“That’s wonderful to hear.”
He smirked. “I mean, honestly, I’m still the same asshole that you fell for, but I want to be with you. If I have to grovel…I can work on my groveling skills.”
She laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. God, everything about her was beautiful.
“We’ll see about groveling. That would seriously be a sight. Clay Maxwell…groveling.” She looked away from him, as if she were imagining him on his hands and knees, pleading.
He sank to his knees then and there, still holding her hand, and kissed it. “We both made mistakes. We both hurt the other. The only way we’ll know if this is real is to give it a real shot. If it’s not enough for you after that…then you can walk. I won’t keep coming back for you. I’ll let you go.”
“Clay,” she whispered. She bent down and brushed a kiss on his forehead. “I do like you on your knees, but get up. You don’t have to grovel to me. I messed up, too. I’d like another chance. I don’t know if it will work,” she admitted. “But I’d like it to.”
The pair returned to the reception to find that dinner was over. Champagne was being passed around to all the attendees. Brady and Liz were standing at a side table, cutting into the cake, while everyone snapped shots of them.
Chris appeared in front of Clay, looking frantic. “Where the hell did you go? Toasts were supposed to happen at the end of dinner, but we couldn’t do that without you. They just moved on to the cake.”
“No one seems to mind,” Clay pointed out.
Chris shook his head. “Well, we’re about to do that, so I hope you’re ready.”
Cake was passed out to the attendees, and then Chris and Victoria gave their speeches before the rapt crowd. Chris joked about Brady’s rise to fame at UNC and then into politics. He talked about the first time he had met Liz—when Brady had brought her over to his apartment—and how he had known that first day that she was the one for Brady. Victoria was a little more…colorful. She made several inside joke references that made Liz turn scarlet. But, by the end of it, Brady and Liz were laughing so hard that each had to clutch their sides.
Clay knew it was his turn then. He left Andrea with the cheesecake she had gotten from the dessert table and walked to the front of the room. He took the microphone from Victoria, who flashed him a grin.
“Beat that,” she said with a wink.
“Challenge accepted.”
He ran a hand back through his disheveled hair, not giving a single fuck about what he looked like after what had just happened with Andrea.
“Hey, everybody!” Clay said, straightening his tie as all eyes turned to him. He glanced over at Brady and Liz.
Brady looked a bit worried and Liz even more so.
Did they think I’m going to throw them under the bus?
“Ever since I was told I was supposed to give a speech at Brady’s wedding, I’d been planning out something horribly embarrassing to say about Brady. I mean, really, it’s the first time where I’m behind the microphone and not him, so I should use this to my advantage right?”
The crowd laughed, and a few people in the back cheered, egging him on.
“I’m sure everyone would like to hear a few horror stories about my brother, the perfect Brady Maxwell,” Clay joked. He even managed a grin. “But, truth be told, I couldn’t find any of those stories to share with you. Because that man who married Liz Dougherty today—” He laughed softly. “Liz Maxwell, excuse me—is the luckiest son of a bitch alive.”
Everyone burst out laughing again. But he was damn serious.
“When I first found out that Brady and Liz were a couple, my first thought was,
How the hell had he gotten that lucky?
I mean, Liz is even more perfect than my perfect brother. Smarter, prettier, maybe even
more
ambitious than Brady, and I never in a million years thought that would be possible.”
He ran a hand back through his hair again and winked at Liz. “Then, as I’ve watched them together for the past year, it was plain to me and everyone else who knew him that my bachelor brother had fallen in love. Head over heels, risk-his-career, risk-the-public, risk-his-world in love with this woman.” Clay pointed at Liz. “And it was the best decision of his life.”
Brady’s smile was magnetic in that moment. It was like he had never known Clay could say something this nice about him. Could say something this nice about anyone.
“As the younger son, you can only imagine what it was like, living in the shadow of a legend. But since he’s been with Liz, it hasn’t felt like a shadow. It’s felt like being on the sidelines of something incredible. Of something worth believing in. Brady and Liz are the kind of couple that makes everyone in the room demand to find their one true love.” His eyes searched out Andrea. “To find something so magical that nothing and no one could stand in the way of it. And I’m so happy and proud to be standing here today, delivering a congratulatory speech to two of the best people I know.”
