The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 505

Chapter 505 Dazzling As You

“I’d rather the child look just as dazzling as you,” he murmured, lowering himself until his striking features filled her vision, inch by slow inch.

“What’s so dazzling about me?” Quinn asked with a soft laugh.

He kissed her, spellbound. “Quinn, you have always been my sun, when we were children, and even more now. Every year, you burn brighter.”

His kisses carried a reverence beyond language, as if worshiping a life–saving light.

She was indeed his sun, pulling him out of the night that had once devoured him.

How lucky he was to have met her.

Luckier still to have fallen for her.

Luckiest of all–she loved him back.

Harlan surveyed the sprawling VIP lounge, its velvet couches crowded with strangers pairing off over diluted cocktails and forced laughter. Laura had practically dragged him here, insisting he attend this so–called inter–company mixer.

He had declined once already, yet Laura had shamelessly ambushed him outside the office at quitting time.

He knew exactly what she was thinking.

Is she afraid I would keep pestering Quinn and complicate Quinn’s life with Julius?

The thought drew a short, amused breath from his throat.

“Why are you smiling?” Laura demanded. That smile alone sent a cluster of young women into spark–eyed awe.

Of all the attendees, Harlan was clearly the centerpiece.

Tailored in the newest designer suit, with a face edged in predatory beauty, he looked ready for a televised talent show.

And that was before anyone learned his pedigree; if they knew, they would be kneeling at the polished toes of his dress shoes.

“So, Laura, do you truly want me paired off and out of the single pool that badly?” he asked, one brow arched.

Laura let her shoulders rise in a small, helpless shrug, the dim bar–lights sliding over the satin sleeves of her emerald blouse. “Come on, Harlan. We’ve known each other for years. Quinn and Julius will be getting married any day now. As your friend, I can’t keep watching you drown in a feeling that will never be returned. Think of tonight as a chance to clear your head, at least for a while.”

“What? She and Julius are… getting married?” Harlan’s fingers spasmed around his wineglass. The stem trembled. Half the crimson liquid sloshed over the rim and splattered across his knuckles before he seemed to notice.

“Hey, wipe that off.” Laura thrust a fistful of napkins toward him, worry flashing through her eyes even as she tried to keep her tone light.

The wine had already bled into the cuff of his bespoke jacket and dribbled down to the tailored hem. The ensemble had cost him several hundred thousand; now dark blossoms of merlot spread like bruises in fine wool. Whether any cleaner could save the fabric was anyone’s

guess.

But Harlan ignored the napkins. He caught her wrist in a sudden, iron grip. “Quinn’s really marrying Julius?”

“Yes. They’ll be back in the country in a couple of days, planning to make it official. And…” Laura hesitated, the words tasting like sand. “Quinn is pregnant, Harlan.”

Color drained from Harlan’s face. He swayed, as if the floor had tilted beneath him.

“Harlan, she truly loves Julius. So-”

“So you’re terrified I’ll ruin their happy ending, and that’s why you’re so eager to set me up with someone else?” His glare slammed into her like a thrown blade.

Laura’s pulse skipped. Under that stare, she felt, for one raw second, a primal jolt of fear. He hadn’t been called Jexburgh’s tyrant for nothing.

“Not entirely,” she said, steadying her breath. “Unrequited love is agony. I know that pain. I’d rather see you move forward than bury your life in a dead–end feeling.”

Harlan let out a short, bitter laugh. “And what would you know about it? When have you ever loved someone you couldn’t have?”

“Back when I dated your Uncle Weston,” Laura said evenly. “That was exactly what it felt like.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Harlan’s eyes. “But you’re the one who ended it.”

“I did.” A wry curve tugged at her mouth. “Because I overheard him telling a friend I was just a pastime, something to kill boredom. If I couldn’t have something real, why cling to scraps? Letting go was cleaner.”

Maybe it was the wine, or maybe the need to shake Harlan free of Quinn’s shadow, but the confessions spilled from Laura more easily than they ever had before.