Page 92 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
He added, "Alice will be thrilled when she hears."
"Let's keep it to ourselves for a bit," Aria said. "Please."
Crispin hesitated, then nodded. "Of course."
Later, he followed her into the kitchen, where she was pulling out ingredients with ease, her hands moving automatically. He stood by the counter, watching like she was magic.
"What are you making?"
"Byrek," she said. "Spinach, cheese, and egg."
"The famous byrek."
"It's the lunch special."
When Rahul and Lule came down from their room, Aria was just brushing the tops of the pastry with egg wash. The small dining area was already filling up. People murmured and smiled when they saw her; clearly, the byrek already had its fans.
Lule flopped into a seat, stealing a chip from Rahul's plate. "Why do the Welsh call lunch 'dinner' and dinner 'tea'? So confusing."
When she saw the byrek on the counter, she rubbed her hands together. "Ah, now that's more like it. Look at this golden beauty."
Lunch was chaos and laughter and compliments on the food. Crispin caught Aria smiling to herself more than once.
Later, he found her rinsing trays in the back kitchen.
"Walk with me?" he asked.
She hesitated before nodding.
They walked along the stony beach path behind the inn, the wind salt, laced and crisp. The sea roared softly beside them as the scent of brine filled the air. Sea gulls squawked as they swooped in the wind.
After a stretch of silence, Aria spoke. "I was scared. I didn't know how to tell you."
He looked at her, but she didn't meet his eyes.
"I had just found out about the engagement," she said. "And I got sick. Really sick. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. I didn't even know until I was a little over eight weeks."
He stopped walking. "How far along are you?"
"Twenty weeks," she said softly.
Silence again.
She looked up at him. "Marcus... Is he really your uncle?"
Crispin's jaw tightened. "My father's half-brother. I respected him-he was the one who mentored me. But I think he's the one who called you. The things you were told, none of it was true, Aria. I see now that I was too focused on holding on to the company, it's been in my family for generations. I wanted to protect it. I wanted to pass it down to our children." He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry you paid the price for that."
She hesitated, then began telling him about Marcus-the job offer, the veiled threats. How she'd said no and how she'd known instantly that wasn't the end of it.
Crispin's face darkened. "I didn't know," he said hoarsely. "I promise you, I didn't know."
She nodded. "Lule thinks that's why all my other jobs dried up. It was a ploy to make me feel there wasn't a way out. Even Mr. Lackenby suggested I could 'earn my way' in other ways. He made my skin crawl."
Crispin didn't say anything, but she could feel the fury radiating off him like wildfire.
"They won't get away with this," he said finally through clenched teeth. "I swear it."
He looked up at the sky. "It's going to rain."
