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Chapter Thirty Three

With a loud wolf whistle, Will is eyeing me up and down with keen admiration. "Check you out Brit Babe!" He mocks, holding out his polite hand for me to grab onto.

Laughing, I take hold of his fingers and feel glad of his playful company. "Thank you, kind Sir!" With my other hand, I lift the front of my long dress up, not wanting my heels to get caught in its satiny material. As we gingerly walk across the Mediterranean styled driveway, I glance over at Will who is wearing an informal slate grey suit. "You look lovely." I proudly tell him.

As we walk towards Slammer, who is waiting beside the car with the door open for us, Will proudly smiles back at me. "Not bad for a Californian boy, huh?"

"Not bad at all." I chuckle, before acknowledging Slammer. "Nice to see you, Slam." My smile is naturally warm in his direction. Rhys has a few regular drivers, but Slammer is the one I like most.

"You too, Clara. Looking gorgeous as ever." Slam sweetly compliments me as I step carefully inside of the car, trying not to trip on my beautiful dress.

"Thank you, Slam." I say it not only for holding the car door for me, I also say it for the lovely compliment. Once inside, I try to get comfortable in my seat.

"Nervous?" Will picks up on my nerves.

"A little." I quietly say, running my hands over my satin-covered knees. "Have you seen Rhys this morning?" I turn my head to look at Will.

"No, but we've spoken on the phone a couple of times."

"How did he seem to you?" My eyes grow more full of anxiety as they gaze back at Will.

"A little quiet but I think he's okay, Clara." Looking straight ahead, I say nothing in return because I really don't think Rhys is okay. "What's up?" Will tries to weed out my deep-rooted concerns, knowing that something is bothering me.

"I'm just not sure that tonight is such a good idea." I feel better for sharing my worries with Will, he knows Rhys better than anyone else. "I know he's trying to carry on with things, but I'm worried that an event like this will be too much for him. You know how unpredictable he can be, Will."

His longtime friend takes my feelings on board, allowing them to sink in before carefully answering. "I think we all have the same concerns, Clara, but Rhys is Rhys...he won't back down to anything."

Smiling, I absolutely agree. "No, he won't."

Will places a friendly palm over the back of my edgy hand. "He will be okay. After all that he's been through, maybe tonight will do him some good?" He removes his kind hand, confident with his comment about Rhys.

My wariness is plastered on my face. "Maybe." I doubtfully say, still not convinced that tonight is a good idea in any shape or form. Determined to shake off all of these party-pooping worries, I try to be much more positive about the evening ahead. "At least we'll all be there to keep an eye on him."

Nodding, Will smiles across at me. "Yeah, we are." His smile then becomes crookedly wry. "And if anything can keep Rhys happy, it will be you in that sassy-ass dress!" He cockily winks, goofily grinning.

Laughing and feeling flattered, I try to start enjoying myself. The man I love so very much is waiting for me to join him. Regardless of what I feel about tonight, tonight is happening. For whatever reason, Rhys has decided to attend this party, so I plan on supporting him in that decision. Right or wrong, I will be there for him.

**

Just as I thought, the paps are hungrily gathered outside the party venue—an elite and high profile nightclub.

On the gentlemanly hooked arm of Will, I am escorted inside with the odd pap taking a few confused pictures of us. Some of them might recognise Will, but as yet, no one has recognised me. So we are pretty much left to walk in without being hounded because we are not deemed as high profile.

Once inside, the vibe is loud and electric. The DJ already has the party goers in the palm of her hand, enjoying the tracks that she's cleverly mixing for their listening pleasure. Following Will, because he seems to know exactly where he is going, me and my long dress carefully weave through the thick and hot dancing crowd. We are soon in the VIP area, which is much more chilled and quieter. Feeling like a drink might help me to loosen up a little, I glance over at the bar and start wondering what I'll have just as soon as I have found Rhys. Who we eventually do find, surrounded by a large group of people in one of the large and funky VIP cubicles. There's a few who are other singers, a couple of his dancers who I instantly recognise and many who I don't know at all.

I have always hated being the last one to join a group, because as soon as you do, everyone starts looking at you. With nowhere to actually sit and Rhys not realising I am even there yet, I start to feel uneasy. Leaving it for Will to amorously announce his presence, I quietly and inconspicuously stand right behind him.

"Where's Clara?" I hear Rhys ask, not spotting me just behind his larger than life best friend.

"She's just here." Will stands aside and I try to confidently smile because now, everyone is indeed staring.

Rhys remains seated but gloriously gazes at me from his seat with a cocksure smile. "Here's my British beauty!" He announces loudly. "Everyone make some room for my girl." Then he stands, holding out his hand for me. Easing my way through the pathway of many pairs of knees, I am soon holding onto it and being pulled nearer to him. "Hey." He smiles down at my face, so pleased to see me that his sage eyes have instantaneously lit up. Then without inhibition or care, he lovingly kisses me right in front of everyone. He tastes like Jack Daniels and mint and feels like impure provocation. Ending his endearing kiss with a quick succession of tinier kisses, he smiles down at me once again. "I've missed you." He's friskily loving and just a little drunk.

Glad to be with Rhys but a little taken aback by his very public display of affection, I grin up at him with a raised brow. "I thought we were being discreet?"

Sliding his hands down the smooth fabric of my sky blue dress, starting from my upper back and rascally resting on my butt, he grimaces a little. "Yeah, about that...discreet just isn't working for me." He now reveals a lopsided and devastatingly cute smirk. "How about you?" His smirk starts getting wider and wider with his amorous question.

Bringing my arms around the back of his neck and pushing my body intimately close against his, I publicly claim him as mine with a misbehaving kiss. It's deep, unhurried and undisciplined. "Discreet isn't working for me either." I finally admit with a confident grin.

Rhys says nothing but his smirk tells me that he's happy that we're both on the same page about no longer wanting to keep us a secret. It's then that he sits back down, placing me in his lap and jovially introduces me to everyone. "Some of you may recognise my girl and some of you won't, but this is Clara."

Although he is a little drunk, he does actually look like he's having a good time. He also looks absolutely amazing. Wearing a suit, Rhys wears it in an handsomely casual way—charcoal grey trousers with a black fitted shirt with rolled up sleeves and finished off with the flattering waistcoat to match—he is the embodiment of perfection.

As his group of friends all eye me up with warm and friendly hellos, I just eye Rhys up with too many impure thoughts running through my mind. "You're beautiful." Rhys whispers against my ear, his smile being felt so pleasantly against it. "I love you."

Feeling proud to be in his lap with his loving sentiments being whispered in my ear, I feel invincible.

Maybe tonight is going to be alright after all?

Maybe tonight is just what Rhys needed?

Maybe he really does have his grief under control?