Page 133 of A Convenient Secret

She smiles at me, and I see the courage and adoration in her eyes, and it’s almost my undoing. Fuck the audience; I take her hand and kiss it gently, my mother’s speech in the background reminding me to behave. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She nods. “I know.”

Her silent endorsement sets the final piece of my broken heart into its place, mending me.

We turn to listen to my mother, but I don’t hear anything. I lean in and whisper in Lily’s ear. “So what is your real name?”

It’s not like she could be anything but Lily to me.

She turns, her breath warm by my ear. “My full name is Lady Liliana Catherine Spinelli.”

The name sounds fucking aristocratic. It takes me a moment to compute… because she is fucking nobility. “The Spinelli food empire?” I stare at her incredulously.

She nods.

The woman beside me comes from one of the richest families in the world. I try to digest the information. She’s richer than me. Fuck, that’s refreshing. But that’s not what bothers me.

While everyone listens to my mother, I watch the beautiful profile of my wife. My wife. It hits me. Which is bothersome.

She took ten grand from me to marry me. It makes no sense.

The ring burns in my pocket.

I really don’t know her at all.

Applause erupts as my mother announces the sum this event raised, and a sea of waiters in white gloves floods the room to serve us coffee and dessert.

“I’m sorry. I need some fresh air.” I drop the napkin on the table, pushing my chair back.

“Dude, it’s sweltering hot there,” Xander comments.

“Declan,” Lily’s voice soothes over me, but I have so much pent-up energy, I can’t stay here.

I bolt for the door to the outdoor patio, open it, and rush outside. Fuck, Xander was right. The humidity sticks to my shirt as I try to find a shaded area.

If I wished for some privacy to collect my thoughts, I went in the wrong direction. The staff opens the three sets of double doors, and the guests file out to continue their chatter.

Corm finds me. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I just needed a moment. Where is everyone?”

“We’re here,” Saar says.

All of my colleagues join the circle, along with their partners.

My eyes find Lily’s.

She looks lost.

I feel lost.

It’s like there is a gap between us that I don’t quite know how to bridge.

I want to step closer and tell her she is safe with me. Tell her I love her and everything will be okay. Tell her we will defy her family, even though I don’t yet understand what that entails.

I hate being in the dark.

But I can’t move. For whatever reason, I just can’t.