Page 115 of Always Knew It Was You

Only to have Micah drop this bomb on me.

“I thought we already agreed that the ruse was over.”

“It’s not for the ruse,” he says. “For real this time. He wants to meet you because he can tell how much I care about you, and while there, I’m going to come clean about everything.”

“Are you serious?” I can’t help but gape at him. I know how much his grandfather’s opinion means to him and coming clean could risk that.

“Yeah,” he says and reaches across the table to hold my hand. “I’m serious about this, Carly, serious about you. I want him to know how much you mean to me and who you really are to me.”

Emotion rises in my throat, making my eyes misty again.Oh, God, don’t cry.I don’t even know how I still have any tears left in me with the way I’ve been bawling all of yesterday. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones.

But I can’t help but remember my last meeting with his grandfather and how unpleasant that was. I’m not looking forward to another one.

“I mean...” I linger on the word. “Do I have to?”

He thinks about it. “No, you don’t have to. At least not for now, but you should probably meet him eventually before the wedding.”

“The wedding?” I squeak.

“Yeah. Youaremy fiancée, remember?” he winks, and something in my chest eases.

Oh, right. He was just joking.

I shake my head. “Alright, but if he starts talking about homeless people again I’m going to say something.”

“Please do,” he chuckles. “That old dog could learn a thing or two.”

Micah takes us there on his private jet the next day, once more it’s a thrilling experience. So is the limo ride to his grandfather’s brownstone in the Upper East Side.

As we walk in through the classic, luxurious dark oak doors, my first thought is that it looks and smells like old money. Understated colors, ceramic fixtures, a mild rich unidentifiable scent in the atmosphere that just seems to suit the room for some reason, even though I’ve never smelled anything like it before. Like leather with hints of… spice and lemon? I don’t know because I can’t really pick apart the different notes. It comes together so seamlessly and it’s one of those things where the whole is more sophisticated than the sum of its parts.

I take in the elegant decor, a mix of modern and classic, the high, arched ceilings interrupted by pillars, and the French windows pouring in light.

“Nice to see you again, son.”

I freeze at the same time Micah does, peeking from behind to find that it’s not Micah’s grandfather we meet in the vast space. Sitting in the living room is another man who looks like a bigger, meaner-faced version of his grandfather.

Micah freezes when he sees him and I know who the man is before he even says the word.

“Dad.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

MICAH

“Dad.” My father has his scolding face on, meaning he’s about to start telling me off in five, four, three...

“What on earth is wrong with you, Micah?” he asks. “You’ve been ignoring my calls all week. Not giving me any updates. And now your grandfather tells me that you got affianced to a woman you just met, a woman who he says is some kind of imposter.”

The minute the word leaves his mouth I feel Carly stiffen behind me. I glance over at my grandfather’s unapologetic expression.

My expression hardens. I understand this for what it is. An intervention.

My grandfather likely didn’t mean any of what he said on the phone. He just said it to get me here, so they could gang up on me and Carly.

And while I can take it, I hate that I’ve inadvertently put Carly in this situation once again.

“With all due respect, Dad.” My voice is low, silky with my anger. “You don’t get to dictate my love life. Neither do you, Grandfather. And the fact the two of you called me and my fiancée here to do... whatever the fuck this is, is total bullshit. And the two of you can frankly fuck off with that for all I care.”

---