Chapter 2 - Nine O'Clock
"Lily!"
I was through the diner door before I realized Adrian had moved with me.
Lily stood barefoot near the kitchen hallway, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
Behind her was Mrs. Alvarez.
My knees almost gave out.
"Oh, thank God."
Mrs. Alvarez frowned.
"What is happening?"
I pulled Lily against me.
She squeaked.
"Rose, you're crushing me."
"Sorry."
I didn't loosen my arms.
Adrian entered behind us.
Lily saw him over my shoulder.
"Who is that?"
Nobody answered fast enough.
Lily looked at me.
Then at Adrian.
Then at the ring box still in his hand.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh."
"Lily—"
"Are you getting married?"
Children have a unique talent for finding the one sentence adults desperately want avoided.
Marcy suddenly became deeply interested in stacking napkins.
Mrs. Alvarez crossed herself.
Adrian remained perfectly calm.
Lily pointed at him.
"To him?"
I released her.
"This is Adrian."
"Your boyfriend?"
"No."
Adrian said, "Not exactly."
I glared at him.
Lily smiled.
That was the worst possible reaction.
"He's handsome."
"Lily."
"What? He is."
Adrian almost smiled.
I hated that I noticed.
Mrs. Alvarez pulled me aside.
"She heard voices downstairs and came looking for you."
I nodded.
Then showed her the photograph.
Her face drained.
"Call police."
"We will."
Adrian spoke behind me.
"I already did."
I turned.
"You did?"
"Someone photographed a child without permission and delivered a threat. Yes."
I hadn't heard him call anyone.
Then again, perhaps men like Adrian didn't need phones to make things happen.
Within fifteen minutes, two detectives arrived.
They took the photograph.
Questioned everyone.
Checked outside.
The delivery car had disappeared.
The license plate was stolen.
Aunt Beatrice denied sending anything.
Of course she did.
At 1:20 a.m., I finally took Lily upstairs.
She sat on Mrs. Alvarez's sofa while I packed an overnight bag.
"Are we in trouble?"
I stopped folding.
"What makes you ask that?"
"You only fold socks like that when you're scared."
I looked down.
I had folded one pair three times.
I sat beside her.
"There's a hearing tomorrow."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Aunt Beatrice told me."
Ice moved through my stomach.
"When?"
"She came to school yesterday."
"What?"
Lily looked confused by my reaction.
"She said I might live with her for a while."
"Did she talk to you alone?"
"Miss Keller was there."
"What else did she say?"
Lily's eyes dropped.
"That you were tired of raising me."
My heart cracked.
"Oh, Lily."
"I told her she was lying."
I pulled her into my arms.
"She was."
"I know."
I kissed the top of her head.
"I will never be tired of you."
She squeezed me.
Then whispered, "Are you really marrying that man?"
I closed my eyes.
"Maybe."
"Do you love him?"
"No."
She pulled back.
"Then why?"
"Because adults sometimes make temporary agreements to solve complicated problems."
She stared at me.
"That sounds like something people say right before making a terrible decision."
I laughed despite everything.
"You're ten."
"I read."
At 3:00 a.m., Adrian sent a car.
I refused it.
At 3:05, he sent another message through Luigi.
The courthouse had agreed to process an emergency license at seven-thirty.
At 4:00, I gave up pretending I could sleep.
At 5:30, I showered.
At 6:15, Mrs. Alvarez helped me pin my auburn hair into something presentable.
At 6:45, I put on the only decent dress I owned.
Blue.
Knee-length.
Bought for my mother's funeral eleven years earlier.
Lily looked at me and started crying.
"Hey."
"I'm okay."
"Then why are you crying?"
She wiped her face.
"Because you look like Mom."
That nearly ended me.
At 7:10, a knock came.
Adrian stood outside.
No bodyguards.
No dramatic entourage.
Just Adrian in another charcoal suit, holding two coffees.
"For you."
I took one.
"How do you know how I drink it?"
"You work in a diner."
"That explains absolutely nothing."
"Luigi told me."
I took a sip.
Cream.
Two sugars.
Perfect.
"That's unsettling."
"I'm told that often."
Lily appeared behind me.
Adrian held out a paper bag.
"For you."
She looked at me first.
