Three years later
Lexington
“You look beautiful, little fairy,” I murmur as I take in the long golden dress my wife is wearing.
She grins up at me, despite her obvious nerves. “You look amazing too,” she says, her hands running over my white shirt before she places them on my suit jacket.
I smirk and raise a brow teasingly. “It’s an authentic Raven Windsor Couture suit.”
Raya bursts out laughing, her nerves fading away as her head falls back, and I just stare at her, fucking mesmerized. “You’ll never let me live that down, will you?”
“Nope,” I murmur, pulling her closer, my lips settling just below her ear. My wife gasps and places her hand on my chest, drawing my eyes to the rock on her ring finger. Her gaze heats when I grab her hand and kiss her fingers just below her wedding and engagement rings, loving the way both look on her.
She bites down on her lip when she feels me harden against her, and then she shakes her head. “We can’t be late tonight,” she whispers, before rising to her tiptoes, her lips brushing against my ear. “But I dare you to dance with me tonight, in private.”
I grin from ear to ear when she pulls back, our eyes locking. “I can’t believe you’re mine,” I whisper, still in disbelief. Three years since our second ceremony, our real one, and I still can’t quite wrap my mind around the fact that she chooses to be with me.
“I know the feeling,” she murmurs, rising to her tiptoes to steal a quick kiss.
I’m filled with pride as I offer my wife my arm. “This is your night, baby. In case I haven’t said it yet, it’s a true honor to stand by your side tonight, and every night. I am so proud of you. You have no idea.”
She looks at me like she completely understands how I feel, and my heart flutters when she kisses my cheek. “I love you,” she says, and I sigh happily. “Thank you for always being there, for supporting me endlessly and selflessly. This isn’t just my night, Lex. It’s ours.”
“I love you more,” I tell her, right before we walk onto the stage to unveil LWM’s first-ever fully solar powered midrange car. The safety testing and mass production phases took years, but we’re proud of what we’ve created, and knowing we’re taking a giant leap toward sustainability for the whole industry is more rewarding than any other career milestone I’ve ever experienced. Like every other good thing in my life, I owe it all to my wife.
“Good evening, everyone,” I say, addressing the packed crowd that’s gathered, all of my siblings and all the Kingstons in attendance, every one of them dressed in various shades of yellow. “It is my honor to unveil the newest, most innovative car that we, at Lewis Windsor Motors, have ever created. I dare say it is our most groundbreaking vehicle yet, but it would not exist without my father-in-law, Bob Lewis. Please, will you join me on the stage?”
Raya holds out her hand when her father takes a hesitant step toward the stage, shaking his head. He still can’t deny his daughter a thing, and I grin as he makes his way to us, his hand wrapping around hers. He retired last year, handing the company over to Raya and me. Every Monday he still drops by to help a little here and there, and Raya and I still spend most weekends at her parents’ house, even though we no longer need to. Her parents are such an important part of our lives, and neither of us would be standing here today, unveiling something so extraordinary, without Bob.
“My father was the visionary behind this incredible invention,” Raya says, squeezing her dad’s hand. He looks visibly emotional, and I smile at him reassuringly. “Lex and I simply executed that vision. Please do us the honor of unveiling our latest car, Dad.”
He looks at me like he can’t believe we’re truly stepping aside when we’ve worked so incredibly hard on this car. He’s a little like Raya in that way — he doesn’t always realize how loved he is, how much devotion he inspires just by being himself. I nod at him reassuringly, and he inhales sharply before pushing the large red button on the stage’s podium.
The middle part of the stage begins to spin slowly as the car rises from a car lift underneath, and he stares at it, mesmerized. I can’t imagine what it must be like for him to finally see all his hard work come to fruition. This car will be widely available at every single one of our retailers starting tomorrow, and we’re expecting to sell at least 200,000 worldwide. It won’t be long before our competition follows suit, and eventually, we’ll see more zero emission cars than not, all thanks to Bob Lewis.
“We named it The LWM Lewis,” I announce, “after the man who invented it. It is fully solar powered, and we’ve engineered it to work even in areas with little sun. For those of you who aren’t quite comfortable with a fully solar-powered car just yet, we’ve made sure hybrid versions are available too, and those will be chargeable in the same way as your current electric cars. We are, however, fully confident that you’ll never need to charge it. The option is simply available to you for your comfort.”
Relieved murmurs cascade through the room, and Raya smiles at me knowingly. One of the biggest challenges she foresaw was handling people’s resistance to change. It’s not uncommon for people to be wary, and we know we’ll have to win consumers’ trust as we introduce something so unknown. In another year or two, they’ll no longer need that safety net, and we’ll start to see real progress as a society.
I stand back as my wife takes over and explains the features of the car. Bob moves to stand next to me as we both watch her in awe. “Thank you,” he says.
I frown and shake my head. “Please don’t. I’m really sorry we weren’t able to launch this fully under the Lewis Motors brand. Since it’s such an unprecedented car, I just couldn’t get safety approval as quickly as I’d hoped. This was meant to be yours, and I’m sorry I couldn’t—”
“—no,” he cuts me off, smiling. “Thank you for making my daughter so happy. I almost didn’t let you marry her when I came to see you that day in your lab, and you told me you weren’t sure you could love her.”
I tense as I think back to that day. “What made you change your mind?”
He grins then. “The way you looked when you said her name. You looked tormented, like only a man in love could. I knew, even then, that you’d taken a teaching position in an attempt to get to know her. The way you felt about Raya was written all over your face. Even if I hadn’t let you, you’d have found a way to make her your wife.”
I grin as I glance back at my wife. “I’d already bought that yellow diamond on her finger,” I admit. “I didn’t even know why I’d bought it. It was too much for an arranged marriage, but I saw it, and I knew I’d end up giving it to her someday.”
Bob chuckles and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “And here you are, my boy. Happy at last.”
I grin back at him and nod. “Happy at last.”
“Lex?” Raya says, offering me her hand. “Now that the announcement is over, we’d better go and open the dance floor. Will you dance with me?”
I grin, as I entwine our fingers. “With you? Always.”
