Page 125 of Checkmate
But she supposed it made sense. She had seen Erica’s walk-in wardrobe and the rows and rows of beautiful clothes. After thinking about it, she couldn’t recall an instance when she had seen Erica wearing the same thing twice. That kind of clothing addiction needed money.
Sophie wondered how Erica was managing without access to all those clothes. She had left more than half behind when she arrived with Marcus to collect her belongings.
Truthfully, Sophie had been selling them on the sly.
If Erica didn’t want them, then she might as well make money from them. No one had to know, and it helped her pay for the hired help without Alex questioning his bank statement.
Either way, if she revealed these secrets to Alex now, maybe Erica would start looking appealing to him again. He hadn’t mentioned her in a while, but Sophie was sure he sometimes longed for the life they once shared. Erica had everything under control. If Sophie let him see that she cut corners…
Well, she didn’t want to find out how he’d react.
She was almost positive he wouldn’t mind. After all, he hired help for dinner parties and charity events. Hell, even Erica had a maid, didn’t she? Alex said so himself. But Sophie had kept up the pretence for so long that revealing everything was a risk she wasn’t willing to take.
Tracing her finger over the shape of his lip, her heart leapt as he smiled in his sleep. Was he dreaming about her? Did she mean that much to him? She hoped so. He might not believe her, but she really loved him. Beyond his wealth and standing, there was something about him that called to her and set her soul alight.
He was everything she had ever wanted in a man. Tall and handsome, charming and witty. He made her feel giddy when he looked at her, made her insides melt when he smirked a certain way. His deep voice sent delicious shivers down her spine. His arms made her feel secure and safe.
She told him all the time just how much she loved him, but she wasn’t sure he believed her. Her biggest worry is that Alex thought she loved his lifestyle more than him. She certainly had bitched about Marcus lacking in that department.
But after tonight, maybe things were looking up.
It had been six months since their marriages ended. Six months of trying and fighting for him. She would be a fool to risk that now for the sake of honesty. And really, what couple didn’t have small secrets from one another?
In fact, it was healthy to have secrets.
She didn’t need to bog Alex down with every mundane detail of her day. He didn’t need to know the ins and outs of being a housewife any more than she needed to know what he and his associates did during whiskey and cigars.
She was doing him a favour by keeping him in the dark.
Leaning down to kiss him lightly, she snuck out of bed and grabbed a robe, pulling it around herself. Padding across their bedroom, she headed down the stairs and into the kitchen.
With about half an hour until Alex woke up, the breakfast delivery would arrive shortly. All she had to do was make a little noise, dirty up a few things and make it look like she had made it all herself.
He’d never caught her yet.
If anything, she was doing him a favour. After the lobster risotto fiasco, she dreaded to think how awful her food would be. She wouldn’t subject him to that! Not now when she was so close to getting everything she wanted. She loved him, and though he hadn’t said it back yet, she was sure he loved her.
Everything he did was for her, right? That’s what he said. He wanted to give her the world. That’s what he said.
Neither of those things would be true if he didn’t love her. Since she was young, she dreamed of a man like Alex.
And now she had him, she would do anything to keep him.
Chapter 35
Erica
EIGHT YEARS AGO
“So come on, what do you think?”
“It’s a house,” Erica said with a small smile.
“It’s our house,” Alex replied, his eyes dancing with excitement as he dangled the keys in front of her face.
Erica looked up at the townhouse, which was far too big for just the two of them. “You bought a house without telling me?”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it?” Alex took her hand, tugging her up the steps to the front door. “Come on, let’s look inside.”
