Six months after our first date, Adrian proposed.
He took me to a restaurant overlooking the river, ordered my favorite dessert, and asked me to marry him as the city lights reflected on the water.
I said yes before he finished speaking.
My mother cried when I told her.
My father hugged Adrian and welcomed him into the family.
Claire was happy for me, although she privately admitted that she thought everything was moving too quickly.
“Six months, Emma?”
“I know.”
“Do you really know him?”
I laughed.
“I know enough.”
She didn’t argue.
But she didn’t look convinced.
The Blackwood family lived in a world I had never experienced.
Their house occupied several acres behind iron gates.
They had household staff, private drivers, and a dining room large enough to accommodate thirty guests.
Adrian’s mother, Eleanor Blackwood, was elegant and gracious in public.
She chaired charitable foundations and served on the boards of several cultural organizations.
