Love on Lexington Avenue - Lauren Layne Page 0,73

and invited you, did you know Claire would be here or . . .”

Hell yes, he knew Claire would be here. It was why he’d come.

Scott had thought about nothing in the two days she’d been icing him out except that he missed her. And when Oliver had told him it was a Brayden send-off, he’d known he had to be here.

For her. With her. To tell her that she could count on him for this, right now, if not for always. He wanted to do that much for her at least.

Of course, that wasn’t exactly going as planned so far. She’d done a bang-up job of avoiding him all afternoon and throughout dinner. Still, he could at least keep an eye on her. For now, that was enough.

“Incoming,” Oliver said, nodding as the three women approached.

Clarke had only been able to find four beach chairs, and a laughing Audrey flung herself into the last available one, throwing her legs over Clarke’s lap. “Holy crap. That was the most fun I’ve had all summer. Any summer. We should burn people’s stuff more often!”

Clarke patted her shin. “Let’s maybe not say that outside of this group, hmm? I don’t want to have to go bailing you out of jail.”

Naomi dropped onto Oliver’s lap, wrapping both arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss that was definitely not group appropriate. She pulled back and whispered something in his ear that made Oliver smile and pull her closer. Scott looked away, both to give them privacy and because the person he really wanted to see right now was Claire.

She hovered on the fringe of the chairs, and at first he thought she was embarrassed, maybe feeling left out. But he looked closer, saw he couldn’t be more wrong. She was glowing. She had the same happy confidence as when she’d been talking about her calligraphy, but tenfold.

No doubt about it, Claire Hayes was finally coming out of mourning.

This was the real reason he’d needed to be here, Scott realized. He’d needed to see this. Needed to know that when he moved on, she’d be okay. She’d be more than okay. She’d thrive.

He was a little surprised when she met his gaze head-on, even more so when she walked right to him and dropped down, kneeling beside his chair. For a moment Scott’s entire world tilted with something that felt a lot like joy at being part of a couple. With her. There was Clarke and Audrey affectionately bickering, Oliver and Naomi with the full-on making out, and he and Claire with . . . something. He didn’t need a name for it. For now, it was enough that she’d come to him.

“Here,” he said, starting to stand. “You take the chair.”

Claire put a hand on his knee. “Stay. I’ll sit on the ground. I can’t get any sandier than I already am.”

Before Scott realized what he was doing, he reached out and pulled a strand of hair from where it was stuck to her lips and tucked it behind her ear. Her gaze flickered in confusion for a moment, then she looked away, reaching for his cup. Claire turned her attention toward the rest of the group, lifted his drink. “Cheers, ladies. We did it.”

“Hear, hear,” Naomi said, taking Oliver’s glass and lifting it. “To moving on.”

“Hold up.” Oliver pinched Naomi’s side playfully. “Didn’t you already move on?”

She patted his cheek, as Audrey made a wobbly grab for Clarke’s cup and lifted that. “Goodbye, Brayden. May you never ruin another life.”

“Oh, he didn’t ruin us,” Claire said quietly. “Tripped us up for a while. But never ruined.”

The other women nodded, then the three of them drank some bourbon before they all, in some sort of silent female communion, stood up and walked away, chatting about Claire’s calligraphy, the topic of Brayden closed. Scott got the sense maybe forever.

“Did they just take our whisky?” Oliver mused.

“Seriously,” Clarke said, aghast. “What the hell just happened?”

Scott merely smiled. He knew exactly what had happened: Claire Hayes had just taken her life back.

His smile disappeared when he realized he wouldn’t have much of a part in it.

Chapter Twenty-Five

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

The bonfire had left Claire feeling clean and light inside, and she let a long, hot shower do the rest of the work on the outside. By the time she toweled off her hair and pulled on sweatpants and a T-shirt, she knew this night would go down as one of the most pivotal in