Page 77 of The Wrong Fiancée

Tate, dressed in his usual linen pants and button-down, sat at the head of the long wooden table, his laughter booming as he watched his granddaughter, Solène, run circles around us. He had the look of a man in his element, with a glass of red wine in hand and an easy smile on his face. Every so often, he’d catch Solène as she zoomed past, scooping her up and lifting her high into the air. Their laughter would spill into the room, bright and carefree, before he set her down again—only for her to take off running once more.

Duncan sat quietly at the table. He wore a loose T-shirt and shorts, and though he had that perpetual grumpy look on his face, it was impossible not to notice the way his hard edges softened every time his daughter got near him. Solène would fling herself into his lap mid-run. Duncan would momentarily abandon his stoic demeanor, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close before letting her go again. With Elsa, his wife, he was the same—watching her with a reverent softness, his gruffness slipping away entirely.

Elsa was a whirlwind of sunshine. She wore a white and bluedress that caught the breeze every time she moved. With her bright smile and French accent, she was the opposite of Duncan's quiet intensity, but together they made sense. She was a woman who could pull people into her orbit without even trying. And tonight, she was on a mission.

Iwas it!

We'd just finished dinner—grilled mahi-mahi, fresh poke, and tropical fruit—and now everyone was lingering at the table, sipping wine, and picking at the leftover pineapple and bananas that sat in the middle of the table.

Elsa asked me to join her for a walk, and as we stepped away, I heard Dean laugh at something. I turned to look at him and saw his eyes crinkling at the corners. He looked comfortable, relaxed, and—dare I say it—happy. He hadn't been like this when he'd first come to the island. Even though he'd told me several times, I now believed that he and Felicity were never going to happen. When she was around, he was tense—now, he was loose, chill.

"Elika is a lovely name. I've never heard it before," Elsa said to me as we walked barefoot on the cool sand.

The night air was warm but not too hot—a perfect August evening in Hawaii. The moon would rise soon and cast a silver shimmer over the ocean.

"It's Hawaiian for Elizabeth," I told her. "My name on my birth certificate is Elikapeka Leina Hamlet. But my first name got shortened to Elika. Some people call me Leina, which means ‘taking a leap’in Hawaiian."

"People ask me if I'm named after the Disney movie," Elsa said sardonically.

As we walked, she added, "You're good with Solène. She adores you already."

I smiled. "She's adorable. And fearless."

Elsa chuckled. "Yes, fearless like her father. But Duncan is different now,oui?" She tilted her head slightly, glancing at me. "When we first married, he was...how do you sayconfuse…ah confused? He didn't know what love meant, or so he said. He only slept with escorts. Can you believe it?"

I laughed. "How did you two meet then?"

She made a face. "I may have pretended to be an escort."

"Oh my God!"

"You don't know the half of it, and someday, I'll tell you the whole story. But we married because I was pregnant, and, well, he didn't know what to do with a wife." She laughed at the memory, clearly not bitter about it.

I looked at her, surprised at how easily she shared something so personal. "But you figured it out."

She nodded, her eyes softening. "Wedid,oui. Butmerde, Duncan didn't make it easy." She paused, looking back toward the house where Dean sat, speaking with his father. "Dean helped me in those early days. He was ready to kick his brother'scul…ah…ass for me. He's protective of Emilia and me."

"You're all close as a family," I remarked.

"Yes. Very." Elsa stopped, turning to me with that same bright smile. "You should give him a chance,Elikapeka. He's a good man. I know he was animbecileto you but don't judge him on one mistake."

I bit my lip, unsure how to respond at first. But her kindness, her sincerity, made it easy to be honest. "Iamgiving him…givingusa chance," I admitted. "I don't know how it'll work out—me here, him...God knows where. But I want to see where it takes us."

"But he told us he’s staying here," Elsa said, furrowing her brows. "Damian is promoting Dean’s second-in-command to take over the Asian operations. Dean wants to stay on Kauai and run the U.S. office so Damian can cut back on his workload. You know, before Damian and Duncan got married, they worked constantly. Now, they want to scale back and spend more time with the family."

"I…Dean said he was here for a few months." I didn't want him to change his life for me. What if we didn't work out? Would he resent me? Maybe he'd hate being here and giving up the big job he had.

"Arrêtez ça," Elsa snapped.

"What?"

"I said stop it. I can see it on your face. You're thinking he's going to get bored. He's going to miss his work. Dean will find a way to continue to be part of Archer Arts & Antiquities without it being his entire life." Elsa kicked some sand. "In fact, I think that might be good for him."

We walked closer to the water, getting our feet wet. My toes curled into the damp sand.

"We haven't known each other long," I let my insecurities show.

"Duncan and I had sex one time before we married," she countered.

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