The Heiress he never met
"You know, I've known Isabella since she was twenty-two. Watched Sebastian propose to her, actually, badly, at a fundraiser neither of them will admit was a disaster. I like to think I know her fairly well."
"That must be nice for you."
It's a strange thing, though, Julian turned his wine glass slowly by the stem, not quite looking at her now, giving her the particular courtesy of not watching her reaction too closely while he said it. "The way you hold your fork. The way you laugh — you did it twice today, both times before you caught yourself, both times like the sound surprised you. Isabella laughs like she's already decided how the laugh is going to look in a photograph. You laugh like n