Page 60 of The Secret Fiancée
I nod, my heart heavy. Raya and I requested to spend this weekend at the Windsor Estate shortly after Sierra’s wedding date was set, because we both knew my sister would do something outrageous for her bachelorette. We couldn’t have known what would happen in the days prior to it. “She almost didn’t go,” I tell Raya’s mom, and she nods, a sweet understanding smile on her face.
“I’m glad she did,” she says. “And I’m glad you’re here. Go on in. I’ll bring you both some tea in a bit.”
I nod as she pats my arm reassuringly before walking away, leaving me standing in front of the door. I take a deep breath before knocking. When no response comes, I walk in, only to freeze at the sight of a car Bob Lewis can’t possibly own.
He rolls from underneath the car and sits up, clearly expecting his wife. His brows rise, and he looks back at the car before rising to his feet. “Lex, my boy. What brings you here? I didn’t think you two would come home this weekend.”
I shake my head, barely able to take my eyes off the original Windsor Motors car behind him. The same one I spent years looking for and nearly gave up on. This is the car my grandfather designed and built for my grandmother. He even named it afterher, and only three WMAnnie’swere ever built and sold. What is she doing here? I’ve been looking for her for years.
“It’s just me today,” I murmur, dragging my gaze back to my father-in-law. His expression falls, and he nods as he reaches for a torque wrench. He throws it my way, and I catch it easily, my hand wrapping around the tool. “Come help me with this, then. My favorite car won’t start.”
My heart pounds in my chest as I take in the immaculate state of the car. “How do you have this? I have the one that used to belong to my father, and my grandmother has the other. I knew there was a third, but I’ve never been able to track it down.” My grandfather once told me he gave the third to his protégé, and he promised me he’d introduce me to him someday. Grandpa told me I’d love him as much as he did, that he reminded him of my dad.
Bob smiles and runs his hand over the hood of the car gently. “Your grandfather gave it to me,” he says, “right along with the investment funds to start Lewis Motors.” I stare in shock, and Bob smiles. “I learned everything I knew from your grandfather, but he knew I wasn’t happy working for Windsor Motors. I didn’t want to build cars for the rich — I wanted to build cars people like me could afford, that they’d love. Your grandfather understood my vision and planned to expand Windsor Motors, until one day, he learned I’d always dreamt of building my own company. Instead of competing with me, he gave me his blessing and told me to go make him proud. That’s the kind of man your grandfather was, you know?”
He glances back at the car, his smile bittersweet. “Truthfully, I know what’s wrong with it, and I could fix it in ten minutes. I just like tinkering with it, because it’s…” Bob runs a hand through his hair and sighs.
I run a hand through my hair, understanding dawning. “It’s what my grandfather always did when he needed to think. He’d take a car apart and put it back together.”
Bob Lewis is the protégé my grandfather used to talk about. How could I have missed that? It didn’t flag in Bob’s background check either, and the only way that could’ve happened is if Silas Sinclair hid it from me, likely at my grandmother’s request.
“I feel like I keep saying this, but this, too, wasn’t something I kept from you purposely,” Bob says. “I just didn’t want you to feel like I was using my connection to your grandfather to get close to you. Your grandmother and I agreed that minimal involvement would be best for you. There was already so much pressure on you both to make your marriage work, and we didn’t want you to feel like we were using your affection toward your late grandfather against you. He wouldn’t have wanted that, would never have allowed it. He loved you more than anything.”
I glance at the torque wrench in my hand. “Raya and me… Grandpa was the one who arranged our marriage?”
I lost him to a heart attack shortly after I was abducted, and I know the stress I put him under when I went missing was a contributing factor, no matter what the doctors might say. One of the reasons I’ve been so scared to love Raya is because I didn’t think I deserved to. I felt like I had to atone for my sins, only to now find out that doing so directly contradicts my grandfather’s wishes. I bury a hand in my hair, my mind reeling.
Bob smiles. “Your grandfather always joked that he and I would become family one day, that he’d make it happen. I took Raya with me to visit him one day, and you were at his office with him. You were trying to put together a wooden car, and you let Raya help you. That was when your grandfather started to joke that she’d become a Windsor someday, that he’d steal her away for his youngest grandson.” He sighs and turns back toward his WM Annie. “I was surprised when your grandmothervisited me last year, and honestly, if it had been anyone but her, I’d never even have considered it, never would’ve even told my wife about the offer. Your grandmother kept an eye on my company throughout the years, like your grandfather used to, and the moment she realized we were in trouble, she offered a helping hand.”
“But it came with a price tag.”
He nods as he moves to the car’s engine, and I join him, leaning over it. This car is an even better condition than my own model, and it’s clear he treated it with reverence. “I wasn’t sure I made the right decision until a couple of days ago, when you held my daughter as she fell apart, and I realized how much you love her, how much she relies on you. I didn’t think an arranged marriage could work, but it did, and as always, your grandfather was right. He always had a penchant for being right, didn’t he? Drove your grandmother nuts.”
I smile and nod, my attention entirely on my father-in-law as he tells me stories about the past and lets me help him check each component in his clearly beloved car. I came here to console him, but instead, he handed me the last few remaining puzzle pieces I needed, consolingmeinstead. It’s almost like receiving permission from beyond, telling me that it’s okay to love my wife, that this time, things are going to be okay.
I just hope my intuition doesn’t fail me this time.
I hope I’m not misreading the signs.
Fifty
Lex
The edges of my lips turn up into a smile when I spot my wife at her desk, the office quiet and empty. “I thought your team went out for drinks after work?”
She looks up from her screen, and I lean in, pushing her hair to the side to kiss her neck. Her head falls back, and she sighs happily. “They did, but I really wanted to finish some of my work. I’m not really in the mood to socialize and drink tonight.”
I hum in agreement, pressing another kiss just below her ear. “What are you working on?”
“The code for the overnight automation. Let me wrap this up and then I’m ready to go home. I just want to finish it now since I’m taking some time off for Sierra’s wedding next week.” She looks at me then. “I still think it’s wild how you bought the whole company simply because I love their milkshakes, but I really love you for it, too. You have no idea how happy it makes me to work on this project. Every second I spend working on it, I’m reminded how much you… how much you care.”
How much Iloveher. She knows it, even if the words still terrify me. Never once has she pressured me into saying something I’m not ready to say, to admit my feelings for her. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve Raya, but I’m grateful for my wife every single day.
She hasn’t been herself since she found out about her dad, and though nothing has changed between them when we go home for the weekends, I know she’s sad they kept such a big secret from her. My wife is hurt, and I’m not quite sure how to make her feel better. She was there for me when I found out about my grandmother, offering me distractions and quiet support. Now it’s my turn to do the same for her.
“I do,” I murmur, pulling her out of her seat. “I do care, darling. More than you’ll ever know.”
She gasps when I steal her chair and pull her into my lap. “Lex,” she whisper-shouts. “Someone could walk in at any moment.”