Chapter 3

The blind date was set at a members-only restaurant.

When I arrived, Graham was already seated by the window.

He stood to pull out my chair, but his eyes traveled from my face down to my waist, lingering too long before he arranged a polite smile. "The photo didn't do you justice. You're much prettier in person."

I sat down without responding.

He pushed the menu toward me. "Leon said you're not picky. I've already ordered steak and salad for you."

My hand stilled at the edge of the menu.

They had even told a stranger what I liked to eat.

Graham poured me some water, his tone full of self-satisfied generosity. "To be honest, I'm quite satisfied with you. You may not have a powerful family behind you, and your history with the Whitman brothers is a bit complicated, but the fact that they're willing to make arrangements for your future means you're at least not a liability."

I looked up. "Arrange what kind of future?"

He blinked. "You don't know?"

He seemed to realize he'd said too much but quickly decided there was no point in hiding it.

"Nicholas said that if we get married, the family office will pay the down payment on an apartment in Queens, plus give me half a million dollars as a settlement for you to leave the Whitman family for good."

The restaurant was well-heated, but my hands and feet went cold.

Four years of waiting had been reduced to an apartment down payment and half a million dollars.

Graham continued, "I can accept your past, but after we're married, you can't contact them. Any man would have a problem with his wife having had a complicated relationship with three brothers at the same time."

I set my glass down. "Choose your next words carefully."

His expression soured. "Am I wrong? If there was really nothing going on between you and them, why wasn't a single one of them willing to acknowledge you publicly, let alone marry you?"

The private room door swung open.

Nicholas and Lillian walked in.

Lillian's eyes widened in surprise when she saw me. "Claire, you're here too?"

Nicholas's gaze fell on Graham. "How's it going?"

Graham jumped to his feet, his smile turning eager and flattering. "Great. Ms. Bennett is even quieter than I expected. She'll make a wonderful wife."

Nicholas nodded with satisfaction. "Good."

I asked him, "Why are you here?"

Lillian tugged gently at his sleeve. "He's here with me for dinner with a producer. We didn't expect to run into you. Are we interrupting?"

Nicholas patted the back of her hand. "Not at all."

He turned to me, speaking in the tone you'd use with a difficult child. "Graham is a decent man. Don't be picky just because his background doesn't measure up to the Whitmans'."

Emboldened by what he'd heard, Graham pushed even further. "Mr. Whitman, is there any room to negotiate the marriage settlement? After all, she'll have to adjust to my lifestyle once we're married. I may need a bigger place."

I couldn't help but laugh.

Nicholas frowned. "What's funny?"

"I'm laughing because the price you put on me was too low."

His expression darkened instantly. "Claire."

Lillian flinched and stepped back behind him. "Don't be upset. He's just trying to give you a stable home."

I looked at her. "Since when do any of you get to decide where I belong?"

Her eyes reddened immediately.

Nicholas stepped in front of her. "Apologize to her."

"Why should I?"

"Because you're scaring her."

I had heard those words far too many times.

I couldn't confront them openly, or I'd put Lillian in an awkward position.

I couldn't take back my wedding dress, or it would ruin the shoot.

I couldn't appear at their social events, or Lillian would feel insecure.

I picked up my purse to leave.

Nicholas caught my wrist. "Dinner isn't over."

His grip was tight.

Graham laughed awkwardly beside us. "She does have a bit of a temper. But don't worry, Mr. Whitman. Once we're married, I'll teach her to show her husband some respect."

Nicholas heard it but said nothing.

In that moment, the last trace of warmth left inside me went completely cold.

I pried his fingers off one by one. "I'm not marrying him."

Nicholas's gaze hardened. "Then who do you want to marry? Or are you planning to keep stringing the three of us along so we'll be responsible for you forever?"

Lillian said in a small voice, "Claire, a woman's best years are short. Don't let your pride cost you the right person."

I looked at her. "Is that what you told yourself when you were posing in my wedding dress?"

The color drained from her face.

Nicholas slammed his steaming coffee down on the table.

Hot coffee splashed out, scalding the back of my hand.

The searing pain made me gasp.

He froze for a second.

But at the same time, Lillian let out a low cry. "My dress."

A few drops had splashed onto the hem of her skirt.

Nicholas immediately turned and crouched down with a napkin to dab at her skirt. "Did it burn your skin?"

I stared at my hand, the skin already turning red.

There was a time when a tiny bruise from a needle would have him holding my hand, checking it over and over.

He used to say, "If you're in pain, it hurts me even more."

So love really could move on to someone else.

Now, my pain had nothing to do with him anymore.

I took my purse and walked out of the restaurant.

Behind me came Nicholas's detached voice. "Let her go. She'll come back once she calms down."

I didn't look back.

A black sedan was parked at the curb.

Martin rolled down the window. When he saw my hand, he frowned. "Ms. Bennett, what happened to your hand?"

I hid my hand behind my back. "I accidentally burned myself."

He didn't press further, just handed me an envelope.

"Tomorrow evening at seven. The Whitman estate in the Hudson Valley. All three heir candidates have received formal notice."

On the cover of the document was Grandfather Edward's familiar signature.

I traced the letters, my eyes stinging.

Martin said, "You still have one last chance to withdraw the application."

I looked at my reflection in the car window, wrapped in darkness.

"I won't."