat his son? That’s despicable. You’re both despicable. Two people who claim to love him, and this is how you act?”
Ozzie inched out from behind me. “Emma, I—”
“It’s Mrs. Magnuson to you. Oh my god.” She placed a hand over her heart, glaring at me. “He’s the reason you want to divorce me?” She laughed hysterically, the sound twisted and bitter. “For years, you had no problem with our marriage, even though we’ve been living apart, but the minute he shows up, you want a divorce. Of course he’s the reason. I was so stupid. You must have had a good laugh behind my back all this time.”
“Emma, nobody’s been laughing behind your back. My relationship with Ozzie has nothing to do with you and, for that matter, nothing to do with Carter. He’s the man I love, and it so happens he was marrying my son, but not anymore. And our marriage was long over before Ozzie even came into the picture.”
“Well, good luck getting an uncontested divorce now. Is that what you were hoping for? A smooth divorce so you can marry him? My god, you’ll be the laughingstock in town. How foolish can you be ruining your relationship with your son over someone so completely unsuitable for you?”
Heat flamed in my cheeks as Emma’s words cut through the air. I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to retaliate with words I might later regret. I glanced at Ozzie, whose face was pale and drawn.
“Now wait one damn minute. I get you’re upset about what this will do to Carter, but you watch what you say about Ozzie.” I wouldn’t have her feeding Ozzie’s insecurities the way Carter had.
“Well, am I wrong?” she snapped. “I always thought he was with Carter for his inheritance. Why else would he have put up with the way Carter treated him? Oh, but he’s a clever one. Why wait on Carter to receive a percentage of your worth when he can get his hands on everything directly through you? What hold could he have over you? Obviously, he must know a thing or two in the bedroom, since he got you to betray your family like this. Or is it the fact that he has a cock between his legs? Is that the reason you couldn’t keep our family together by staying in the city? The reason you didn’t fight for us?”
“Gray, no.” Ozzie planted himself in front of me and placed a hand on my cheek. “She’s just lashing out in anger, and we expected this to happen, didn’t we? Please don’t respond.”
I covered his hand with mine. “I can’t allow her or anyone to speak about you this way.”
He smiled, his round cheeks going a soft pink. “I love that about you. The way you want to protect me, but I can handle it. What I can’t let happen is for this to breed even more animosity by stirring up other things.”
“Spare me the righteous act!!” Emma spat. “You’re nothing but a gold-digging tramp.”
“Emma!” My voice cut through the tension-laden room like a shocking crack of thunder. “Enough!” My heart was pounding hard, and my vision blurred. A sharp, throbbing pain radiated through my skull, concentrated over the right side of my forehead.
“Gray!” Ozzie grabbed me as I swayed on my feet. “Gray, are you all right?”
“Headache.” I grimaced, closing my eyes. “Room’s spinning.”
“Oh god, the doctor warned us about this.” Ozzie guided me back to the bed, his arm strong and warm around my waist. He eased me onto the mattress with some pillows behind my head.
“Don’t think you can use your concussion to get out of this discussion, Gray,” Emma said, though she lowered her voice.
“Emma, please,” Ozzie said sharply. “In a while, we can go out in the hall so you can cuss me all you want, but not in here while Gray’s not feeling well. I insist that you leave so I can take care of him properly. His health comes first.” He stroked my hair and kissed my forehead. “Let me get you something for the headache.”
“I have Advil in my purse,” she said.
Ozzie shook his head. “Weren’t you listening? The doctor said no blood thinners. It has to be Tylenol.”
