Chapter 12
The fundraiser returned the next year.
Same conservatory.
Same floral arches.
Different host.
Not Vanessa.
Elena supervised service.
By her choice.
Bruno attended for ten minutes, then demanded sleep.
A child brought him water.
He drank peacefully.
No leash jerk.
No drama.
I watched longer than necessary.
Elena noticed.
“You’re staring.”
“I’m allowed.”
She smiled.
Our relationship had changed by then.
Slowly.
Not because she exposed Vanessa.
Not because she cared for Bruno.
Because after months of conversations, I liked the woman beyond the uniform.
That distinction mattered.
I did not want gratitude disguising itself as romance.
So I waited.
Then she asked me to dinner.
Annoying.
I accepted.
No secrecy.
No household ambiguity.
She changed jobs first.
Not required by me.
Her choice.
She wanted the relationship without employment attached.
Smart.
Bruno approved.
May you like
Apparently.
He slept under our table.
