Chương 23 - Aurelia’s Tenth Anniversary
Aurelia celebrated ten years under Marcus’s ownership.
The restaurant had survived impossible beginnings.
Then success.
Then expansion.
Marcus insisted on no gala.
Elena ignored him.
She organized one anyway.
Former employees returned.
Investors.
Chefs.
Suppliers.
Marcus’s mother, Renee, sat near the kitchen laughing louder than anyone.
Claire finally met her properly.
Renee looked at her.
“So you’re the eight-hundred-dollar girl.”
Claire nearly dropped her wine.
Marcus covered his face.
“Mom.”
“What?”
Claire started laughing.
“I deserve that.”
Renee smiled.
“No, honey. That money got me three teeth. Best investment Marcus ever borrowed.”
Claire cried and laughed at the same time.
Later she found Marcus outside near the same polished entrance where they met two years earlier.
Valet cars moved past.
Warm light shone through glass doors.
“You hiding from your own party?”
“Yes.”
“I thought rich restaurant owners loved parties.”
“Who told you I’m rich?”
Claire looked at him.
“Your tax returns.”
Marcus stared.
She smiled.
“Joking.”
“Not funny.”
They stood quietly.
Claire said:
“I used to think this place proved I was wrong about you.”
Marcus looked at her.
“It doesn’t.”
“I know.”
“Aurelia could fail tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“You’d still have been wrong.”
“I know.”
That was the growth.
Claire reached for his hand.
He let her.
“Do you ever think about marrying me?”
Marcus nearly coughed.
“That transition was aggressive.”
“I’m not proposing.”
“Good.”
“Answer.”
He thought.
“Yes.”
Her heart raced.
“But?”
“But I’m afraid we’re very good at rebuilding disasters and might mistake that for compatibility.”
Claire laughed.
“That is the least romantic thing anyone has ever said.”
“I own restaurants. I outsource romance.”
She leaned against him.
“I think about it too.”
“And?”
“Same fear.”
“Good.”
They stayed there.
No proposal.
A future acknowledged without grabbing it.
Inside, Elena tapped the glass and pointed angrily at Marcus because speeches were starting.
He sighed.
“Boss duty.”
Claire smiled.
“Good evening, boss.”
Marcus groaned.
“Never say that.”
She laughed.
A phrase that once humiliated her now belonged to both of them.
But one final piece of the past waited upstairs.
Renee had brought a box of Marcus’s old belongings.
Inside was the notebook he used during the Whitmore investigation.
Claire accidentally saw one page when it fell open.
Her name appeared repeatedly.
Protect Claire from exposure.
Do not involve Claire unless required.
Claire will hate me if Richard tells his version first.
Then:
Maybe that is easier.
Claire stared.
Marcus had anticipated losing her.
Maybe even chosen it.
She closed the notebook.
May you like
Their final unresolved wound was not whether Marcus loved her.
It was whether his idea of love had also involved making choices for her.
