Chapter 7 - Not After Tonight
Six months later, snow covered Chicago again.
Evelyn sat at the same table on the forty-second floor of the Halstead Crown Hotel.
Mason raised his bourbon.
“I would like everyone to remember that this entire relationship exists because of me.”
Kara groaned.
“No.”
“Absolutely.”
“You asked an inappropriate question at a business dinner.”
“Exactly. I created romance.”
“You created an HR nightmare.”
Theo’s old chair remained empty.
Some betrayals could be understood.
They could even be forgiven eventually.
But trust returned slowly.
Evelyn had learned that from Adrian.
Her translation consultancy now employed twelve people and handled international negotiations for companies across the Midwest.
Adrian was her largest client.
And her most annoying one.
He sat beside her.
“You’re staring.”
“So are you.”
“I’m allowed.”
“Why?”
He considered it.
“I don't have a good answer.”
Mason pointed across the table.
“See? She's weakened him.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Leave.”
Mason raised his glass.
“Still terrifying. Good.”
Everyone laughed.
Dinner continued until Kara suddenly stood.
“Mason.”
“What?”
“We should go.”
“Why?”
Kara stared at him.
“Oh.”
Mason immediately stood.
“Everyone out.”
Evelyn laughed.
“You cannot be serious.”
Within thirty seconds, the room was empty.
The same room.
The same table.
The same snow outside.
Evelyn turned toward Adrian.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“That is never reassuring.”
He stood.
Then walked toward her.
Six months had changed some things.
Adrian smiled more.
Evelyn worked fewer fourteen-hour days.
Mason had learned absolutely nothing about boundaries.
But Adrian still looked at her the same way.
Like she was the one person in every room he couldn't ignore.
“Do you remember what you said here?” he asked.
“I've tried desperately to forget.”
“I haven't.”
“Of course not.”
He stopped beside her chair.
“You said you were tired of pretending.”
Evelyn looked up.
“I was.”
“So was I.”
He reached into his jacket.
Evelyn froze.
“Adrian.”
He placed a small velvet box on the table.
For perhaps the first time in his adult life, Adrian Vale looked nervous.
Evelyn stared at the box.
“You’re joking.”
“No.”
“You planned this?”
“For four months.”
“Mason knew?”
“Unfortunately.”
“That explains why he’s been smiling at me like an idiot.”
“Probably.”
Evelyn stood.
Adrian opened the box.
A simple diamond ring rested inside.
Nothing enormous.
Nothing designed to announce his wealth.
It was exactly the kind she would have chosen.
“Evelyn Mercer.”
Her eyes lifted to his.
“I spent most of my life believing control could solve everything.”
“That sounds like you.”
“Please don't interrupt my proposal.”
She pressed her lips together.
Adrian continued.
“Then you walked into my office four years ago, corrected my Italian in front of three businessmen, and informed me that my interpreter was incompetent.”
“He was.”
“He was terrified of you afterward.”
“He should have studied harder.”
Adrian laughed softly.
“Then you became the only person in my life who could tell me I was wrong without looking at the nearest exit.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It was.”
She smiled.
“And then?”
“And then somewhere along the way, I stopped imagining my life without you in it.”
Evelyn’s smile faded.
Adrian took her hand.
“I don't need someone who obeys me.”
“Good.”
“I need someone who challenges me.”
“Very good.”
“Someone who sees the worst parts of my world and still demands something better from me.”
His thumb brushed across her fingers.
“So I'm asking you one question.”
Evelyn looked at the ring.
Then at him.
“Are you sure?”
“I've never been more certain.”
He lowered himself onto one knee.
“Evelyn Mercer, will you marry me?”
For once, she didn't have seventeen languages available.
Only one word.
“Yes.”
Adrian stood.
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He kissed her gently.
Then the doors flew open.
Mason shouted, “SHE SAID YES!”
Kara slapped a hand over her face.
“You had one job.”
“I waited almost thirty seconds.”
“You waited six.”
Champagne appeared.
Laughter filled the room.
Adrian slipped the ring onto Evelyn’s finger.
Mason raised his glass.
“To the sentence that started everything.”
Evelyn groaned.
“Don't.”
Mason grinned.
“Not after tonight.”
Everyone laughed.
Even Adrian.
Evelyn looked through the windows at Chicago glowing beneath the snow.
Six months earlier, she had sat in this exact chair wishing she could take those four reckless words back.
Now she was grateful she couldn't.
Adrian leaned toward her.
“One question.”
“What?”
“Did you actually intend to sleep with Daniel that night?”
Evelyn stared at him.
Then burst out laughing.
“No.”
Adrian blinked.
“No?”
“I panicked.”
“You made that up?”
“Yes.”
“You caused six months of chaos because you panicked?”
“Pretty much.”
Mason nearly collapsed laughing.
Adrian stared at her for several seconds.
Then shook his head.
“I’m marrying a menace.”
Evelyn smiled and pulled him closer by his tie.
“You knew that already.”
This time when Adrian kissed her, there was no audience she needed to impress, no secret she needed to hide, and no future she needed to pretend she didn't want.
May you like
Outside, Chicago disappeared beneath fresh snow.
Inside, surrounded by laughter, Evelyn finally stopped pretending.
