Chapter 22 - THE FIRST DATE
I did not date for two years.
Not because I swore off women.
Because I was tired.
Then a friend introduced me to Camille Ross.
Pediatric architect.
No connection to the trust.
Thank God.
We had coffee.
Six months later, I introduced her to Ilaria.
Not as future anything.
“Dad’s friend.”
Ilaria inspected her.
“Do you like purple?”
Camille said:
“Sometimes.”
Wrong answer.
Ilaria narrowed her eyes.
Eventually accepted her.
No rushing.
No unsupervised care for months.
Was that hypervigilance?
Some.
Reasonable too.
Camille never asked what Ilaria would call her.
Eventually Ilaria chose:
Cam.
Fine.
We discussed marriage only after eighteen months.
Separate attorneys.
Prenuptial agreement.
Trust acknowledgment.
Explicit:
Camille has no rights to Ilaria’s settlement assets by marriage.
Related-party vendor restrictions.
No caregiver compensation without independent approval.
Camille read it.
“Seems obvious.”
I almost laughed.
“Yes.”
When I proposed, Ilaria was present.
Camille said:
“Before I answer, I want one thing clear.”
My chest tightened.
She looked at Ilaria.
“You never have to call me anything except Cam unless you want to.”
Ilaria shrugged.
“Okay.”
Then:
May you like
“Can I have cake at wedding?”
Priorities.
