“I have to do this on my own.” Something about the rawness of being a widow made me cut straight to the point. I no longer had the patience or energy to worry about how I framed my words. “I want to hear directly from the lawyer myself.”
“Are you worried I might try to cover up any wrongdoing to spare you and the kids?”
“No.” But if Ali hadn’t trusted his cousin with this matter, neither would I. “I need to take more control of my life.” I’d been too willing to blindly let Ali take the lead. He’d carried the weight of being the family’s protector, the person ultimately responsible for the survival and well-being of our little tribe. I’d so eagerly yielded control of the finances that Ali was able to buy awhole houseon the side.
I was done living in the dark. I needed to learn the truth. And I was going to go about it my way.
Chapter Ten
Before
Ali ceremoniously proposed during a hike at Great Falls.
“Shouldn’t you be asking my dad?” I responded idiotically, completely surprised when Ali went down on one knee.
“I already have,” he said.
“Then yes!” My heart felt like it would burst. I couldn’t ever remember being as happy as I was in that moment. “Yes! Yes!” I could barely stand still while he slipped the ring onto my finger. It was perfect. A round-cut diamond in a platinum setting. Later, Lulu told me that she helped Ali select the ring. My sister knew exactly what kind of diamond I wanted.
Both sets of parents and our siblings emerged from their hiding places to congratulate us. “Alf mabrouk, a thousand congratulations.” My mother kissed me hard on both cheeks, glowing with as much happiness as I felt. Afterward, Ali’s parents took everyone out to eat, and talk turned to thetulba. During the official asking ceremony, Ali’s family would bring their male elders to formally ask our family patriarchs for my hand in marriage.
“Marhabobkum.Welcome to you all,” Ali’s father said formally as we waited for our food to arrive. “We are very pleased to have another daughter in our family.”
“Marhaban bikum,” Baba responded in kind. “How lucky we are to welcome a new son.”
Ali’s favorite sister, Julia, who sat next to me, lightly bumped her shoulder with mine. “My brother looks at you,” she teased me and him, “like you’re a juicy steak he can’t wait to devour.”
Sitting across from us, Ali shook his head. “I should have made sure you didn’t sit next to Julia.” But he said it with a mix of affection and humor. I loved the way he treated his sisters.
In the car with Ali on the way home, I studied the engagement pictures. They were spectacular against the backdrop of frothy sheets of water cascading over glistening boulders. I realized Ali had chosen the location because we both supposedly loved hiking. Guilt flashed through me. It was time to come clean.
“I have a confession to make before we get married.”
He briefly took his eyes off the road to shoot me a glance. “That sounds ominous.”
“I’ve sort of been lying to you.”
“About what?”
I took a deep breath and confessed before I lost my nerve. “I don’t love hiking, and I don’t love the outdoors.” But then I quickly added, “But I do love experiencing them with you.”
“And?”
“And what? That’s it.” His flippant response surprised me. “I was pretending to be this outdoorsy girl, which I’m not.”
He turned into a strip mall, pulling up to one of the parking spaces farthest from the shops. He turned off the engine and looked at me, his eyes glittering with amusement. “You could have just told me the truth.”
I winked, relieved he wasn’t mad or disappointed. “But I needed to make sure you bagged the prize.”
He shook his head and laughed in that low-key way of his. I never stopped being pleased when he laughed at my jokes. “You’re really something.” He reached for me. “Time for me to claim my prize.”
We met in the middle. It was awkward with the car console between us, but we made it work. Ali pulled me close and kissed me deeply,completely, without reservation. It was sensational. My little white lie earned me my first real kiss.
“Mmmm,” I murmured when we briefly came up for air.
He nuzzled my neck. “That was totally worth the wait.”
“Totally,” I said dreamily, looking forward to another round. “Maybe I should lie more often.”
