The Stranger I Married

Chapter 29: Worthy

The road unwound beneath them, the last of the afternoon light bleeding gold across the hills. Alex drove with one hand on the wheel, his other hand resting on Eve's knee. Her dress was silk—soft, cool against her skin, warm where his palm pressed through it. She watched his thumb trace a slow arc across the fabric, back and forth, like he was memorising the texture of it.

She hadn't realised she was holding her breath until she let it out.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"A little."

"Just a little?"

She glanced at him. "Maybe more than a little."

He squeezed her knee. "You faced your family today. Mine are easy compared to that."

"Your family hasn't met me yet."

"They're going to love you." He said it simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "My mother is going to cry. My father is going to watch you quietly and then decide you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And my grandfather—" He paused, a smile tugging at his mouth. "My grandfather is going to try to figure out if you're good enough for me."

"Try?"

"He won't succeed." Alex glanced at her. "He's going to realize you're better than I deserve within the first ten minutes."

She laughed despite herself. "That's not true."

"It's absolutely true." He lifted her hand, pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I'm a mess, Eve. You walked into that bar and somehow made me feel like I wasn't."

She felt her throat tighten. "You're not a mess."

"I was."

"And now?"

He met her eyes. "Now I'm trying to be worthy of you."

The words settled around her, warm and unexpected. She looked down at their joined hands—at the rings they had chosen together in that little shop, the interwoven branches on his finger, the diamond and rubies on hers. A week ago, they had been strangers. Now those rings felt like they had always been there.

"You are," she said quietly. "You already are."

They drove in comfortable silence for a few moments, the hills rolling past, the light softening. Eve watched the landscape change—fields giving way to stone walls, the first hints of the ranch appearing in the distance.

"Your cousin Julian," Alex said, his voice changing. "I didn't like the way he spoke to you."

"Julian speaks to everyone that way. It's his default."

"It's not acceptable."

She looked at him. "He's always been like that. Entitled. Belittling. He thinks because he's a man, the company should be his."

"And your grandmother?"

"She's been watching him. She's been watching all of them." Eve paused. "She already knows what he's doing. She's just waiting for the right moment to act."

"Your uncle Robert?"

"Worse than Julian. He's the one who taught Julian to be that way." Eve's voice tightened. "And the way he treats Caroline—"

"I noticed that too."

She turned to look at him. "You did?"

"The way he dismissed her at lunch. The way he shook her off when she tried to intervene." Alex's jaw tightened. "I didn't appreciate it. She was trying to help, and he treated her like she was invisible."

"Caroline is a good woman." Eve's voice softened. "She's trapped in a marriage that doesn't make her happy. She's been trapped for years. But she stays because she doesn't know how to leave."

"And your grandmother knows this?"

"Eleanor knows everything." Eve smiled faintly. "She's already putting plans in place. When Caroline decides to leave Robert—and she will, eventually—Eleanor will make sure she has everything she needs. Money. A place to stay. Legal support. Whatever it takes."

Alex was quiet for a moment. "I like your grandmother."

Eve smiled. "She likes you too."

He glanced at her. "I know."

She blinked. "You know?"

"She told me." He squeezed her hand. "When we were saying goodbye. You saw it—she pulled me aside and embraced me."

Eve remembered. She'd been watching from a few feet away, saying goodbye to her mother, but she'd seen it. The way Eleanor had stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Alex. The way he'd frozen for just a second before returning the embrace. The way her grandmother had held him for a long moment, her cheek resting against his shoulder.

"I saw," Eve said softly. "I was watching."

"She held me for a moment," Alex continued, his voice warm with the memory. "Then she pulled back and looked into my eyes. She said, 'Take care of my little darling girl. She's precious to me. More than you know.'"

Eve felt tears prick her eyes. "She said that?"

"She said that." He squeezed her hand. "And then she said, 'And Alex, you may call me Nanna.'"

Eve stared at him. "She said that too?"

"She did." Alex smiled. "The words hung there for a moment. I was so surprised I couldn't speak. Then she stepped back, her eyes bright, and said, 'And come back soon. I would love to get to know you.'"

Eve looked down at their joined hands, her throat tight. "She's never done that before. Not with anyone."

He was quiet for a moment, his thumb tracing a slow circle on her palm.

"I keep thinking about what she said," he admitted. "The way she looked at me when she said it. Like she'd already decided I was worth trusting." He paused. "I don't think anyone's ever done that before. Not like that. Not so quickly."

Eve looked at him. "Your grandfather trusted you."

"That's different. He raised me. He had to." Alex shook his head. "Your grandmother didn't have to do anything. She could have stayed distant. Formal. She could have made me earn it. Instead, she just—" He stopped, searching for the words. "She opened the door."

Eve was quiet for a moment. She thought about her grandmother—the woman who had built an empire, who had survived a marriage that would have broken most people, who had learned to trust no one because trusting had cost her everything.

Eleanor didn't open doors. Not for strangers. Not for anyone.

But she had opened it for Alex.

And Eve understood why.

His phone buzzed in the console. Alex glanced at it, then smiled.

"It's my grandfather."

"Now?"

"Now." He answered, putting it on speaker. "Hi, Grandpa."

"Where are you?" Edward's voice came through, warm and expectant. "Your mother is pacing."

"Tell her to stop."

"I've tried. She won't listen. She's reorganizing the flowers in the dining room for the third time. She says they're not arranged properly."

"They're flowers. They don't need to be arranged."

"They do when Catherine is nervous." Edward's voice was amused. "She's been like this all day. Asking me if her hair looks right. Asking me if the house is clean enough. Asking me if I've washed my hands."

Alex laughed. "Have you?"

"Of course I have." A pause. "She's also sent your father upstairs three times to change his jacket. Twice to change his pants."

"His pants?"

"He wore the grey ones first. She said they made him look tired. Then the navy ones. She said they were too formal. Then the grey ones again. He's currently in the brown ones. I think she's given up."

Alex shook his head, still smiling. "Poor Dad."

"Your father is a saint." Another pause. "So where are you?"

"About five minutes out."

"Five minutes?" Edward's voice rose slightly. "Your mother said you'd be here an hour ago."

"My mother is an optimist."

"Your mother is going to kill you." But there was no heat in it. "Drive safely. And Alex—"

"Yeah?"

"Bring her inside quickly. Your mother is about to explode."

Alex laughed. "I'll do my best."

He ended the call and glanced at Eve. "See? Nothing to worry about."

"Your grandfather called to tell us your mother is reorganizing flowers?"

"He called to warn us that my mother is about to explode." Alex squeezed her hand. "She's been waiting for this, Eve. For years."

Eve felt something shift in her chest. "You keep saying that."

"Because it's true." He met her eyes. "They've been waiting for me to find someone who made me happy. And now I have."

The car turned onto the long driveway. The house appeared ahead—stone walls, a wraparound porch, gardens that had clearly been planted by someone who loved color and chaos in equal measure.

"Ready?" Alex asked.

"No."

He smiled. "Good. Because I'm not ready either."

She looked at him. "You're not?"

"I'm terrified." He squeezed her hand. "But I'm also happy. And that's what matters."