Clay raised his glass in the air. “To Brady and Liz. To a lifetime of happiness, good cheer, endless sarcasm, and great sex!”
Everyone burst out laughing again and raised their glasses, too.
Someone from the back yelled out, “Clay Maxwell for president!”
He laughed and said, “Cheers!”
He downed his drink and went over to give his brother and new sister-in-law a hug.
“That was great, man,” Brady said. “I appreciate it.”
“Do what I can.”
“Clay,” Liz said, throwing her arms around his neck, “who knew you could be so kind? I love it.”
“Easy there, sis. You just got married. Wait to ravage me later.”
“Looks like someone already did,” she said as she nudged him.
He shrugged and nudged her back. “Can’t help it, you know.”
“I do.”
He shouldered his way back through the crowd toward Andrea. Victoria glared at him as he passed her.
He winked. “Challenge completed.”
“Ass. You weren’t really supposed to outdo me. Why didn’t I think to raise a toast to good sex?” Victoria grumbled.
“Great sex,” he corrected. Then, he scooped Andrea into his arms. “Speaking of great sex…”
“You just had some,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Yeah…but I have a room.” He produced a key out of his pocket and dangled it in front of her eyes.
“Later,” she said, swatting at him. “Let’s celebrate with them first.”
“You’re right. You’re always right.”
So, they spent the next few precious hours enjoying Brady and Liz’s epic party. Clay didn’t know how much of this time with Andrea would change what was between them. He could still feel some distance from her. He was sure it was borne out of fear of the unknown between them, but for this one night, he wasn’t going to think about it. They could deal with the real world tomorrow. This truly was their element after all—a big event with his entire family around them.
Maybe tomorrow, when it was just the two of them, they could figure out how to move forward.
Brady and Liz finally proclaimed that they had to leave the party for the night.
“We’d love to stay and party all night,” Brady said, wrapping an arm around Liz’s waist, “but I
have
to be alone with my bride.”
Clay snorted. He couldn’t blame the guy.
They set up for the send-off, and soon, Brady and Liz were running through a line of people, waving farewell, climbing into a limo, and riding off into the sunset.
Chapter 24
OUR DECISION
Waking up next to Andrea the day after Brady and Liz’s wedding was the best thing that had ever fucking happened to Clay. He’d forgotten what it was like to have her warm body curled into his side. To have her fan of platinum hair splayed out across the pillow, some strands so light that they blended into the pillowcase. To have his hands running down her sides, his lips pressed into her shoulder, his dick against her tight little ass.
Naked.
Completely one hundred percent naked.
That was how he liked her here with him.
His cock was already hardening and lengthening at the feel of her. He’d had all night with her, and it hadn’t been enough. Not even close. He wanted inside her all over again.
“Baby,” he whispered against her skin.
She groaned. He kissed across the rise in her shoulder and slid his hand forward over her hip bone and down between her legs. She stirred at the first gentle touch to her clit. He pulled her leg over his hip to spread her open to him and gently coaxed life back into her. It took a minute or so before she seemed to really realize what was going on.
“Clay?” she whispered.
“That’s right, baby.” He kissed her shoulder again.
Then, he dipped his fingers inside her, wetting the tips of them and going back to her clit for more.
“God, that feels good,” she purred.
“Good morning to you, too.”
She sighed pleasantly as she reached her hand back and wrapped it around his dick. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as she started stroking him with the leisurely pace he was applying to her.
It was intoxicating, this buildup between them. It didn’t matter how many times he’d had her last night or over the years before this; it felt like the first time all over again.
New explorations. New sensations. New orgasms.
Yet the same fucking desire. The same way he knew her body—every noise, every squirm, every breath. The same way he knew that the soft sputters coming from her meant his baby was getting damn close to an orgasm.
“I need you to come for me, love,” he whispered.
“No,” she breathed.
“Oh, yes.”