I nodded.
Inside was a cinnamon roll.
Lily inspected him.
"Are you trying to bribe me?"
"No."
"Good. Because it might work."
We reached the courthouse at seven-twenty-eight.
My attorney, Sarah Levin, was waiting on the steps.
She looked from me to Adrian.
Then back to me.
"Rose."
"Sarah."
"Could we speak privately?"
Adrian stepped away without objection.
Sarah grabbed my elbow.
"Do you know who that is?"
"Apparently everyone except Lily feels obligated to ask me that."
"This is not funny."
"I know."
"You cannot marry a suspected—"
"Nothing has been proven."
She stared.
"Did you just defend him?"
"No. I repeated what newspapers say."
"Rose, this could make things worse."
"Could it make things worse than losing Lily at nine?"
Sarah stopped.
That was my answer.
We obtained the license.
The clerk's hands trembled when she recognized Adrian.
I pretended not to notice.
At eight-fifteen, in a small municipal chamber, with Lily, Sarah, and one bored clerk as witnesses, I became Rose Vale.
The ceremony lasted four minutes.
When the officiant told Adrian he could kiss the bride, I panicked.
He didn't.
He took my hand.
Raised it.
Pressed his lips lightly against my knuckles.
It was somehow more intimate than a kiss.
Lily grinned.
Sarah looked like she needed stronger coffee.
At eight-fifty-three, we entered Judge O'Connor's courtroom.
Aunt Beatrice was already there.
Pearls.
Navy suit.
Perfect gray-blonde hair.
Her expression changed when she saw Adrian.
For the first time in my life, my aunt looked frightened.
Her attorney whispered into her ear.
Judge O'Connor entered.
We stood.
The next twenty minutes blurred.
Sarah presented the marriage certificate.
Adrian submitted financial records establishing that Lily would have stable housing, education, medical care, and a legally recognized second adult in the household.
Beatrice's attorney objected.
Judge O'Connor asked Adrian directly whether he understood that marrying Lily's guardian could create legal responsibilities.
"I do."
"Are you willing to accept them?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
The courtroom became silent.
Adrian looked at Lily.
Then at me.
"Because families are not balance sheets, Your Honor."
Beatrice visibly flinched.
I noticed.
So did Adrian.
The judge denied the emergency transfer.
My knees almost collapsed.
Lily remained with me.
The larger custody review would continue in thirty days.
I should have felt victorious.
Instead, Beatrice stared at Adrian like she had seen a ghost.
Outside the courtroom, she caught my arm.
"Rose."
Adrian was instantly beside me.
She released me.
Her eyes stayed on him.
"You have no idea what you've done."
I stepped between them.
"I protected Lily."
"No."
Beatrice's voice shook.
"You brought him into this."
Adrian's expression turned cold.
"Do we know each other?"
She backed away.
"No."
He looked at her for a long second.
"You're lying."
Beatrice fled.
That afternoon, Adrian took Lily and me to his home.
I expected a fortress.
It was worse.
A beautiful stone mansion overlooking the lake.
Lily stood in the foyer and whispered, "Do you have ghosts?"
Adrian removed his coat.
"Probably."
She brightened.
I sighed.
His housekeeper, Mrs. Bell, showed us upstairs.
Two adjoining bedrooms.
Mine.
Lily's.
Adrian's room was on the opposite side of the hall.
That surprised me.
"What did you expect?" he asked.
I lowered my voice.
"You're my temporary husband."
"Temporary husbands can still have manners."
I looked away before he caught me smiling.
That night, Lily fell asleep quickly.
I didn't.
At eleven-thirty, I went downstairs for water.
Adrian was in his study.
Door half open.
Voices inside.
I recognized Sarah's.
My attorney.
I stopped.
Why was my attorney in Adrian's study at midnight?
Then I heard Beatrice's name.
Sarah said, "She wasn't supposed to recognize you."
Adrian answered, "But she did."
My heartbeat slowed.
I moved closer.
Sarah spoke again.
"If Rose learns why Beatrice really wants Lily, this marriage becomes the least of our problems."
A floorboard creaked beneath my foot.
The voices stopped.
The study door opened.
May you like
Adrian stood there.
Behind him, on his desk, was a photograph of my dead mother.
