Struck from the Record

by K. A. Linde

  The last art gallery she’d had…was horrible for him. One of his lowest points during their breakup. Now, he was here with her, watching her brilliance close up.

  At one point, Asher turned up. He looked anxious about being there, but Clay stuck out his hand. Asher had helped him when he needed it. As long as Asher stayed far away from his girlfriend, then he could move past what had happened. Clay had won after all.

  More people he knew filed in. All of their friends and family, who had recently been at their housewarming party. His boss, Ted Cooper, showed up with his wife. And then, just as it was thinning out and it was about time for Andrea to return to the crowd to mingle and wheel and deal…his parents appeared, as if out of thin air.

  Andrea smiled brightly. “Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell,” she said formally, “I had no idea you’d be in attendance this evening.”

  Clay’s mother went straight up to Andrea and pulled her into a hug. “Andrea, call me Marilyn. We’ve known you since you were a kid.”

  Andrea laughed softly. “Of course, Marilyn. You know how I am. It’s so good to see you. Are you here for anything in particular?”

  “Just to see my son and his very successful girlfriend,” Marilyn said with a smile. “Isn’t that right, Jeff?” She nudged Clay’s father.

  “That’s right,” he said. “Congratulations, darling.” He gave Andrea a peck on the cheek and a big politician’s smile. “We’re both proud of you.”

  His father reached out his hand, and Clay shook it. He was slightly flabbergasted that his father was here. He knew that they were on the invite list for the opening, but they hadn’t said whether or not they would be coming. His parents spent most of the summer in Chapel Hill and away from D.C. if they could at all help it.

  “I was glad to hear that you two had finally moved in together,” his father said. “None of that separate housing situation.”

  “It was about time,” Andrea said, jumping in.

  She knew that he had never really gotten along with his father.

  “That’s right,” Clay said. He wrapped an arm around Andrea’s shoulders. “It was about time. Should have done it a long time ago.”

  “Well, we’re just so happy for the both of you. After Brady and Liz’s wedding, we hoped you two would settle down next,” Marilyn said.

  Clay coughed, and Andrea’s cheeks heated.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself now,” Andrea said with a laugh.

  “We’re just happy to be together again,” Clay told him. “Take things as life throws them at us.”

  “That’s the way to do it. You’re only young once,” Jeff said. “I always knew you were the smartest of all my children.”

  Clay nearly staggered backward.

  What?

  His father had never said anything like that to him before. He’d never even hinted that he thought Clay even deserved to stand in Brady’s shadow.

  Attorney general was as good as it would get for Clay. But no recognition until he was there. Top of his class at Yale. Top of his class at Yale Law. Supreme Court clerking. Best law job in the nation…and still nothing.

  Now, all of a sudden, because he seemed to be settling down with Andrea…he was enough.

  “Thanks, Dad,” he said with genuine surprise.

  Andrea squeezed his arm. She knew what this meant to him.

  “Can’t get to where you are today without brains and a tough work ethic,” his father continued. “It’s the Maxwell way. You’re doing great, son. Both of you.”

  He smiled at them, and then Marilyn ushered him away to check out the rest of the gallery. Clay was left reeling.

  “Are you okay?” Andrea asked.

  “I just…I never expected his approval,” he admitted.

  “You never needed it. You have always been amazing, just the way you are. You walked out of Brady’s shadow. Maybe it’s time to let go of the things that your father said to you when you were just a kid.” She brushed her fingers across his cheek. “You were just a kid.”

  He nodded. “You’re right. It’s…it’s time to let them go. Focus on what’s important. What’s right in front of me. And that’s my successful girlfriend.”

  She giggled. “This isn’t about me.”

  “Oh, Andrea”—he swept his hand out to the incredible gallery opening—“this is all about you. Just as it should be.”

  Chapter 29

  MY SOUL TO TAKE

  “Are you sure you’re ready?” Gigi asked.

