Chapter 7 - The Table We Chose
Three months later, the Halcyon Crown reopened its rooftop ballroom after renovations.
I almost refused the invitation.
Rebecca called me twice.
Then Isabella called me.
That worked.
The charity event was smaller this time.
No Preston Hale.
No Warren Hale.
No whispers about who owned whom.
I wore a dark green dress.
Mateo wore a suit he hated.
Adrian stood beside Isabella near the same brass railing where the bottle had shattered.
The music box sat on the table.
Repaired.
I walked toward them.
Isabella saw me first.
“Lena!”
She ran over and hugged me.
“You came.”
“I said I would.”
She held up the music box.
“Mateo fixed it.”
Mateo corrected her.
“I helped.”
“You broke it twice.”
“Details.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You look different.”
“That’s what happens when I’m not wearing a server vest.”
“I preferred the vest.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Careful.”
He smiled.
The federal case was still moving forward.
Judge Hale had been denied bail.
Voss had pleaded guilty.
Preston was cooperating.
My father’s name had been cleared.
Ortiz Auto Repair was being reopened under Mateo and me.
And for the first time in years, I wasn’t calculating my life in overdue notices.
Adrian handed me an envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
I did.
Inside was a scholarship letter.
Full tuition.
My remaining nursing program.
I looked up.
“No.”
He sighed.
“I knew you’d say that.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
“It isn’t mine.”
“What?”
“Halcyon established a staff scholarship fund after the incident.”
I looked toward Rebecca.
She raised her glass.
Adrian continued.
“You’re the first recipient.”
I read the letter again.
“This is real?”
“Yes.”
Mateo grinned.
“You’re going back to school.”
I looked at him.
“You knew?”
“Maybe.”
“Traitor.”
Isabella tugged my hand.
“Now you can be a nurse.”
I smiled.
“That was the plan.”
Adrian said, “Still is.”
The jazz band began playing.
Couples moved toward the floor.
Adrian held out his hand.
I looked at it.
“What?”
“Dance.”
“You’re asking?”
“I’m learning.”
“Slowly.”
“Very.”
I took his hand.
We stepped onto the floor.
After a moment, I said, “You know what’s strange?”
“What?”
“The worst night of my life brought me here.”
Adrian looked toward Isabella laughing with Mateo.
“Sometimes the wrong door opens into the right room.”
I smiled.
“That was almost poetic.”
“Don’t tell anyone.”
“I’ll sell the information.”
His hand tightened gently around mine.
“Lena.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For moving before fear could stop you.”
I looked at Isabella.
“I didn’t know who she was.”
“I know.”
“That’s why I did it.”
He nodded.
“I know that too.”
The city glowed beyond the glass.
The music box turned quietly on the table.
The little wooden ballerina spun beneath the lights.
For once, nothing was broken.
Nothing was chasing us.
Nobody was waiting outside.
I had my brother.
Isabella had her uncle.
My father had the truth.
And Adrian Moretti—the man everyone in Chicago was afraid to look at for too long—was smiling at me like I was the only person in the room.
“Still think I scare people?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do I scare you?”
I thought about the warehouse.
The black SUVs.
The rumors.
The man who had brought Mateo home.
Then I looked him in the eyes.
“No.”
Adrian smiled.
“Dangerous answer.”
I leaned closer.
“Good.”
And this time, when the room went quiet around us, it wasn’t because someone was afraid.
May you like
It was because the song had ended.
And ours was just beginning.
