Page 114 of A Secret and a Lie

“Ah, Miss Allison,” Ford’s assistant greets me with a professional smile, using the name I gave him last time I was here. “What can I do for you?”

For the first time since I started using that name, I don’t want to beAllison; I want to establish myself asMrs. Crawford,and that observation is startling. “I’m here to see my husband.”

He eyes me for a moment before pressing a button on his desk and disappearing into Ford’s office. Standing here with a brown sack in my hand, I’m feeling silly. What was I thinking, showing up here with lunch?

When Edward emerges a moment later, he’s not alone.

Ford grins, holding the door open for me. The moment we’reshut inside, he’s pushing me up against the door, his mouth finding mine as his palms cradle my cheeks, kissing me stupid until excited chills break out across my skin.

“This is a welcome surprise,” Ford remarks against my lips before kissing me again. “Very welcome.”

I smile, breathless as I explain, “I brought you lunch.”

I hold up the brown paper sack and cringe internally. “I didn’t cook it myself, I promise.”

He chuckles, his dimples emerging. “I would’ve eaten it anyway.”

Blushing, I capture my bottom lip between my teeth. Why does he always say the dreamiest fucking things?

“Bold thing to claim, considering I turned eggs into ash like it was some kind of magic trick.”

He grins, reaching into the paper sack and removing the containers of Thai food I picked up. “You could win a game show with that kind of talent. Remember me when you’re famous.”

I toss my head back and laugh, joy seizing my brain. “Haven’t you heard? I’m already famous.”

“Ah, yes, the famous Madam, and wife of the famous billionaire bachelor.”

Smiling, I bust open the packet of chopsticks and take the seat across from him, his desk between us. My attention lingers on his left hand where his wedding ring catches the light as he shovels a bite of chicken into his mouth. “You’re not a bachelor anymore.”

“I went from single and G-rated to married and X-rated practically overnight.”

“Something tells me you’ve always been X-rated; you just needed someone to hand you the keys to unlock that.” I wink at him.

“I’m not sure it was the keys so much as the teacher.”

I smile but remain silent because I didn’t reallyteachFord as much as I guided him.

“So, what prompted this visit?” he asks, changing the subject before taking another bite.

“What if I told you I missed you?”

He arches an eyebrow, a knowing smirk creeping over his face. “Did you?”

I shrug, aiming for nonchalance. “Maybe.”

“Doll, you should never lie to your husband.”

One side of my mouth lifts. “A lady never lies.”

He laughs, and it strikes me then how…normalthis interaction is and how much I want this to be our life. I want to be the one he cooks for, the one who makes his dimples come out to play, the one who brings him lunch and laughs with him about mundane things. There’s an ache inside me to be his wife in every sense of the word and that’s something I never thought I’d experience.

After everything that happened with Grady, I was sure that marriage wasn’t in the cards for me. Ford was the only person who could’ve changed that.

“I did miss you, though,” I admit. Giving him this truth feels good, liberating. “After all, I’ve got lost time to make up for.”

“I know what you mean.” His answering smile is warm. “Good thing we’ve got a lifetime to make up for it.”

My stomach flips, and I smile into my carton of noodles. Glancing around his office, I note that nothing about his space has changed. Behind his desk are a handful of photos of Ford and his grandfather. My husband is a child in a couple and wearing Dress Blues in another. In the last framed image, he’s standing with several men in front of a Humvee all wearing helmets.