  She was anxiously biting her nails. It was a habit he had been noticing more and more over the last couple of weeks.

  He grabbed her hands and forced them still. “Stop biting your nails. You’re making me anxious.”

  “Sorry. I just want everything to be right for you.”

  “It’ll be fine. I mean…” He ran a hand back through his hair. “I think it will be fine. Just have everyone there at the right time, and it will all go as planned.”

  She beamed. “Excellent. I can do that.” Then, she launched herself at him and squeezed him tight. “Oh my God, I’m so excited for you.”

  Clay gingerly patted her shoulder, laughing all the while. “You’re so excitable.”

  “Not every day this sort of thing happens,” she said, releasing him. “I mean…once in a lifetime, really.”

  “Let’s hope.”

  “And she really has no idea? I mean, you told her that we were all going out to celebrate Chris moving to town. Big party and all. She hasn’t suspected a thing?”

  Clay grinned. “Not a thing. Though…I suppose that’s my fault.”

  His face fell. Tonight was the big night. He was getting all of his friends together. He’d made sure they had the room reserved at Andrea’s favorite restaurant. He was going to take her on a moonlit stroll, the whole shebang. And then he was going to pop the question. He could do it.

  But, of course…Andrea never would suspect it. Because he had made it so damn clear to her over the years that he never, ever wanted to get married. That wasn’t his future. In fact, the mere thought of marriage had made his throat swell up, his hands sweat, and a sudden fever come on. Marriage had felt like a trap. One woman forever. He’d shuddered at the very thought. And Andrea, of all people, knew that. She’d always known that.

  No…there was no way she would see tonight coming. Not at all.

  “It’s not your fault. You’ve changed,” Gigi said at once. “And, anyway, her not knowing is a good thing. Every girl wants to be surprised by a proposal! You’re doing the right thing. She’ll never guess!”

  “Right. The right thing,” he muttered.

  “Oh my God, do not get all freaked out on me now! You have the ring. You have the setup. You have all your friends in place and even a freaking photographer to capture every moment. Clay, all you have to do is ask her.”

  “Yeah…”

  She put her hand on his arm. “And she’s going to say yes.”

  “Well, we’ll see tonight, won’t we?”

  “Yes, we will. Eep! I’m so excited that I get to see it all happen!” she nearly shrieked. “Okay. Go home. Get your girl. I’ll see you at the restaurant, and I will have everything in place! Don’t worry about a thing.”

  “Got it. I’ll see you soon.”

  Clay fingered the box in his pocket, opening and closing it obsessively as he walked out to his waiting Porsche. He couldn’t believe how much he was freaking out. His stomach was in knots over this. He didn’t think she’d say no. She wouldn’t say no. Would she?

  God, stupid insecurities.

  He drove back to their place without really even realizing where he was going. But, suddenly, he was parking and walking up the steps. He needed to get his thoughts in order if he was going to get through the next couple of hours without her suspecting anything was up with him. He wanted this to be a total surprise.

  Clay unlocked the door and slipped inside. “Andrea?”

  “In here,” she murmured from another room.

/>   He followed the faint sound of her voice and found her curled up on the back patio with a book open in her lap.

  “Hey, babe.” He kissed her cheek, pulled off his suit jacket, and started loosening his tie.

  “Mmm…hold on. Let me finish this chapter.”

  Clay laughed. “I’ve heard that before.”

  “Just one more,” she told him, not looking up.

  “All right. Well, I’m going to go change for dinner.”

  “Oh, right,” she said absentmindedly. “Chris’s thing is tonight. I’ll be up in a minute.”

  “Okay. Enjoy your chapter.”

  She made some noise of assent but still didn’t look up at him. Whatever she was reading must have been engrossing. Though that was Andrea. All or nothing.

  Clay changed into a pair of dress khakis and a thin button-up that he rolled the sleeves up on. He put on brown boat shoes. Then, he added the jewelry box to his pocket. It bulged slightly, and he frowned. He didn’t want her guessing what he had in there.