Andrea rolled away from his hand. For a second, he was left there, bereft, wondering what the fuck she was thinking. They’d been together all night. Of course, things weren’t magically better between them, but it didn’t fucking mean she could run away in the morning.
Then, she grinned at him and pushed him backward onto the bed with his dick protruding upward, as hard as a rock and ready for her.
“I want to be on top, and I want you to come with me,” she demanded.
He relaxed back into the bed. “Whatever you want.”
He realized how terrified he’d been there for a second, worried that she had wanted this to stop. He couldn’t remember ever being frightened about a woman like that before. If that made him a pussy, then fine. He’d gone crazy for months over this woman…just add it to the list.
Andrea hooked her leg over his hips and eased herself down on top of him. The smile on her face was euphoric. She rested her hands on his chest and started to move up and down on his cock. Her tits bounced wonderfully with the movement, and he nearly forgot to meet her thrusts as he stared at the sight. In the early morning light shining in through the windows, she looked like a goddess. And as she made herself come on his dick and he followed along with her, he truly believed he would worship her.
They took a long shower, soaping each other up and remembering the ease of being together. Then, after he gave her one last kiss, he left her in the bathroom, as he knew she liked to spend ample amount of time in there, getting ready.
Clay grabbed his phone out of his hastily discarded suit pants and checked the messages. He had one from Brady.
You just had to trash the car, didn’t you? Dick.
Clay laughed heartily. He, Chris, and Lucas had
decorated
Brady’s Lexus the day before with wedding slogans painted on the windows, flowers over every conceivable space inside and out, and cans hanging off the back of the bumper on strings, so they’d rattle when he pulled away.
They’d all gone in on the event and probably gone a little overboard. But Brady was only going to get married once, and it was fun to get at him like this. Plus, he couldn’t be that upset. He and Liz were on the way to the airport to go to Bora Bora for three weeks and stay in some private overwater bungalow where Clay suspected they would just fuck the entire time. Though Liz had sworn she’d bring enough books with her to fill a library, Clay doubted she’d have any time to read.
The second text was from Gigi, who he guiltily remembered kicking out of their room. He’d gotten a suite with two rooms for them since, obviously, they weren’t sleeping together, but since things with Andrea had worked out even better than he’d imagined…he’d asked Gigi not to come up.
She hadn’t seemed to care. In fact, with the way she had been eyeing Chris all night, Clay wondered if that was where she’d ended up anyway.
Whenever you come up for air, I kind of need my stuff. Clothes or something. Let me know when it’s safe. Otherwise, I’m just sitting here, smelling like vodka and looking like the walk of shame. So, you know…normal for me.
Clay snorted and messaged her back.
Going to be a while.
Fuck.
Maybe if you came up right now, it’d be fine.
If this is awkward, I’m going to hate you forever.
Clay figured Andrea had at least another forty-five minutes before she would be done in the bathroom anyway. And, if last night wasn’t proof that she was the only woman he wanted in his life, then he wasn’t sure what else he could do to convince her right now. Though he had some ideas for later.
Using her key card, Gigi came in through the door and practically tiptoed over to the second bedroom where she had been planning to stay. Clay had been sure to put some actual clothes on—a teal polo and khakis—before she got there. She waved at him as she grabbed clothes out of her suitcase and then zipped it closed once more.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“So…where were you last night?” he asked, following her to the door.
“I got a room.”
Clay narrowed his eyes. “Bold-faced lie, De Rosa. The Biltmore was booked up for the wedding.”
She rolled her eyes. “And?”
“You couldn’t have gotten a room, which sounds to me like you stayed in someone else’s room.” He leaned against the doorframe and watched her squirm.
“Doesn’t matter where I was, Maxwell. All that matters is, you got your girl back.”
She gave him a quick hug and then opened the door.
“Um…what’s going on?” Andrea asked.
She had appeared silently into the bedroom. He was shocked as shit, considering she’d only been in there for fifteen minutes, and she came back out with pencil-straight hair and only light makeup. She was goddamn stunning. It was like looking into the sun.