Page 34 of When I Should’ve Stayed (Red Bridge #2)

Clay

Josie swings her head away from the officiant, bypassing me entirely, to look toward the crowd. Her spine is stiff, her mouth set into a firm line, but she is still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.

This wedding, fake or not, comes so fucking close to the real Red Bridge wedding I once imagined we’d have all those years ago, I can practically taste it.

I miss her and us, and I ache to make her see that she misses us too.

I glance from Josie to Summer, her smile so bright from her chair as she looks on.

Memories of her as a toddler and the time I drew a little bridal Josie and a little groom Clay in her coloring book and told her that Clay wants to marry Josie because he loves her while we hung out in the bar hold steady in my mind.

I meant it, and today, the picture I painted is coming to life right in front of sweet Summer’s eyes as one of her greatest final wishes. A burn starts inside me that I’m increasingly afraid I won’t be able to extinguish.

There’s a purpose today. A point that’s hard to miss in her specialized chair right in the front.

And yet, all I see is Josie. Josie in my bar trying to catch cheaters.

Josie distracting me on the water tower in the sexiest fucking way.

Josie laughing like a lunatic in Grandma Rose’s kitchen when I was trying to learn how to make her famous fried chicken.

Josie in my T-shirt, dancing around my apartment to her favorite eighties music.

Josie helping Bennett and me take care of Summer when they first arrived in Red Bridge. Josie and me eloping at the courthouse.

And now, she stands before me, dressed in a white dress, and I’m holding my breath for her to say “I do.” And fuck, even though it’s fake, even though we’re here to grant one of Summer’s wishes, my heart wishes it were all real.

The officiant clears his throat, probably hoping a little encouragement will get Josie to say the words. And when that doesn’t happen, Bennett clears his throat, though it’s to no avail.

Silence has now consumed the entire ceremony, and I discreetly squeeze Josie’s hands. I clear my throat, and her eyes snap away from the crowd and back to me.

C’mon, Josie. Just say it.

She narrows her eyes. Her mouth is still set in the firmest line I’ve ever seen. But the words, “Fine. Yes. I do. Whatever,” roll off her tongue.

A cackle comes from the crowd, and I know everyone in this town well enough to know that it came straight from Eileen Martin’s lips.

I grit my teeth, hoping like hell that Josie doesn’t jump off this altar and throttle her, and I’m relieved when the only thing that follows is the officiant’s next line.

“And do you, Clay, take Josie to be your wife, to have and to hold, to love, honor, and cherish, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

He doesn’t have to ask me twice. He’s barely finishing the question before I’m proudly saying, “I do,” everything in my voice a determined declaration and loud enough for everyone in the crowd to hear. “I’ve done it before, and I’d do it again every damn day of my life.”

Josie’s eyes narrow further, her gaze directly on my currently smiling face.

She’s pissed, but I don’t care. I’ve been dreaming of this day for what feels like my entire life, and now that it’s here, I’m going to enjoy this moment that I get to stand in front of my closest friends and declare my love for this woman.

Because I still love her. Even after everything that’s happened, I love her so much.

“Great,” the officiant is quick to respond. “Then how about the rings? Do we have rings?”

Bennett pulls two rings out of his pockets, ones I know he and Norah managed to get from Peggy Samuel’s pawn shop, and hands them to me.

“Fantastic,” the officiant remarks. “We’ll do the rings with the exchanging of vows. Clay, why don’t you go first this time?”

I grab Josie’s hand and squeeze it. She tugs her arm a little, trying to pull away, but I ignore her efforts and keep her perfect hand locked tight within my grasp.

The burn in my chest glowing even brighter, I take a breath before reciting vows I’ve thought about so much that I know them by heart.

“Josie Ellis, my heart, my soul, my life. I’ll always love you.

I know we’ve been through a mountain range of ups and downs, and that I’ve made a mess of mistakes at every turn, but you are, unequivocally, the only woman for me.

” I smile at her. “I always knew we’d renew our vows one day, but I also imagined you’d like me a little more than you do now while we were doing it. ”

“Renew our vows?” Josie questions, and her eyebrows rise in outright shock. “Clay, we’re divorced! There’s nothing to renew .”

The burn is a full-blown fire, raging inside me until my secret up and jumps right out the window.

“Actually, Josie, we’re not divorced,” I say, admitting a truth I thought I’d carry at least until Josie decided to take me back. “Not officially.”

A resounding gasp from the crowd sounds jagged even to my ears, and I know it can’t compare to what Josie is feeling by even a mile. But there’s no taking it back now. It’s out there, and I have no choice but to go with it.

“What?” Josie shouts, anger and outrage vibrating from every cell of her body. “What do you mean, we’re not officially divorced?”

I’ve been in love with Josie Ellis since the moment I met her, and public stunts like these are the way I trapped her into feeling it back.

Fuck it . Considering she already hates me, it can’t get worse.

It’s time to lay it all out there. Once and for all.