All Chapters of The Substitute Bride He Broke.: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The dinosaur book had been on the kitchen table for three days.Nora noticed it on Sunday evening, when she was clearing away the dinner things. She moved it to the counter without thinking much of it. On Monday morning it was back on the table, open to a page on the Spinosaurus, Liam's spoon resting across it while he ate his cereal and read."You've already read that one," she said."I know." He didn't look up. "Caleb said Spinosaurus was probably a good swimmer. Because of the spine thing." He pointed at the ridge along the dinosaur's back without taking his eyes off the page. "It's for balance. In water."Nora poured her coffee."Is that so.""He said scientists argued about it. For a long time." Liam turned the page. "I like that they argued about a dinosaur."She didn't say anything to that. She picked up her mug and looked out the window at the grey morning and thought about the files she needed to pull before her nine o'clock, the dry-cleaning she still hadn't collected, the p

The restaurant was small and wood-panelled and quiet in the way Nora had specified, the lunch crowd thinning by the time they arrived, and Liam had chosen the seat nearest the window with the confidence of someone who understood that window seats were always the correct choice.He had his printed pages on the table beside his menu."You can't read at the table," Nora said."I'm not reading. I'm referencing.""Put them away."He put them away with the careful resignation of a man filing important documents. Then he picked up the menu and studied it with the same intensity.Caleb sat across from him. Nora sat at the end, equidistant from both of them, which was not something she had planned and was not something she was going to think about."They have pasta," Liam said."They do," Caleb said."What kind.""The menu will tell you."Liam read the menu. "Penne. Rigatoni. Tagliatelle." He considered this. "What's tagliatelle.""Flat ribbons.""Like fettuccine?"Caleb paused. "Yes. Exactly

Nora buried herself in work.It was the only thing that still made sense.By the time she reached the office on Monday morning, she had convinced herself that Lena's voicemail could wait. She had ignored three more missed calls over the weekend, deleted two unread text messages without opening them, and spent Sunday pretending everything was normal for Liam's sake.Normal was easier to manage than fear.She dropped her handbag beside her desk and immediately reached for the stack of client files waiting for her attention. Numbers. Contracts. Deadlines.She had almost finished sorting the first pile when raised voices drifted in from outside her office."Nora is in a meeting.""I don't care.""I'm sorry, but you can't just walk in—"The door flew open before her secretary could finish."Nora, I'm so sorry," her secretary said, breathing hard as she hurried after the woman who had pushed straight past her. "I tried to stop her.""It's fine, Claire."Claire looked unconvinced.The woman

The knock on Nora's office door came just as she sent her last email."Come in," she called, closing the document on her screen.Claire stepped inside with her tablet tucked against her chest. "The investors are here, and Mr. Hales asked me to remind you the board meeting starts in fifteen minutes. The grant committee arrived a few minutes ago."Nora glanced at the clock in the corner of her monitor and let out a quiet breath. She had promised herself she wouldn't let Lena's visit affect the rest of her day, yet the hours had disappeared while she buried herself in reports and budgets. It had worked for a while, but only because numbers demanded her attention in ways memories never stopped asking for."I'll be there in a few minutes."Claire lingered by the door instead of leaving straight away. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem... different a d tensed"Nora offered the same smile she'd been giving everyone since morning. "I'm fine. Just trying to get through a busy day."Claire

Monday morning arrived with a stack of emails waiting in Nora's inbox.Most of them were routine updates from department heads, but one stood out immediately. The subject line read Grant Implementation Meeting, and beneath it was a detailed agenda outlining the first phase of the funding process.She opened the attachment and skimmed through it.The grant committee had assigned a liaison to work directly with NovaCrest throughout the implementation period. The name at the bottom of the document made her pause.Fred Lawson.A knock sounded on her office door before she could think about it any further.Claire stepped in carrying a folder and two coffees. "Your nine o'clock just arrived. I wasn't sure if you wanted tea or coffee this morning, so I guessed.""You guessed correctly."Claire smiled as she placed the cup on Nora's desk."Mr. Lawson is waiting in Conference Room Two. I told him you'd be there in a minute."Nora nodded."Thank you."She picked up the folder, took one sip of c