Claire was just a bit more fun than Cindy, Dewitt thought. Maybe that was the magic of family. It was just easier between him and Claire.
"Okay, you two go on ahead. I'll catch up once I finish up here." Dane didn't bother to change his mind about seeing Claire later. She let him do whatever he wanted.
As soon as Dane was gone, Shirley, Sophia, and Len squeezed into the back seat, making all kinds of faces at each other. Everyone agreed-Dane was ridiculously good-looking. But honestly, Dewitt was handsome too, just in a totally different way. Dane was the cool, distant type. Dewitt had this wild, untamed energy that was hard to resist.
"I like Dewitt more," Sophia said, propping her chin on her hand and staring at Dewitt's dreadlocks, completely lost in thought. Her own personality was bold and easygoing. Of course she'd go for a man dripping with confidence and that raw kind of masculinity.
Len just shot her a look. "You might like him, but he definitely doesn't like you."
Sophia rolled her eyes. "What do you know? I just admire him, alright? Turning everything into some drama about romance is so childish.”
Len held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, whatever you say. You're the pretty one here, who am I to argue?"
Claire and Dewitt rode together in the same car. She could already tell he wanted to talk in private. Sure enough, once they pulled away, Dewitt cut right to it. "So, what's going on with you and Dane? If you two just knew each other through Pandora, he'd have just said hi and moved on. Instead, he's making special plans to come see you tonight."
Claire didn't even hesitate. "My grandfather's family is very close with the Green Family. Dane's uncle was actually my mother's fiancé, originally."
Dewitt stared at her in disbelief. "Wait... so Agassi stole someone else's bride?"
You really couldn't fault Dewitt for being shocked.
He'd met Melissa before. She was gorgeous, absolutely stunning, with a presence that turned heads. When they were kids, everyone in the.
village envied Agassi for lan hen
such a beautiful wife. No one guessed she was actually stolen from someone else. Guess
sometimes a good wife really does come at a price.
He kept asking, "So what's up with The Green Family now? Hold on, are you saying your grandfather's family is from Cabinda too? You went there to reconnect with them?"
Back in the day, Cindy never actually knew where Melissa's family came from, or what they did. Pandora never mentioned them. Everyone sort of assumed Melissa's parents were gone. Otherwise, how would Agassi have convinced her to move to their tiny village?
Claire nodded. “Yeah. You know my mom's last name, don't you?”
Dewitt looked embarrassed, running a hand through his hair. “Honestly... I've only ever heard people call her Melissa."
"Her full name is Melissa Churchill," Claire said.
"Churchill?" Dewitt repeated, startled. He made his living in Kaston, nowhere near Cabinda, but there was only one Churchill family in all of Cabinda that mattered. "Melissa is from The Churchill Family?"
Claire nodded. Dewitt blinked,
processing that. That was a serious power family; top of the top. He'd always thought his own family was something special, with Pandora being the richest of them all but next to the Churchills, even they looked low-key. The Churchill Family was on another level. Old money famous names, high society totally in the same league as The Green Family. No wonder the families had arranged a marriage.
Still, despite that engagement, it never turned into a real wedding.
Agassi had stolen Melissa away, but somehow, the two families hadn't
ended up feuding for generations. Dewitt looked at Claire. Wait you saying the Greens and the Churchills want you and Dane to honor that old engagement?"
"You catch on fast," Claire said, shooting him a thumbs up.
Dewitt felt like he'd been struck by lightning. "And you actually agreed? Seriously? Did they force you into it?"