Watching her closely, I searched for any clues that might tell me what she was thinking when I noticed she twisted the engagement ring around her finger as a nervous habit.
Gently, I took charge. “Do you like the ring?”
Startled from her thoughts, Lucy’s head snapped up for a split second before she focused her attention on the ring gracing her finger. Quietly she asked, “Is this really your grandmother’s ring?”
Reaching out slowly to grasp her hand, I was surprised when she didn’t pull away. Turning the hand containing the sparkling diamond so it was on full display, I gave her a shy smile. “Yes. She was very special to me.”
“Will you tell me about her?”
“Of course. Like you, she loved her family very much, her grandsons especially. She would have loved you. Your passion, your loyalty, your compassion.”
“You said she was creative-minded?”
My smile grew. “Oh, yes. She loved to paint. Our ancestral home, Foxway Manor, is full of her work. In another life, I know she would have loved the opportunity to showcase her pieces in a gallery. I think she’d have very much approved of how you can balance a career and still fulfill your royal duties.”
“Why didn’t your brother give this ring to his wife?”
“It wasn’t his to give. Grandmother—Marisol was her name—left it to me when she passed. She told me it would take a strong woman to tame me and that she would be well-deserving of the ring that symbolized her many years of love with my grandfather.” Lucy blushed again, so I squeezed her hand, emphasizing, “She wasn’t wrong about that part. You are stronger than you know. I truly don’t know how you handle it all.”
Those blue eyes flashed to mine, and her shaky voice replied, “I tread water every day. Some days, I fear it will all pull me under, and I’ll drown.”
I would have given anything to pull her into my arms and tell her she could lean on me, but I knew it was too soon. Instead, I offered, “Soon, you won’t have to. Will you tell me why you’re secretly designing intimate apparel?”
Pulling her hand from mine, she hugged her knees to her chest. “I meant what I said. No one knows. Well, beyond my sisters-in-law, but I can trust them with my life.”
“Why? Every piece I saw was stunning. Why wouldn’t you want to attach your name to such incredible work?”
Her eyes never left mine, but I saw a shadow of doubt cross them. “Mynameis exactly why I keep it a secret.”
My brows drew down. “I don’t follow.”
“With Addy June, I’ll never know if my success was because of my designs or because of who I am. My family name carried enough weight that I could get investors right out of design school, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could stand on my own two feet.”
Was she truly insecure about her talent? There was so much more to Lucy, and I knew this was just scratching the surface of the woman buried deep—the one hidden by her polished outer shell.
Carefully, I asked, “And have you found success with your lingerie line?”
Biting her lip, she looked down and nodded. “It does well enough that I could have afforded to walk away the day my grandfather asked me to marry an unknown man. I was halfway out the door at his suggestion, ready to leave that part of my life behind if he made me choose.”
Impressed, I countered, “Then why didn’t you?”
“Because I love my family, even if I don’t want to live the same life they do. Walking out that day would have fractured relationships; I would never have been truly happy living the life I always dreamed of, knowing someone else had to lose for me to win. It was impossible to refuse when he offered me the chance to have the best of both worlds.” She shrugged. “So, here we are.”
“Here we are,” I repeated.
She covered her mouth as a yawn threatened to split her face. While I’d learned more about the woman beneath the mask in the past hour than I had in the past twenty years, I could appreciate how draining it was to be vulnerable, and we had plenty of time to continue getting to know each other later.
“You should get some sleep,” I offered.
Taking the out, she nodded, standing. “I think you’re right.”
I smirked, every fiber of my being wanting to point out this was the first time she ever admitted that to me, but I didn’t want to push my luck. Instead, I simply said, “Goodnight, Lucy.”
“Goodnight, Preston.” Those were the last words we said to each other as she disappeared into her bedroom.
Tonight was a fresh start for us, and tomorrow, I would begin my quest to regain Lucy’s trust.
“What made you get into fashion?” I asked out of the blue.
