Chapter 24 #2
Cora laughs, a little hesitantly at first, then more fully. She’s seated on the velvet settee beside Lottie, a teacup balanced in her hands. Her legs are crossed, her expression relaxed for the first time since we arrived.
Her laugh is everything. It rings delicate, but grounded. Like her.
I watch her over the rim of my cup. Still in awe. She was wide-eyed when we arrived, the size and opulence of the house hitting her like a freight train of antique mirrors and marble floors.
But now? Now she’s settled into the afternoon tea like she was born to it.
After my mother and grandmother welcomed her warmly, she started relaxing, and—no surprise there—blending right in with the women in my life.
Lottie and Mom flank her like long-lost sisters. Nana Sybil reigns over the corner armchair, watching my wife with her sharp gaze.
Cora fits. More than fits.
Despite everything that should make her feel like an outsider, she doesn’t play the part. She listens, she teases, she holds her own.
If my heart weren’t already bruised with all the lies I’m sitting on, it might burst with how proud I am of her.
“When are Dad and Liam getting here?” I ask, partly to break my stare before someone comments, partly because I want the storm to pass already.
“Dinner.” Mom smiles at me. “Sterling’s wrapping up meetings at the firm. William’s flying in from DC this afternoon.” She checks her watch. “He should land soon.”
“I want to thank you again, Cora,” Mom adds, reaching for a cucumber sandwich. “For interrupting your honeymoon so you could make it to the gala. It’s a cause very dear to my heart.”
“It’s nothing,” Cora says quickly, her eyes darting to me. “I mean, not nothing—of course it’s important. I just meant I’m happy to be here.”
She glares at me.
“Such a considerate girl,” Nana Sybil muses, swirling her tea. “And such nice hips. Clearly childbearing ones.”
Cora chokes on her tea.
Lottie clasps a hand over her mouth.
I set down my cup. “Nana.”
“What?” My grandmother shrugs, entirely unbothered. “It’s true. And it was only a question of time before you got one of your conquests knocked up. At least you chose well.”
“Sybil,” Mom warns, though her voice carries a barely concealed laughter. “We’re just… thrilled for you. We hope you’ll consider having a wedding reception here. Even if you want to wait until later. After the baby.”
She pats Cora’s hand. My wife goes white, blinking, probably hoping to be teleported to another dimension.
“Nope,” I cut in. “Not pregnant. We just couldn’t wait to be together, that’s all.”
Cora coughs, and I rush to take her cup from her. She looks at me with what feels like a death threat in her eyes. I put her cup on the serving table.
Lottie raises her eyebrows, clearly enjoying this.
“Well.” Nana sighs. “Plenty of time. Though I’ll need at least one great-grandchild before I die. It’s getting harder to threaten my body into staying alive.”
“I think we need to get ready before dinner,” I say, tugging Cora’s hand. “It’s been a long flight. Time zones, you know.”
Mom waves us off. “Go. There’s a fresh set of towels in your bathroom.”
Cora lets me tow her up the stairs. We reach the landing, and I guide her to the left, down the hall toward my room.
“You okay?” I ask, only once the door clicks shut behind us.
She leans back against it. “We interrupted our honeymoon?”
Fuck. “Technically, we did.”
Cora shakes her head with a weak laugh. “So… Nana Sybil… Hips? Seriously?”
“She has a way with words.”
Cora laughs. “Jesus, why do they think I’m pregnant? I thought your father would clue your mother in. I feel horrible for lying to them.”
I walk to her and place my hands on either side of her face. This is the perfect time to come clean.
“Cora—” I whisper.
“Oh my God.” She pushes past me and runs toward the wall of windows, flinging the door to the terrace open. “Is this your backyard?”
She leans against the marble banister, her feet swinging in the air as she takes in the manicured lawn, groomed hedges, and flower beds.
“There is a lake, and a fountain? This place is just… I think I want to live here.” She looks at me, her eyes dancing with excitement.
Okay, confession interrupted by the view.
“Slow down. I’m almost thirty; I’m not moving back with my parents.”
She laughs. “I never had a garden. I always wanted one.”
That wasn’t on her list in the sunflower book. “We’ll have the largest garden ever.”
Her eyes search mine. Shit. My promises and commitments are coming left, right, and center, and we both know we need to talk about this marriage that started on false pretenses.
She rises to her tiptoes and kisses me. And I kiss her back. Deeply. Slowly. Willing every unspoken thing to pass through our lips like this instead.
I kiss her because it’s easier than talking.
She leans into me. The tension leaks from her body like air from a balloon. When I pull away, she rests her forehead against my chest.
“I love your family.”
“Wait till you meet my brother and Dad.” I sigh, kissing her crown.
“Don’t do that. I was nervous about Lottie and your mother, and it went almost without a hiccup. And I love Nana Sybil.”
“Only because she likes your hips.”
She laughs.
I smooth her hair back, my hand lingering. Her scent settles into my skin, into my bones. This moment should feel safe.
But it doesn’t.
Because the weight of the lie I haven’t told her about yet sinks deeper into my chest.
She deserves the truth. About why I really asked her to marry me. About my father’s true ultimatum.
I stroke her cheek and kiss her hair.
I’ll tell her.
After dinner.
Or after one more day where everything feels like it could be real.
Even if I already know…
That the truth will ruin it all.