Chapter 15 - THE FOUNDATION DINNER
One year after Emma first woke in Matteo’s bed, the Romano estate hosted another foundation dinner.
Emma attended as the owner of the event company running it.
Not Matteo’s employee.
Not his fake fiancée.
His wife.
And still entirely herself.
Near midnight, Emma finished handling the last crisis.
She entered the private wing and found Matteo at the bedroom window loosening his tie.
“You disappeared.”
“I rescued another ice sculpture.”
His expression became suspicious.
“You’re joking.”
“No.”
“Our marriage is trapped in a cycle.”
Emma kicked off her black heels.
One landed beside Matteo’s shoes.
He looked down.
Then at her.
“Those shoes have caused remarkable trouble.”
“They introduced me to your mother.”
“They created a fake engagement.”
“They helped expose Luca.”
“They nearly got us killed.”
“They produced a husband.”
“That remains the most questionable outcome.”
Emma wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I could still leave.”
His hands settled gently around her waist.
“You could.”
No threat.
No fear.
No command.
That was why she stayed.
Downstairs, Sophia carried leftover flowers through the hall.
For a moment, she stopped beneath the staircase.
She remembered the first morning.
Black heels.
Her son’s shoes.
A strange woman sleeping in Matteo’s bed.
Sophia had mistaken a ridiculous accident for a miracle.
Perhaps she had only been early.
Back upstairs, Emma rested her head against Matteo’s chest.
Outside, Chicago glittered beneath winter clouds.
“Do you ever think about that morning?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“What did you think when you woke up?”
“That I had finally lost my mind.”
“Reasonable.”
“And you?”
“That I was about to be fired.”
“Also reasonable.”
She smiled.
“Then you made me your fiancée.”
“You were convincing.”
“I was unconscious.”
“Very convincing.”
Emma hit his shoulder.
He laughed.
Then became serious.
“I’m glad the key was wrong.”
Emma looked up.
“The key?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“I’m glad what we did afterward was right.”
That stopped him.
Emma smiled.
“Accidents don’t become meaningful just because something good eventually happens.”
Matteo considered that.
“Fair.”
“What matters is what people choose afterward.”
He nodded.
That was one of the things she loved about him now.
May you like
Not that he always knew the right answer.
That he had finally learned he didn’t need to.