  With a sigh, he pulled out a light jacket. The nights were already getting kind of cool, so it wouldn’t look too strange. Then, he stuffed the box into his jacket pocket.

  Unsurprisingly, Andrea had never appeared to change.

  When he walked back downstairs, she was still lounging around in a tank top and teal cuffed shorts. Her feet were bare. She twirled her long blonde hair over one shoulder, completely fixed on the book in front of her.

  “I thought you said one more chapter,” Clay said. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

  “I did. But the last chapter ended on a cliffhanger, so I needed to know what happened next. I mean…their entire relationship was in peril.”

  “Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. That’s how they get you to stay invested.”

  “Shh,” she said, waving her hand at him. “One more chapter.”

  He slouched into the chair next to her without complaint. If she wanted to sit around and read, then that was fine by him. So long as they got to the restaurant in time, he didn’t mind.

  After another twenty minutes, she finally sighed, stuck a bookmark into the book, and closed it. “They worked it out. I can move on with my life.”

  Clay chuckled. “You realize they’re fictional, right?”

  Andrea gasped. “What? They’re fictional? No way! They are real, damn it!”

  “You kill me.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re the one trying to shatter my dreams with your ‘truth,’” she said, using air quotes around the word truth.

  “Fine. They’re real, and they’re all going to run away and live happily ever after.”

  She shrugged, stood, and stretched. “For now at least. I’m sure they have to suffer a little more first.”

  “Don’t we all?”

  “Come upstairs with me.” Andrea took his hand, and he stood, giving her a long, slow kiss. “Mmm…definitely come upstairs with me.”

  He laughed. “All right, but let’s not be late for dinner.”

  “Just a teensy bit late?” she encouraged with another kiss.

  “You might be able to convince me.”

  She dragged him off the patio and then up the stairs. They were on the second landing when Andrea stopped abruptly. “Actually…I have another idea.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  His eyes cut to her studio. As promised, he’d put a lock on the door for her, and since they’d moved in, he hadn’t been inside. He was curious, of course, but he would never invade her privacy. This was important to her. He respected that.

  “Come with me.” She walked tentatively toward the door and stopped with her hand on the handle.

  “You don’t have to show me.”

  “I know,” she said softly. “But…I want to.”

  He nodded, understanding that she was finally unlocking the last piece of herself for him, and then she opened the door. She took a deep breath, pushing it all the way open for him. He followed her into the space.

  It was perfect. So inherently Andrea that, for a second, it was as if he couldn’t breathe. The painting he had bought her hung like a trophy from the wall, but otherwise, the room was covered in canvases. One wall full of modern art was a kaleidoscope of colors. The others were dark and broody. Almost all were black and white with just a few streaks of color here and there. Still more paintings were lying on the table in the center of the room—unfinished and in need of more work.

  He could almost see her in here, deciding what to work on each day. Picking up a piece at random and throwing all her thoughts and ideas onto the canvas. They didn’t have to be for anyone else. Just her.

  And, thus, they were exquisite. Each and every one of them.

  She had none of the pressure of showing them to the public for critiques or for the need for approval through a sale. She just had the canvas, paint, and the brush. He loved her even more in that moment. So much, his heart constricted.

  “These,” she said tentatively, pointing to the bright paintings, “I think were my favorites that I did over the last couple of years…before…well, before the breakup. I tried replicating artists I admired until my work started taking on its own form.”

  She bit her lip and then drew her gaze to the darkened side of the room. “These, I did while we were apart.”

  It was like seeing a window into her soul. Those months apart had been brutal, dark, depressing, agonizing. He could see it in every brushstroke. In the dark lines and the dark colors and the depressing dark emptiness of the paintings.

  He choked on words.

  “I think my new stuff is a compromise,” she said, gesturing to the exquisite paintings on the table.

