Chapter 30: Does Uncle Want to Try Too?

Damian scanned the file in his hands, a faint, disdainful smile tugging at his mouth.

Claire Bennett. Divorced. Twenty-four.

A full decade younger than him.

And apparently making the rounds through half the city's most eligible men since the divorce.

What's the actual difference, he thought coldly, between this and something far less respectable? Just a matter of which men are doing the paying.

Julian deserves better than this.

A woman with this little self-awareness needs to be put in her place.

After work, Claire picked up groceries and cooked herself a proper dinner at home.

Between the gym and everything else lately, she'd been running herself ragged, and tonight she planned to actually rest.

She ate, cleaned up, showered, and settled into bed to watch something mindless.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang, sharp and insistent.

Claire frowned. Who would possibly be here this late?

Aside from Nathaniel, the only person who knew her address was Lucas and even he only knew the building, not the unit.

The bell rang again before she could finish that thought.

She pulled on slippers and padded over to check the peephole.

What she saw made her stomach drop.

Standing outside was Julian's intimidatingly composed uncle.

It wasn't fear, exactly just the sheer unexpectedness of it.

She took a breath, opened the door, and started, "Give me a second, let me change"

Before she could shut the door again, Damian pushed his way past her, walking in like he owned the place and closing the door behind him without asking.

Claire stumbled back a step, momentarily thrown by the sheer confidence of it.

What is he doing here at this hour?

"Can I help you with something?" she asked, keeping her tone even.

He hadn't even given her the courtesy of letting her change first. Rude, by any measure.

But given the circumstances and given how objectively good-looking he was she decided to let it slide, at least for now, and kept her expression pleasant.

Since she'd already showered, her makeup was long gone.

Bare-faced. Clean. Unpolished in a way that read almost innocent.

Damian's gaze lingered on her face a beat too long.

Interesting, he thought. She's actually more striking like this.

With makeup, she read as polished and sharp. Without it, she looked almost soft genuinely pretty in a way that had nothing to do with performance.

No wonder Julian's this far gone.

Her skin was flawless, pale and smooth in the low light. Her eyes, free of liner, looked clearer, softer.

She was in a simple white silk slip understated, but doing absolutely nothing to hide the curve of her waist or the length of her legs.

Damian's gaze drifted lower before he caught himself, something shifting subtly in the air between them.

"Ms. Bennett," he said, voice cool, eyes flicking pointedly downward, "you certainly seem skilled at managing multiple high-profile men at once."

Claire's smile froze for exactly a beat.

She'd been prepared to extend him a bit of grace, given his relationship to Julian.

But rudeness canceled out courtesy pretty quickly.

Fine, she thought. If that's how we're doing this.

She let her smile bloom back into something sharp and deliberate, and crossed the room toward him, slow and unhurried.

"Oh?" She stopped directly in front of him, rising on her toes, one hand landing lightly on his shoulder. Her fingers tipped his chin up, close enough now that she could see every detail of his face.

Her breath brushed warm against his skin.

"Does Uncle want to give it a try himself?"

"Since you're already here, why don't we sit and talk properly." Her voice stayed light, teasing, as she turned and settled onto the sofa without waiting for a response.

Damian caught the faint trace of her perfume lingering in the air, jaw tightening slightly before he followed her over.

Claire crossed her legs, looking up at him with an easy, knowing smile. "Sit, Uncle."

He sat, keeping a measured, deliberate distance between them.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, arm resting casually along the back of the sofa. "Something to drink?"

"Coffee," he said flatly.

Claire grabbed the remote, flicked on a variety show for background noise, and had the coffee ready in minutes sugar and cream added without being asked.

She handed it over. "Calling you 'Uncle' feels a little strange, given the circumstances. What should I actually call you?"

"Damian."

He took a small sip, his tone as composed and cutting as ever.

"Ms. Bennett. Your personal life seems remarkably crowded."

He set the cup down, watching her with the same faint, mocking edge from earlier.

Claire crossed her arms loosely, entirely unbothered.

"Is that so?" Her smile widened slightly. "Let me guess. You're here to convince me to walk away from Julian."

"Correct," Damian said, without hesitation.

"You two aren't compatible. Not as partners, not as anything."

"This family isn't something you get to casually attach yourself to."

Claire laughed softly, her smile only growing sharper.

She shifted closer, hooking an arm loosely around his waist, leaning into him with an easy, deliberate confidence.

"So he and I aren't compatible." She tilted her head, meeting his eyes directly. "What about you, Uncle? Think we'd do any better?”