Page 86 of False Start
I heard a sniff, and when I looked over my shoulder, I found Madelyn watching Clay with her eyes glossed over. She blinked,and a single tear rolled down her cheek before her eyes flicked to mine.
She laughed a little, shaking her head as if she were embarrassed.
I couldn’t help the smile that spread on my face, nor could I deny the way my chest tightened the longer I watched her.
I reached out, sliding my thumb over that tear and across her cheekbone. She leaned into my touch, closing her eyes briefly before she was looking at Clay and Giana again.
When we were asked to take our seats, I threaded my fingers through hers, pulling our hands to rest on my knee. I smoothed my thumb over her wrist as I held her, memories of when we were young pulsing through that touch.
The wedding ceremony was short and sweet, Holden cracking a few jokes before he told his version of the story of how Clay and Giana became a couple. We all laughed as he recalled the way Clay had been a broody asshole all sour over his ex-girlfriend, and then he’d jumped into a relationship with Giana. We hadn’t known it was fake at the time. Hell, nothingeverseemed fake between those two.
That made me squeeze Madelyn’s hand.
Nothing felt fake about her being here with me, either.
“I vow to always remind you to put yourself first sometimes,” Giana said when it was time for them to share, her eyes glossy as she looked up at Clay. “And to believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself. I promise to always be there at the end of every game, win or lose, and to never let you sink too deep inside that head of yours.”
Clay smiled, swallowing as Giana continued, and when it was his turn, he kept one of her hands in his while the other held a small notebook that he’d written in.
“I vow to always keep the house stocked with Cheetos,” he said toward the end, which made all of us laugh — that girllovedCheetos. “I promise to kick anyone’s ass who doesn’t take you seriously in your career, and I swear to continue stealing your books and studying every scene you tab and highlight until the day you stop reading.”
“That will be never,” she quipped, and we all laughed again.
The vows went from silly to sweet, from being just about the two of them to being about their family, about that baby growing inside Giana’s womb. Then they were both crying, and the rest of us were doing our best to keep our shit together until Holden declared them husband and wife. We cheered as Clay dipped Giana in a dramatic kiss, and once she was upright, he bent to his knees and kissed her stomach, too.
They danced down the aisle as the music picked up tempo, and then we all dispersed, making our way to the patio where cocktail hour was taking place.
I held fast to Madelyn’s hand as we walked. “So, you going to throw down for the bouquet toss?”
She arched a brow at me. “I wasn’t planning on even participating, if I’m being honest.”
“Ah,” I said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “You’re scared, huh?”
Madelyn scoffed, but I didn’t miss the way chills swept over her skin. “No, I’ve just already done the marriage thing.”
My nostrils flared.
“And you won’t again?”
“I didn’t say that,” she whispered, her neck reddening as her eyes flicked to mine.
I tried and failed to contain the hope those words ballooned inside me.
“Well, if that’s the case, and you’renotscared, then…”
She paused our walk, narrowing her eyes at me as she pulled her hand from mine and folded her arms over her chest. “Are you challenging me, Kyle Robbins?”
“Haven’t I always?”
She shook her head, but a smile curled at the edge of her lips.
And I knew before it even happened that the other girls didn’t stand a chance to catch those flowers — not with my girl wearing that determined look I knew so well.
“A hundred bucks says that bouquet is mine,” she said.
I chuckled, pulling her under one arm and steering her toward the bar.
“Oh, come on, Mads,” I goaded, voice low behind the shell of her ear. “I think we can think of a better wager thanthat.”
