His creepy smile vanished. “You stay away from Melanie.” He jabbed a finger close to my face again. “One word and you’ll see just how big of an ass**le I can really be.”

His fingers tightened on my shoulder and I winced, certain he was bruising me, but determined not to show he was succeeding in hurting me. “What’s the matter? Afraid she’ll believe me?”

Beneath his mask of fury, I read the anxiety there. Yeah. He was worried. Maybe something had happened before. Maybe she already had doubts where he was concerned, but he had persuaded her to his side.

“You little cunt,” he bit out. “Don’t f**k with me—”

“Justin?”

I sucked in a breath and looked around him for the source of that soft voice, even though I knew gut deep who I would see.

Melanie hovered there in her beautiful yellow dress. The pink flush that had brightened her cheeks all evening had vanished. She looked pale as bone as she clutched her hands together in front of her.

“Justin, what are you doing?” Her keen blue eyes flitted back and forth between us.

“Nothing, pumpkin.” He advanced on her quickly, taking her clutched hands into his. “Emerson and I were just talking—”

“You called her a . . . you called her a horrible name.” It didn’t surprise me that she couldn’t say the word. She probably never had, and she clearly couldn’t fathom why he would.

Melanie swung her gaze on me, pinning me to the spot. “Emerson?” My name hung there, heavy with question as she tugged her hands from his.

I shrugged helplessly. What could I say? Should I actually open my mouth and warn her about the kind of man she was marrying? “I’m sorry, Melanie.”

She gazed at me with those large blue eyes and it was like she was peering into my soul, searching for the truth.

“Emerson,” Justin growled, the sound low and deep. Threatening. Melanie glanced at him sharply. She hadn’t missed his tone either.

Screw it. She’d heard enough already. I could see it in her face, in the stiff way she held herself. She wasn’t stupid. “He doesn’t deserve you,” I declared.

She could take what she wanted from that. I didn’t need to say anything else. I unglued my feet from the floor. Shaking, I moved past her down the corridor.

I was back in the ballroom before it occurred to me to wonder what I was even doing here anymore. There was no reason for me to stay. Except maybe Mom. My gaze drifted toward her. She had been almost human tonight. Like a real mother. I moved toward her, compelled to say good-bye at least.

“Emerson.” Her face brightened when she saw me.

“Hey, Mom . . . I have to go.”

She frowned. “What? They haven’t even served dessert.”

I glanced over my shoulder, almost expecting Justin to appear at any moment and continue tearing me down. Thankfully, I didn’t see him. He was probably still sweet-talking Melanie. I turned back to face Mom. “I’m sorry. I have this thing early tomorrow.”

“But the wedding—”

“I’ll be there,” I lied. It was easier to just assure her of that. I’d come up with some excuse over my absence later.

Her frown softened, making her look somewhat mollified.

“And, Mom.” I shifted on my feet. “Maybe we can go to lunch next week.”

She stared at me and I wasn’t sure what she was thinking—and I wasn’t going to find out because the voice behind me chased every other thought in my head away.

“Emerson.”

I whirled around, my gaze sweeping over Shaw’s tall form. Heart hammering, I stepped up to him. “What are you doing here? How did you—” I stopped and shook my head, not bothering to finish the question.

“You weren’t answering my texts.” Had he been texting me? I hadn’t even glanced at my phone since I’d parked the car and tucked it into my clutch. Now I wished I had. I wished I had fed him some excuse. A lie. Anything to have stopped him from coming here. “And I remembered that tonight was the rehearsal dinner . . .” He glanced around, waving a hand to encompass the room before settling his gaze back on me, searching. “I got the feeling you might be here.”

I inhaled thinly. Of course. Melanie had announced the rehearsal dinner was at the Four Seasons. He knew where to find me.

He stepped closer, his chest brushing mine and everything inside me quivered. At his nearness. At the husky pitch of his voice. “What are you doing here?” He lifted his hand, touching my hair, rubbing several strands between his fingertips. “I thought we agreed—”

“I agreed to nothing.” I tried to sound casual, but defensiveness crept into my voice. “I didn’t think I was coming, but I changed my mind. I can do that, you know.”

His jaw ticked, signaling his displeasure.

“Emerson?” Mom was there, at my side, her voice full of question as she looked Shaw up and down. He was dressed more formally than I had ever seen him, in slacks and a button-down shirt, and I knew he had tried. For me. And yet he still looked apart from everyone here. More virile. Strong. Rough edged. A man who made his living with his hands and not a spreadsheet. Something melted a little inside me. I think I might have kissed him right then if we weren’t standing in the middle of my stepbrother’s rehearsal dinner with Mom’s face set to full-on glare.

I turned to her with a bright smile. “Mom, this is—” My voice stalled. Did I really want to introduce Shaw as my boyfriend and endure an inquisition from her on the subject? Was he even that? Aside from introducing himself to Melanie that way, we hadn’t discussed what we were. He hadn’t asked me.

“Shaw,” he supplied, sticking his hand out for her. Only I knew him well enough by now to know that the smile was strained. He didn’t like her. Not knowing all he did. He couldn’t like her.

She stared at his hand for a moment as if not sure whether she should touch it or not. She looked from his extended hand to his person again and her lip seemed to curl back over her teeth.

“Nice to meet you.” Her fingers settled lightly on his hand as though afraid to touch him any more than that.

“A pleasure, ma’am.”

“I didn’t realize Emerson had checked plus one.” Accusation hummed beneath the comment.

I bit back a snort. I hadn’t even sent the RSVP card in. I had only decided I was coming last night. Less than twenty-four hours ago when I was na**d and in bed with the guy standing in front of me.