Her eyes rounded. “I don’t…I mean…I don’t know.”

He took her hand. “You’ve always been family. Not going to change now, Andrea.”

“You’re just going to take him back like that?” Asher asked in disbelief.

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped. “I said good-bye. You can get off the property before I ask someone to have you removed.”

“Fuck that,” Asher said. Then, he turned and stormed away like a thundercloud.

“Shall we?” Clay asked with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

“This does not mean I’m taking you back,” she said, pointing her finger in his face.

“Of course not,” he said. He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss there.

“It doesn’t.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Her mouth dropped open, and he just smirked, gesturing for her to head over to the rest of the party for family photos.

Chapter 22

OUT IN THE OPEN

“So…did you really show up at the art gallery?” Andrea asked.

Clay nodded. They’d just gone through an incredible amount of pictures, and soon, the bride and groom would make an appearance at the reception. The rest of the family who weren’t in the bridal party were making their way inside to find their seats, but Clay had held Andrea back a minute.

“I was there. I came to see you.”

“I still don’t understand why you walked away. That doesn’t sound like you at all.” Her blue eyes searched his with a mix of fear and curiosity.

“You don’t know now…but you will.” He took her hand and kissed it. “I’ve done a lot wrong by you, Andrea. But, in the four months since we’ve been apart, you’re the only person I’ve been thinking about.”

“That’s not exactly what I heard,” she grumbled.

“Anything that happened was to try to forget. And I couldn’t. I can’t. I won’t. I refuse to. You’re my past and present, and I am damn well going to fight to make sure you’re my future.”

“Clay…” she whispered.

A flicker of hope dashed across her face, like the guttering of a candle before it was quickly extinguished.

“I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m going to go find a seat.” With that, she turned and departed.

This time, when she walked away, he didn’t feel downtrodden. In fact, he felt quite the opposite. She had wanted to hear those things. And if she needed to hear them every day, then he’d figure out how to make her come around. Because he wasn’t going to let her get away. Not when he could see how hurt and alone she was without him.

“Come on, lover boy,” Savannah said. She latched on to his arm and dragged him back toward the bridal party.

The wedding planner was speaking hurriedly and rearranging the bridesmaids and groomsmen into order with Brady and Liz at the back. Clay was standing with Liz’s friend Massey, who looked giddy at the prospect of the reception. Clay was pretty sure Massey was dating one of Liz’s other friends, Justin. They’d met at school at UNC before Justin had been kicked out for a DUI. Afterward, he’d started his own tech company.

“Ready?” she breathed. She was practically bouncing up and down.

“Yeah. All good to go.”

The DJ called their names as music played in the background, and Clay and Savannah walked into the entrance hall behind Massey and Lucas, who he watched like a hawk. Chris and Victoria followed behind Clay and Savannah. Then, the music changed, everyone rose to their feet, and in walked the bride and groom. The floor cleared completely, and then the DJ announced their first dance. “Everything” by Michael Bublé filtered in through the speakers.

“Don’t you dare,” Clay heard Liz warn Brady.

Brady raised his eyebrows and smiled down at her. “You just need the right partner, baby.”

Then, Brady swept her around the room. All the Maxwell children had taken dance lessons when they were younger. Their mother had thought it a necessity for formal occasions, and Brady was proving that they’d paid off. Liz tilted her head back and laughed as they moved gracefully to the song playing. As it came to a close, Brady dipped Liz until her long blonde hair nearly grazed the floor, and he kissed her to raucous cheer.

When he righted her, Liz pointed her finger at him and said, “You owe me cheesecake, mister.”

Brady kissed her hand. “Oreo it is, my love.”

Brady and Liz encouraged the rest of the bridal party to join in on the next dance. Clay drew Massey out onto the dance floor and regrettably let Savannah dance with Lucas. But Clay was only dancing with Massey for a total of ten seconds before her boyfriend, Justin, appeared out of nowhere to cut in. He was glad to see Easton cut in in almost the same amount of time. Maybe he was smarter than Clay had given him credit.

Clay’s eyes sought out Andrea, but she was nowhere to be found. He found Gigi instead and helped her to her feet.

“Everything okay?” she asked once they were dancing in the center of the room.

“Yeah. Everything seems to be going as planned. Thanks for coming with me to this, Gigi.”

“What are friends for but to endure really awkward occasions with each other?”

Clay laughed. “I hope you’re okay with being introduced to Andrea.”

“Again?”

“This time, as my friend and not my date and preferably not in my clothes.”

Gigi’s cheeks reddened. “I’m still so sorry about that.”

“Hey, it’s all right. All’s well that ends well.”

“Well, speaking of things ending well…maybe it would be better for me to dance with someone else until things do end well.”

She nodded her head to the side, and Clay turned her to get a clear image of Andrea. She looked nervous. He only knew that because of the way she was standing, as if nothing bothered her. She only needed that strength when she was about to go head-to-head with someone.

“Good idea,” he said. “Hey, Chris!”

Chris was standing a few feet away, still dancing with Victoria. “Yeah, man?”

“Hand her off to Duke Fan and dance with my friend Gigi.”

“Friend?” Chris asked with raised eyebrows. Then, he caught sight of Gigi, and his entire body stilled.