Page 122 of Checkmate
“I don’t care—”
“Yes. You do.” Brushing his finger over her lip, he sighed as though she were causing him pain. Thank God he still remembered some tips from high school drama lessons. This was acting worthy of the big screen!
“And I’m okay with you wanting a life of luxury. So do I. But for us to have that, to have everything we want, I need to be on top of my game. You need to let me do that.”
She stayed silent for a moment, her eyes searching his. He forced himself not to look away, hoping he was pulling this off.
“Are you really doing this for me? Because you haven’t even seemed really interested in me lately.”
“Sophie,” he sighed and pulled away. “God, I’m sorry. I’ve been such a bastard.” He ran his hand through his hair, not daring to look at her. He needed to sell this. “This is for you, but I can see why that’s hard to believe. Why else would I work so hard? I just… God. I’m so stressed. All the time.”
“But why? I mean, things aren’t that bad, are they?”
“They are.” He looked back finally, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just didn’t want to worry you or make you think we were doing anything wrong. But my reputation is everything. Getting divorced after an affair isn’t a good look. Screwing you all over the office—not a good look.”
“But that’s no one’s business but our own!”
He nodded in agreement. “True. But that’s the way it is. If I can’t stay committed to my wife, how can they trust me to commit to their company? If I am more interested in fucking you than doing my work, how can I offer them my time and prove I’ll give them my full effort?”
“Why is this only coming up now? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”
“Because I want to give you the world, Sophie.” God, that sounded good. “I don’t like to deny you or make you play by the rules. So, I overindulged and lost sight for a moment.”
“Are you really screwed?” She asked, her eyes looking worried. He shook his head and bit back a smirk. He’d already won this game. No need to drive the point home.
“Not really screwed. But I will be if I don’t buck up my ideas.” Silence fell between them as each of them reflected on the conversation. Sophie stared over his shoulder, chewing her lip. He wondered what it was she was thinking about. Finally, he broke the peace. “Will you come back to bed now, love?”
She refocused her attention on him. “Yes. But I have one request.”
“Of course. Shoot.”
“When we make love, you don’t just roll off and go to sleep. Just… be in the moment with me, Alex. Even for five minutes.”
He looked contrite, nodding solemnly. “I will. Sorry. I will.”
With a soft sigh, she took his hand and leaned to kiss his cheek. “Come on, you, let’s get you to bed. You have a company to run.”
Chapter 34
Sophie
5 MONTHS AGO
Sophie groaned in frustration as she emptied the contents of the pan into the bin for the third time. She had long forgotten the recipe book. She grabbed her ingredients and threw them haphazardly into the pan, stirring frantically.
This was Alex’s favourite meal she was fucking up, and she was determined to get it just right.
Erica could do it.
Alex would tell the office all the time about Erica’s famous lobster risotto. All the guys would tell him how lucky he was, how their wives could barely manage a microwave meal.
Sophie would not allow herself to be outshone by Erica. She was going to be the girlfriend other men were envious of. A partner that made a man want to strive to be the best he could for her.
She could make lobster risotto. She absolutely could. The book said so!
So why was it so fucking hard?
Okay, okay.
