Her anxiety checks my teasing, and I grip her hand tightly. “Relax, he is apparently besotted with her, so I’m guessing she’s happy. We don’t force women, Alice, and if Rose married my brother, she did it willingly.”
“So, we are sisters-in-law as well as sisters. Who would have thought?”
The excitement shines in her eyes, and I smile, a rare one of happiness.
“It worked out well for you both.”
“Keep on proving that to me, Simeon, and I’ll be eternally happy.”
I prepare to deliver the next piece of news.
“We have a meeting with your grandfather in a few hours’ time.”
Her shocked gasp is her response, and she tenses. “Really. This is huge.”
“It will be interesting for sure.”
I nod at the plate of food.
“So, eat up. You will require the fuel to get through the day.”
“Thank you, Simeon.”
Her eyes swim with grateful tears. “I owe you so much. You really are my Prince Charming, no matter how much you will deny it.”
“Keep on telling yourself that, angel.”
I wink, causing the heat to flood her skin, and she groans. “And so hot. How did I get so lucky when I abandoned God for you?”
“You never abandoned God, baby, you just brought him along for the ride. A person doesn’t become wicked through association. You are merely attempting to save a soul with God’s blessing.”
“Save a soul?” She laughs out loud. “Then I’m fighting a losing battle because your soul is beyond redemption and you know it.”
She tosses her eyes as she lifts her silverware, and as we eat in companionable silence, the future is laid out before me in a far more satisfactory way than I thought I deserved. We will make a good team, both in and out of the bedroom, and as the mother to my children, I couldn’t have asked for more.
CHAPTER 34
ALICE
Ihave never been so nervous.
I’m dressed in a smart suit that Simeon purchased in the store where I tried to escape him. That seems so long ago now, and I am happy he prevented me from making a huge mistake because I wouldn’t have found him. The man destiny wanted for me, even though I was blinded by his criminality.
It’s only now I see the man behind it, and that has surprised me more than anything.
We are waiting in the reception of Goldsworthy enterprises and I’m on edge, wondering if my grandfather will be annoyed at my line of questioning.
Edward Goldsworthy may be angry that I am dragging up the past and challenging what appears to be fact.
Then again, he is my blood. The only part of my mother I have left, and I’m hungry for his memories. To discover a part of myself I know nothing about.
A man heads our way with an efficient smile.
“Please follow me. Mr. Goldsworthy will see you now.”
Simeon stands alongside me, and I’m grateful for his support. It doesn’t even enter my mind to ask him to wait herefor me. Wherever I go, he goes, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
The journey to my grandfather’s office is spent in tense silence, and I wonder if the assistant knows who I am. He gives nothing away, and I admire his cool demeanor because being confined in an elevator with Simeon Ravera is not for the faint-hearted.
