“I’m still working on that,” Tara said.
Just then, Grant waved Tara over. Clay had joined him, and the two were quickly deep in discussion.
“I hope you can excuse me for one minute,” Tara said, not waiting for an answer and marching over to the two men.
“What are those three talking about?” Astrid asked.
“I have a feeling I know,” Miranda said. “I think there’s big news for my brother.”
“One last announcement, everyone,” Grant called out before Astrid had a chance to inquire more. “I want to congratulate the firm’s star architect, Clay Morgan, on being a finalist for the state Architect of the Year.”
Miranda began to furiously clap, and so did Astrid, but her heart was also breaking a little as she watched Clay’s reaction. He offered the obligatory smile, but it was so glaringly obvious, at least to her, that he was not enjoying this moment in the spotlight. How sad was that? This was a big accomplishment. What was it about him that he seemed to take no joy in anything?
Astrid felt an urgent need to at least fix that look on his face, and she rushed over to him in Miranda’s wake. She watched as Miranda and Clay embraced. There was an obvious warmth between them as brother and sister, a bond that seemed strong and loving. So he wasn’t made of pure ice, or at least not when it came to family. Miranda stepped back and Clay’s sights flew to Astrid. For a moment, it felt as though her heart was being squeezed like a stress ball as their gazes connected and she tried to decipher what must be going through his head. In that split-second, she reached no conclusion, other than that she wanted to hug him, too, but she was certain he would recoil.
Instead, she did the only thing she could think to do. She offered a handshake. “Congratulations, Clay. It’s so exciting. I’m honored to be working with you on the Seaport project. I can’t wait for us to start on the next phase together.”
Clay looked down at her hand. “Thanks. But I’m going to ask to be taken off the project.”
Astrid’s heart dropped so low it was currently residing near her feet. “But why?”
“I’m not sure you and I work well together.”
It hurt like hell to say that to Astrid, and the devastated look on her stunning face was making it that much more difficult. But it was the truth. They didn’t work together well. He was endlessly distracted by her. He made mistakes when they worked together and he prided himself on not doing that. He’d made a gaffe on the Seaport Promenade several weeks ago and it could have cost them the entire project. Luckily, Tara had discovered his mistake before the first presentation. The Architect of the Year definitely did not suffer such lapses, and he wanted that award more than anything. Aside from his young daughter and his sister, Miranda, Clay had nothing else in the world to pin any happiness to. His job was a crucial part of his life. It helped to define him.
Astrid—with her willowy legs, sweet personality, and beguiling honey-gold hair—was standing between him and the very function of his brain. They’d been working together for well over a month and things weren’t getting better. In fact, they might be getting worse. When she was around, he was all thumbs. He found himself searching for words, and he was a man with a large vocabulary—surely there had to be some verbiage that was easily accessible. But no. Not when Astrid was close.
He instead found himself concentrating on the curve of her full lips, enchanted by her wide cocoa-brown eyes. He couldn’t afford to fall for another beautiful face. It had ruined his entire life the other time he’d shown such weakness, for the woman who became his wife, only to leave him and his precious daughter behind.
He would not take a single step toward that mistake again. His daughter and career were too important. But he wasn’t about to throw Astrid under the bus. She was a capable partner in her work, leaving him with no choice but to remove himself from the equation. It was a sacrifice he had to make to save his own skin.
“You can’t be serious,” Astrid said in reply to his assertion that they didn’t make a good team. “We work together so well. We made it through the first round on the Seaport project and don’t forget, that was on a very tight timeline.”
“What was that I heard about Seaport? Are you two talking shop?” Grant turned and stepped into the middle of their conversation.
Clay had planned on speaking to Grant about this in a private meeting on Monday morning, not launching into it in front of anyone else, especially not Astrid. “We were, actually. I’m wondering if I can be taken off the project, so I can shift to some of the more pressing jobs we have ahead.”
A deep crease formed between Grant’s eyes. “I thought you were enjoying it. And it’s such a high profile assignment. I would think that with the Architect of the Year nomination, this is your time to step into the spotlight, not out of it.”
Tara had apparently overheard and excused herself from the person she’d been chatting with. Clay wanted to disappear into himself. He never should have allowed this to be discussed in the middle of a cocktail party. It was stupid and foolish and entirely too public. Clay was a deeply private person. He’d always been that way.
“Everything okay over here?” Tara asked.
“Clay wants to be taken off the Seaport project.” Grant slipped his arm around Tara’s waist, but he still seemed deeply concerned.
“No. Absolutely not. You and Astrid are
