Chapter 2

At the celebration dinner, I wore a plain white knit dress.

The safest thing in my closet.

It didn't show my waist, didn't bare my arms, and wouldn't make Adrian frown on the way out the door and say, "Doesn't that one make you look a little heavy?"

Adrian glanced at me and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Clean and simple like this. You look lovely."

His hand lingered on the back of my neck, warm and steady.

"After the engagement, whatever you want to buy, I'll go shopping with you. We'll take our time."

Before the words had fully landed, a low murmur rippled through the banquet hall doors.

Lily walked in.

A bold red gown. A wide sweep of pale skin exposed along her back. The waistline pulled impossibly tight.

Exactly the effect from the virtual fitting room.

Family members and company executives erupted in admiration.

"Lily looks absolutely stunning tonight!"

"Don Adrian has incredible taste. Did Boss pick this dress for you?"

Lily flushed, her gaze darting nervously to me.

"Claire, please don't take it the wrong way. Boss just helped me with some suggestions. I'm really hopeless at putting outfits together."

Adrian pulled out the main seat beside him and gestured for me to sit. His expression was perfectly composed.

"She's young. It's my job to look after her a bit."

He took my hand and laced his fingers through mine beneath the table.

Several senior members of the Moretti family passed by, inclining their heads to Adrian, then offering me a nod as well.

"Ms. Claire."

Their tone was courteous, almost cautious.

I assumed it was simply out of respect for Adrian.

The waiter brought out fish soup.

Adrian picked every bone clean for me, then let the broth cool to a comfortable warmth before pushing it in front of me.

"Have a few sips first. It'll settle your stomach. Yours has been weak lately. Stay away from anything cold."

Lily lifted her glass of red wine, about to toast one of the investors.

Adrian didn't even look up. His hand shot out and pressed down on the rim of her glass.

"You haven't finished your antibiotics. What are you doing drinking?"

He called the waiter over and had it swapped for juice, adding, "Room temperature. No ice. She has a sensitive stomach."

Lily murmured playfully, "I forgot all about it myself. How does Boss even remember when I take my medication?"

"I'm the one who signed your sick leave. It stuck, that's all."

His answer was strictly professional, but beneath the table, the grip on my hand had loosened by a fraction.

He could never quite keep track of how often my stomach flared up, yet he remembered his deputy's prescription schedule down to the day.

Someone nearby laughed and smoothed things over. "Don Adrian really does treat Claire like gold. Model fiancé."

Adrian's lips curved slightly. His thumb traced a slow circle over my knuckle.

"She's my fiancée. Of course I take care of her."

He said it like the most natural thing in the world.

I laughed to myself. Cold, silent laughter.

Halfway through the banquet, the air conditioning was running a little too hard.

Lily shrank her shoulders against the chill.

Adrian was mid-conversation about a financing deal, but his peripheral vision caught her movement first. He shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

"Don't catch cold."

Lily pulled the lapels close, her eyes curving into a smile.

"Thank you, Boss. You're as thoughtful as a big brother. Claire is so lucky."

Only then did Adrian notice my hands were freezing.

He frowned, grabbed the coat draped over the chair behind him, and spread it across my lap. Then he tucked my hands into his pocket.

"Lily just had her appendix out. She gets cold easily."

"You're tougher. Let her have it for now. I'll make you ginger tea when we get home."

He called the waiter over and asked for a clean shawl, tucking it carefully around my waist.

"Warmer now?"

I didn't answer.

The suit jacket he'd put on Lily's shoulders was the one I'd dragged him through four different shops to find.

I pulled my hand free, slowly.

Adrian looked down at me, smiling, and flicked the tip of my nose.

"Are you actually jealous? Like a little kid?"

"It's her first time at an event like this as my deputy. I have to look after her a bit. Be good. Don't make a scene."

When the banquet ended, Adrian crouched in the underground parking garage and wrapped his hand around my ankle, easing off the heels that had rubbed my feet raw.

He pressed his fingertip against the reddened skin on my heel, his voice low and coaxing. "Wear flats to the engagement party. If you get tired, I'll carry you the whole way."

But when he stood up, he reached for the passenger door and let Lily slide in.

Then he turned back to me and ruffled my hair.

"Lily lives far away. It's not safe for her to go home alone. I'll drop her off."

"Claire, the back seat is roomier. Lean back and get some sleep."

I got in the back without a word.

The air freshener clipped to the passenger vent was the rose scent Lily liked.