Isabel’s eyes filled with tears. «That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a very long time.»
They ordered dinner, and what could have been awkward became wonderful. Lily chattered happily about her daycare and her favorite cartoons, occasionally asking Adrian questions that made both adults laugh. Isabel relaxed visibly as the evening progressed, seeing that Adrian was genuinely interested in getting to know both of them.
«Lily asked me earlier if I was going to marry you,» Adrian said during dessert, after Lily had become absorbed in coloring on the kid’s menu the restaurant provided.
Isabel turned scarlet. «God, I’m so sorry. She heard my neighbor say something, and now she thinks every man I meet is a potential husband.»
«It’s okay,» Adrian said with a smile. «It made me think about what I want in life. I’ve spent ten years building my company, achieving success by every traditional measure. But I go home to an empty apartment every night, and lately I’ve been wondering what the point is.»
He looked at Lily, then at Isabel. «Watching you two tonight, the way you are with each other, it reminded me that the best things in life aren’t things at all. They’re people, they’re connections, they’re moments like this.»
«Are you saying you want to see us again?» Isabel asked carefully.
«I’m saying I’d like to try,» Adrian replied. «If you’re willing. I don’t have experience with kids, and I work too much, and I’ll probably mess up constantly, but I’d like the chance to get to know you both better.»
Over the following months, Adrian became a regular part of Isabel and Lily’s life. He learned about bedtime routines, children’s medicine, and the strange logic of toddler negotiations. Isabel showed him a world beyond boardrooms and profit margins, teaching him to find joy in playground visits, animated movies, and the simple pleasure of family dinners.
Lily appointed herself the judge of whether Adrian was suitable for her mother, regularly reporting to her mother that «Mr. Adrian is doing a good job,» or «Mr. Adrian needs to try harder at playing dolls.»
A year after that first meeting, Adrian proposed to Isabel in the same cafe where they had met, with Lily present, because, as he said, she was part of this decision too.
«Lily, I need to ask you something important,» Adrian said, kneeling down to her level while Isabel watched with tears already forming. «I’d like to ask your mommy to marry me, but that means I’d be your family too. Would that be okay with you?»
Lily considered this seriously. «Would you be my daddy?»
«If you’d like me to be,» Adrian said. «I know you had a daddy before and I’m not trying to replace him, but I love your mommy and I love you, and I’d be honored to be your family.»
«Okay,» Lily said, «but you have to get better at playing dolls, and you have to learn how to make my mommy’s special pancakes.»
«Deal,» Adrian said solemnly, then turned to Isabel. «Your daughter has given me permission, now I need to ask you. Isabel, you and Lily have taught me what actually matters in life. Will you marry me?»
Isabel said yes through happy tears, and Lily cheered and announced to the entire cafe that Mr. Adrian was going to be her daddy now, and everyone should be very happy for them.
They were married six months later, with Lily as the flower girl, proudly telling everyone that she was the one who had found Mr. Adrian in the first place, so really this whole wedding was because of her.
In her toast at the reception, Isabel shared the story of their first meeting. «I was so nervous about Adrian finding out I had a daughter that I asked Lily to wait by the door while I looked for him. But Lily, being Lily, decided she could handle the situation herself.»
