Page 43 of A Convenient Secret (Merged #3)

The table is absolutely silent, everyone listening to her story, our meals untouched. For them, it’s a tale of her past.

For me… I’m waiting to see how it connects to her scars. How it connects to our future.

She shakes her head like she needs to clear her thoughts. “I’m making it sound like a sacrifice. It wasn’t. I was interested in the family business, and to be honest, my brother’s tragedy was an opportunity for me, as bad as it sounds.

“I wouldn’t get that opportunity otherwise. Maybe some position within the company, but not a CEO gig. Anyway, I was enrolled in an MBA, and I started working for my father, being groomed to take over, and—”

I squeeze her hand to ground her. She’s blabbering again. The gesture gives her pause, and she smiles at me, flips her palm, and weaves her fingers through mine.

“Obviously, that didn’t sit well with my aunt, and the intrigues, very common in my family, escalated. It got to the point when I felt my life was in danger. It sounds dramatic, but where I come from, appearances matter, but behind the scenes, all gloves were off.”

“That’s horrible.” Concern mars Celeste’s face.

“You’re so brave.” Saar reaches over Corm to rub Lily’s shoulder. “Do you think they might have seen the pictures and know where you are? You are safe with us.”

It’s my job to comfort her. I wish I could hug her and tell her everything will be okay, but I need to respect her need to talk things through about us first.

As much as I’d like to snatch the mic and sing it to everyone, in the meantime I squeeze her hand.

“Jesus, I thought my family was a nightmare.” Cora lets out the air from her cheeks.

“I told you now because I trust you. I told you because you know me as Lily Thorne, and I hope you will continue to see me as her—”

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming.” My mother’s voice descends upon the room, and everyone’s attention turns to the podium. The worst timing ever.

“That’s why the article upset you so much,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it scared you.”

Her cousin almost got her killed. She must have been terrified that he would come after her since the piece came out. I had it taken down, and I thought that was it, but I never even thought… Fuck, I’m failing her already.

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.

The group breaks into private conversation, and we stare at each other.

Our conversation can’t happen here.

I can sense she is waiting for me to make the move. The laughter, the heat, the crowd all become unbearable, when the only thing we need is to be alone and find each other again. Under these new circumstances.

Yes, fucker, snap out of it and take her home.

“I need to get some water,” Lily announces and turns, shaking her head.

I move to follow her, but stop in my tracks.

“Nice ass on her,” a voice muses beside me, thick with a British accent.

My eyes flick to the offender. “What did you just say?”

But he doesn’t get to answer because I draw my arm back and my knuckles connect with his jaw, sending him backward. I lounge at him, but someone’s arms stop me.

“Declan,” Corm warns.

On the periphery of my blurred vision, I recognize that the party stopped around us, all eyes on us.

“Don’t you fucking so much as look at my wife.”

“Your wife?” The idiot scoffs, wiping blood from his lip.

“Yes, my wife.” I try to shake Corm’s arms from me. “If you value your life—”

“That’s enough.” Corm tries to stop me from making a public threat.

I finally shake my brother off, but I feel the presence of my colleagues ready to interfere.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I adjust my cuffs to give the illusion I’m composed, but I’m not sure I’m done punching him.

“Her fiancé.”