All Chapters of The Divorcee Who Ruled Their Hearts : Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

Claire landed against Damian's chest, caught in an embrace that smelled different from Julian's: cooler, more restrained, and held with quiet authority. Julian's arms were suddenly empty. His brows drew together as he glared at his uncle. "Damian," he said, flatly dropping the "Uncle." Claire put a hand on Damian's chest and pushed lightly until he loosened his hold. I like him, she thought, but I won't have the two of them turning me into a tug-of-war in a parking lot. Uncle and nephew was complicated enough without an audience. "Damian, why today? Julian told me he was coming. You turned up on purpose." She looked up at him, reproach plain in her eyes. She was the one who decided how this pond ran, and he'd just proved he didn't understand that. Damian looked down at her. "You're blaming me," he said coolly. "Because you'd rather be with him." "That has nothing to do with it. Be reasonable." Julian lunged to take her back, but Damian was already steering her toward th

Dinner lasted eleven minutes.Damian and Julian sat on either side of Claire at the corner table, each pretending the other didn't exist. The waiter had barely finished pouring the wine when Damian set down his glass."Julian. You've been staring at me for ten minutes. Say it.""Fine." Julian's voice was low and shaking. "You knew I was coming. You deliberately showed up, and you deliberately made sure I'd find the two of you like that.""I did," Damian said calmly. "I wanted you to see what you were up against."Julian shoved back his chair. "Outside.""Julian," Claire began."Stay here, Claire. Please." He didn't look at her. "This is between him and me."She almost argued, but his jaw was trembling with something that wasn't just anger, and she decided that for once the two of them needed to get it out of their system.They went out through the back door. Claire counted to ten, then followed, and found them on the gravel behind the restaurant, circling each other like dogs.Julian

Hugo walked toward a low-key, quietly luxurious white Rolls-Royce Ghost.Claire followed, and when he opened the door she caught her breath. She knew exactly what the car was. It looked understated, but it cost at least half a million dollars.Hugo Hayes, you're full of surprises.Is he a secret trust-fund kid who's come to the office to "experience real life"? Anyone who drove a car like that had no reason to work for a salary.He was already behind the wheel. Claire walked around to the passenger side in her white lace-up heels, got in, and buckled her seatbelt, studying the profile of the young man beside her."Hugo, what exactly does your family do? You drive this to work? Aren't you worried about people getting jealous?"He started the engine and turned the wheel without a hint of concern. "Is it that unusual? Would people be jealous?"Claire opened her mouth and closed it again. They clearly weren't on the same wavelength.A rich boy playing at having a job. I'd bet money on it.

The Ghost stopped outside Claire's building, and neither of them moved."Thank you for dinner," she said. "And for the dessert confession. I'll keep it to myself.""Please do." Hugo kept his eyes on the windshield. His ears were still faintly pink.Claire lingered with her hand on the door. She had expected him to try something, a lean-in or a hopeful remark about coming up. He only waited, patient and a little stiff.Curious, she thought. All that flirting in the parking lot, and now he's behaving like a gentleman."Goodnight, Hugo.""Goodnight, Claire."She went inside, and the door had barely closed when his phone lit up again. He answered with a sigh."You called six times.""Did she take the bait?" Lucas's voice was low and impatient. "Did you find out who she's seeing this week?""I found out she eats dessert like it's a competitive sport." Hugo leaned back against the headrest. "And that she's smarter than you gave her credit for.""Hugo.""She asked why a Cambridge graduate wa

Claire got home after eleven, kicked off her heels, and found Lucas on her sofa with a glass of her whiskey and the stillness of a man who had been waiting a long time."You have a key," she said, hanging her coat. "Of course you do.""You embarrassed my cousin.""Your cousin held his menu upside down for twenty minutes." She crossed the room and took the glass from his hand. "You sent a spy to sit across from me, Lucas.""He's not a spy. He's family.""He's a twenty-five-year-old who looked miserable the entire time." She sipped the whiskey and handed it back. "If you wanted to know who I was having dinner with, you could have asked."His jaw tightened. "Would you have told me?""Probably not." She sat on the arm of the sofa, a smile tugging at her mouth. "But you'd have gotten a better evening out of the asking than out of the spying."He looked up at her. Under the composure she could see the thing he never said aloud: that he lay awake counting her men and hated the number."I don