  They were a compromise. Halfway between the strict structure and bright colors of the early years and the dark depressing months apart. Happy, whole, united with love. That was what her new work screamed.

  And then he knew. He just knew.

  Fuck it.

  “Run away with me.”

  “What?” she asked. She was threading her fingers together, as if anxious of what he would think of the pictures. As if he could think anything she had created was less than amazing.

  “Run away with me.” He took her hand and drew her toward him.

  She stuttered into his embrace and looked up at him with wary eyes. “Ha-ha. Okay, Clay.”

  “No, really, Andrea,” he said without preamble, looking square in her eyes. “Marry me.”

  Andrea stilled and gave a half-laugh. “Clay, come on.”

  Clay just smiled, sank down onto one knee, and removed the blue Tiffany box from his jacket pocket. Her eyes rounded to the size of saucers.

  “No, you come on, Andrea. Run away with me. Marry me.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth. She gasped in pure shock at what was happening before her. He saw tears brimming in her eyes.

  Yeah, there was no way she had seen this coming. Though, frankly, he hadn’t seen it happening this way. There was just no other way it could have happened once he was here. She’d shown him a part of her soul. And he wanted her to have his for the rest of their lives. It was only fitting.

  “Clay,” she breathed. “Oh my God!”

  “Is that a yes?” he asked.

  “Yes! Are you joking? Of course, yes!”

  He laughed and jumped up, sweeping her into his arms. “God, I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Oh my God, you just proposed.”

  She held her left hand out, shaking slightly, and he plucked the enormous, way over-the-top diamond out of the box. It was a giant circular diamond set with a double halo of diamonds around the center stone. The band was a simple thread of diamonds all the way around her finger. And, when he slid it into place, he smiled triumphantly. The diamond took up almost her entire tiny finger.

  She really started crying then. “Oh my God, it’s gorgeous. This is exactly the ring I would have picked. How did you know?”

  “Because I know you, baby,” he said,
drawing her in for a kiss. “I’ve always known you. And I’ve always wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Now, it’s just official.”

  “We’re official,” she said in awe. “Oh my God, we’re official.”

  “You just have to do one thing when we get to Chris’s big party tonight.”

  She beamed. “What’s that?”

  “Tell all of them yourself, so they don’t kill me.”

  “What? Why?”

  He laughed and ducked his head. “Well, the party is actually for you, and I was planning on proposing to you there. So, they’re all waiting for us.”

  She started laughing uncontrollably. “You sly little dog! I had no idea. Why didn’t you wait?”

  “I couldn’t wait. The moment was perfect. How could I not let you know I wanted to share the rest of my life with you when you were sharing so much with me?”

  “Oh, I do love you!” She threw herself into his arms. “We’re getting married!”

  Andrea screamed that all over again as soon as they entered the room of her favorite restaurant. She threw her hand out to the gathered audience—Gigi, Brady, Liz, Chris, Ethan, Cash; Jamie and her husband, James; Victoria and her boyfriend, Daniel. Everyone oohed and ahhed appropriately when she showed the giant diamond around the crowd.

  But it was Gigi who came up to Clay in the mayhem and smacked him on his arm. “I put all of this together, and you proposed at home?”

  “Thanks, Gigi. Couldn’t have done it without your pep talk at the office.”

  “Damn, I really wanted to see! Tell me everything.”

  “Ask Andrea. I’m sure she’ll want to tell the story a million times.”

  Gigi rushed forward to get a good look at the ring on Andrea’s finger and to ask Andrea to tell what had happened. The guys all sidled up next to him with shots in their hands, clapping him on the back in congratulations, and then they all downed the drinks.

  When everyone finally settled down, they had a celebratory dinner. The girls were already scheming, and Clay let them. It was one of the best days of his life. He couldn’t have asked for any of it to go better. The girl of his dreams had said yes, and he was with friends and family. He couldn’t be happier. He had never thought this day would come, but he was glad now that it had.