Page 194 of Scandalous Contract

“I know,” she told me. “My husband does too. We had a bet going on whether Julian was serious about you or not. My husband kept trying to get him to go on blind dates to prove he wasn’t serious. I told Guiliano that Julian would never step out on Stefanie. You two hadn’t even met yet, and he was already faithful. Today, my husband will have to buy matching necklaces for Aubrey and me because he lost the bet.”

I burst out laughing. “Thank you,” I told her. “For back then and for today.”

“Thank you for not giving up and for not letting your circumstances define you. I watched you on the news. Whenever you smiled, I smiled. I was happy to see you happy.”

Her words brought tears to my eyes. We chatted for a bit longer before hugging and parting ways. I now had Mrs. Cattaneo’s permission to court her son. Now, it was time to woo the man I loved.

Chapter Forty-Six

JULIAN

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I’D BEEN DRINKING FORan hour straight, and Cas hadn’t cut me off once. That told me two things: he knew I needed it, and he didn’t plan on letting me leave the casino tonight.

“You want me to pour another drink or let you drown in that one?” he asked.

“Both,” I muttered, eyes still glued to the ice floating in my glass. “Let me drown slowly, though. I want to feel it.”

Cas raised a brow and poured another, just as Raz and Bryce walked in.

“Damn,” Bryce said, pulling out the barstool next to mine. “You look like shit.”

“Feel worse,” I replied, knocking back another sip.

Raz didn’t say anything right away. Just took the seat on my other side and stared at me like he was waiting for me to open up on my own. That was the difference between the three of them. Cas always talked first. Bryce cracked jokes. Raz waited for you to do the talking.

“She dumped me,” I said finally. “After everything, she fucking dumped me.”

They all knew whoshewas.

Bryce sighed. “Tatianna left me, too, remember? Took five years to get her back. But she’s back now.”

“I don’t want to wait five damn years,” I snapped.

Raz leaned forward, elbows on the bar. “If it’s real, it’ll come back to you. Look at me and Rosa.”