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“That’s fucked, man. You were going to use them?”
“Davis loves Cass, and I love Jessa. I’d happily have a family with her, and I like to think I’d have made her happy too. But I’m in love with Davis. I always have been. And last night, our grand scheme came apart. Jessa couldn’t marry me. She fell in love with you.”
Something climbed up my throat and stuck there.
“I won’t pretend to understand, but it’s true. She no longer wants me. When she did, it felt like...permission. But she doesn’t.”
“I’d like to say I’m sorry about ruining your plans, but fuck you.”
He nodded. “Get married to Jessa, or lose my family. My legacy and inheritance. Today, I made that choice. I’d rather have nothing than lose him.”
“I know the feeling.”
A ruckus came from the other end of the hallway and Davis’s parents stormed around the corner. Well, his dad stormed. His mom was running behind him, trying to snag his arm, saying “Andrew!” over and over, like the number of times he heard his name was crucial to stopping him.
Judging by the look on his face, nothing was stopping him.
“You! How dare you!” he shouted, purple-faced, fist cocked.
I grabbed him, but the little fucker twisted, slipping out of my grip before throwing himself at Henry fist first.
Shock had Hank’s guard down—he took the whole force of it straight to the nose. A sick crunch preceded a burst of blood down his mouth and chin and the front of his tuxedo.
I’d already grabbed pops, wrenching his arms behind him. “Easy there. Can’t run around hitting everybody who makes you mad.”
“Like hell I can’t! That queer turned my son! Kissed him in a house of God! He’s ruined everything. Everything!”
I pulled his arms so tight, he called out, arching his back to ease the pressure. “Hank here had it coming, but not from you, and not for that.”
The door to the bridal suite flew open and Davis dashed out, fear painted all over him. He rushed to Henry, handing him a pocket square before taking Hank’s face in his hands.
“What did he do to you? God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have forced your hand, Henry. Forgive me. Please, forgive me.” They were forehead to forehead again, and I thought they might be crying, and they weren’t the only ones. Half of everybody in the hallway was sniffling and dabbing at their noses.
The other half was glaring at Andrew.
Davis wheeled around and marched up to his father, his face twisted with spite, furious tears stacked on his lower lids. “Why did I ever put on a show for you? Why did I care so much what you’d think of me, what you’d say?” His laugh was dry and bitter. “You abandoned me at Eton, left me with Henry for the summers. I didn’t even know if you’d show up today, on my wedding day. So maybe you should take your part of the blame for all this. Part of me...part of me hoped that...” Davis swallowed and shook his head. “I hoped you’d understand, even though I knew better. You couldn’t be bothered to call me on my birthday. I shouldn’t have hoped you’d accept this.”
“How dare you do this to us,” his mother sobbed. “Your father and I have done everything for you! We’ve given you everything?—”
“If you can’t give me your love without conditions, does anything else matter? So I guess I’ll say thank you for the opportunities you gave me. If you ever want to talk, I’ll always be here. Until then, you should leave.”
I turned his father for the door, steering him by his pinned elbows. “Let me show you the way out, sir.”
Wilder and I nodded at each other, and he followed me outside and toward the barn, Davis’s mom still shrieking Andrew’s name. When we made it out, I let him go with a little push that almost knocked him over.
Whoops.
“Now, you’re gonna go ahead and get in your fancy car and get the fuck outta here, all right?”
He started to come at me, and Wilder stepped up.
“You really want to think long and hard about going back in there. Because you won’t just have Hank to deal with. You’ll have the two of us, too.”
Andrew’s face was beet red as he tugged the bottom of his jacket. “Let’s go, Sheila.”
She sniffled, trotting after him, still saying his name all watery and sad.
“Man, what the fuck,” Wilder said as we watched them walk to the parking lot.
