Reborn to Dodge the Bad Marriage novel Chapter 187

Chapter 187 The Octopus

B

Finished

Three years of development had gotten Genevieve nowhere, and her contract was almost up.

Victor hadn’t planned to renew it.

Mandy nodded hard. “That’s my point. They’re that plain. If Nora knew what those two are worth later she’d have fought me like a madwoman instead of handing them over.

“And so she wouldn’t suspect I was after them, I paid out everybody else at Starfall and took all of them with

me.”

A minute ago she had wondered whether Nora had come back the way she did. Those two settled it. There, was no chance of it.

Ever since the wedding, ever since Julian failed to end up unconscious in an emergency room, Yvette had been quietly having second thoughts, and she trusted Mandy’s foreknowledge less every day.

“Mandy…”

Mandy took her hand. “Mom, there’s one thing that would settle whether she can see the future.

“If she’s like me, she’ll go do it.”

If Nora had come back too, she would go after that one thing. There was no question about it.

Yvette had lost interest in any of it. “Stop fixating on this and stop setting yourself against her.

“Whatever else she is, she’s your sister. The Westons haven’t gone under, and the Pierces still sit a step below

them.

“Get along with her and she’ll look after you. Even if the Westons do fall, their connections alone would carry you-”

Mandy clapped both hands over her ears. “Fine. I’ll leave her alone for now. Stop. My ears are bleeding.”

Yvette pulled her hands back down. “I’m not telling you never to move against her. I’m telling you there’s no point in it right now.

“Get close to her. Charm more Weston contracts out of her, and whatever they keep quiet about their business. That’s how you bring them down, instead of sitting here waiting for Julian to die.”

Mandy had been half listening, and that last part landed like a bucket of cold water.

Her eyes came up bright. “You’re right, Mom. I’ll do it. Except…”

Then, the problem hit her. “I’ve crossed her a few times now. How do I fix that?”

Yvette was delighted that it had finally gone in, and she started walking her through what to do next.

Morning came in bright through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

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Chapter 187 The Octopus

Finished

Nora woke up and did what she always did, pulling the cat in her arms closer and kissing it hard. Something

out the texture was wrong, so she opened her eyes.

There was no cat. There was a solid male chest, and one particular part of it an inch from her mouth, with a damp patch on it that raised questions.

“Awake?” Whatever he was holding back had dropped his voice into gravel.

Nora came awake all at once and shot upright, staring at him with his pajama top hanging open, all chest and stomach and the lines running down from there.

And then there was what the satin pants weren’t hiding.

One look and both her hands went over her eyes. “You held me while I was asleep!

“I’m sleeping in another room from now on.”

Julian pulled the blanket over himself. “Before you file charges, Mrs. Weston, try to remember who insisted on being held and wouldn’t let me keep a blanket on.”

Nora made herself think back.

Somewhere in the fog were her own arms wrapped around him like an octopus, treating him like a pillow with a pulse, and then deciding his pajama buttons were digging into her and tearing them open with her

bare hands.

After that, there was the kissing, the same way she kissed the cat.

Heat climbed all the way up her face. She parted two fingers and peeked at him through the gap.

Julian pulled the blanket a little higher. “Remembering it now?”

He did it the way a man would if a woman with wandering hands had him cornered.

That got a huff out of Nora. She dropped her hands and looked him straight in the face. “You’re my husband. What’s wrong with me holding you and kissing you?

“You’re not supposed to resist. You lie there and let me exercise my rights as a wife.”

Julian pulled the blanket right back off. “Whatever you say, Mrs. Weston-”

Nora was off that bed like a cat. “I’m going to teach Grandma the Longevity Form.”

She vanished out the door, and Julian looked down at himself and laughed, helpless and completely gone

on her.

Downstairs, Constance was already out in the courtyard working through the form, and Nora joined her.

Constance looked her over. “You slept well. There’s color in your face and you’re in a good mood.”

Nora touched her own cheek. “Am I?”

How is sharing a bed with him supposed to put me in a good mood?

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