Gary laughed. “Interesting. Think I’ll go with the lady’s version since it’s more to my liking.” He offered his arm. “Can I escort you to the church?”
I felt Clay’s gaze on me, burning a hole through the side of my head, but I ignored him. Even though he’d said yes, we weren’t together, and we both knew that.
“Sure. Thank you.” I took Gary’s arm, and we walked on ahead. I felt like we were being watched, but, of course, Clay was behind us.
When we made it through the entrance of the church, the pastor was at the front, and he smiled and waved us in. “Good evening.”
I heard several vehicles pull into the parking lot outside, signaling the arrival of the others, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Once everyone in the wedding party joined us, time passed quickly from there. The coordinator gave us instructions on how the ceremony would progress, and when it came time for Clay to escort me down the aisle, he held out his arm and I took it. Thankfully, there was no awkwardness between us at that moment, and I chalked it up to God’s grace. I felt comfortable at Clay’s side—like I belonged there. Feelings could be deceptive, so I tried not to dwell on it and reminded myself that once I went back to L.A., I would adapt and life would get a little easier.
At least, that was what I wanted to believe. Not seeing Clay again after growing so close would be undoubtedly hard, but if God wanted us together, He would have found a way for us to work…and we didn’t.
“It’s okay to smile, you know.” Clay’s words transported me out of my thoughts and back to reality.
The playfulness in his tone brought out a real smile. I allowed my lips to curve upward, and it felt good after the last few days of misery. “Is that better?”
He chuckled. “So much better.”
“Hey, you two,” Hunter said, winking. “No talking during the ceremony.”
“Give them a break,” Sabrina said. “It’s only a rehearsal.”
“No, Hunter’s right,” the wedding coordinator said. Her name was Tina, and she had been recommended by the church. “Let’s keep it as real as possible.”
I leaned and whispered, “Sorry to get you in trouble.”
He chuckled. “I’m cool with it, as long as I’m getting in trouble with you.”
“There they go again,” Hunter said, laughing.
I widened my eyes and did a zip-it motion at my lips to indicate I wouldn’t say anything else. Clay bumped shoulders with me and snickered. I smiled again, and it was a genuine smile that was as real as it got.
When we finished practicing, we all headed to Homer where Sabrina and Hunter had rented out a banquet room in the back of a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. There were name cards at each place setting, and Hunter informed everyone that seating had been assigned.
“Look at this,” Gary said, holding up a card. “Jazmin is sitting next to me.”
Clay frowned and glanced at Sabrina. “I thought Jazmin and I would be sitting together since we’re paired up for the wedding.”
“No, I mixed it up tonight. My sisters wanted to sit with their husbands, and I’m sure the groomsmen won’t mind.”
Clay casually ran a hand over the back of his head, but he didn’t look happy. “Oh, that makes sense.” He eyed Gary like an eagle eying its prey, and I almost laughed from how obvious he was being. Clearly, he was jealous, but he would have to get over it. We weren’t together and nothing had changed.
I thought that was that, but then all of a sudden, he did something crazy. He picked up the card with my name on it and switched it with the one next to his. “There. Now you can sit with me.”
Chapter 11
Clay
I didn’t trust this Gary guy. He’d had his eye on Jazmin since the moment he introduced himself in the parking lot, and while I understood why—Jazmin was a beautiful woman—I didn’t like it one bit.
“You can’t just switch the name cards,” Jazmin said, amusement flickering in her eyes.
“Sure, I can. I just did.”
“Sabrina went to a lot of trouble figuring out where everyone should sit.”
I felt guilty for half a second realizing she was right, but it didn’t last. Sabrina wouldn’t mind if we sat together, and I was feeling protective when it came to Jazmin. I especially didn’t want her sitting next to a man who was eyeing her like she was his own personal eye-candy.
“Sabrina,” I said, turning to her. She was saying something to her mother, but she stopped and looked at me when I addressed her.
“Yeah?”
“You don’t mind if Jazmin and I sit next to each other, do you?”
She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it as if she wasn’t sure what the right answer was. She glanced at Jazmin and winced a little and then bit down on her bottom lip as if the question made her nervous. “Actually, I do mind. Please adhere to the plan.”
Hunter walked over and put his arm around her waist protectively. He looked at me like I was a troublemaker and I’d better not cross him by pushing this. I probably was a troublemaker, but the causing trouble part was for a good cause. “Sorry,” he said. “We worked this out earlier and don’t want to veer from the plan, but you’ll sit next to her tomorrow at the wedding.”
And just like that, my request was dismissed. My eyes followed Jazmin as she walked to the other side of the table where Gary was waiting for her with a huge grin on his face. He pulled her chair out for her, and once she was seated, she smiled
