Page 145 of What Goes Around

I had barely accepted a glass of champagne when Marissa appeared at my side.

To anyone watching, she looked like a concerned, loving mother reunited with her daughter after a long absence.

“Ashley,” she said warmly. “Mom missed you so much while you were away.”

I met her eyes, unreadable.

“Where are you staying?” she continued. “Why didn’t you come home? I’ve been so worried about you.”

I watched the performance with detached calm. No one here knew she wasn’t my real mother, and she intended to keep it that way at all costs.

“I’ve been fine,” I said. “I have my own place now.”

In truth, I’d been staying at a hotel for the past weeks. Wedding events, rehearsals, dinners. It had been easier to keep my distance.

She smiled, patting my arm as if soothing a child. “Still, you know you always have a home.”

Before I could reply, my father joined us, drink in hand. He looked genuinely happy to see me.

“There you are,” he said, squeezing my shoulder. “I’ve been telling everyone about you.”

I stiffened slightly.

“She just graduated from MIT,” he continued, turning to a group of his business friends nearby. “Cum laude. Brightest mind in the room, if you ask me.”

I shot him a look. “Dad.”

He laughed. “What? I’m proud. I should be.”

The men nodded appreciatively, murmuring congratulations. One of them asked if I was planning to join the family business.

“She doesn’t want to,” my father said quickly, though his eyes flicked to me, hopeful. “But I keep telling her the door’s always open.”

I smiled politely. Noncommittal.

Across the lawn, I caught sight of Apple. She stood near the bar, posture perfect, expression sharp. She hadn’t finished school. She hadn’t been expelled publicly, but everyone here knew she’d dropped out. Watching our father praise me clearly tasted bitter.

Before Apple could come over, the music shifted. The emcee announced Payton and

Thomas’s first dance.

Applause rippled through the crowd as they stepped onto the dance floor beneath the fairy lights. Payton was radiant, one hand resting against Thomas’s chest, the other curled in his. They moved together easily, laughing when they missed a step, foreheads touching as if no one else existed.

It was right. The way it was supposed to be.

When the song ended and the applause faded, someone stepped into my space.

Nick.

“Dance with me,” he said, already holding out his hand. Not a question.

I hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded and placed my hand in his.

Chapter 46: Echoes of Us

We moved onto the dance floor as another song began. His hand settled at my waist, steady and familiar. Mine rested against his shoulder. He led without forcing, confident, natural.

My body remembered him even as my mind tried to stay guarded.