Page 143 of Checkmate
She wrinkled her nose at the thought. Wasn’t he supposed to be devastated over losing her?
Still, he was looking better than ever, and despite whatever happened to his tour bus, his business had become quite a little money maker. Who would have thought it? It seemed their marriage ending was the best thing that could have happened to him. But that couldn’t be true, could it?
“Sophie, what is this?”
Shaking the thought from her head, and muting the tv, she forced herself to focus on Alex as he walked into the room.
“One hundred and fifty-three pounds at Harrods? What the fuck are you buying from Harrods?” Sophie’s stomach dropped as she realised Alex was holding the bank statement. He’d given her free rein on his card months ago and he had never brought up her purchases.
Why now?
She couldn’t tell him she’d spent a small fortune on their baby. That would completely ruin the surprise! It took everything she had not to drop her hand to her stomach and cradle her growing child. She still couldn’t believe there was life growing inside her, or that she had kept the news to herself. It was quite nice having a secret all her own, but she couldn’t wait to tell Alex.
Maybe then he wouldn’t look quite so angry at her purchases.
“Eighty-six pounds at Mama’s and Papa’s? Who do we know who is having a baby, and why do we like them eighty-six pounds worth?”
“I didn’t realise we were counting pennies,” she said, desperate to move his thoughts away from that particular store. Although she couldn’t wait to show him the beautiful luxury bedding set she’d bought for the baby.
“I just don’t understand—”
“Did you see Marcus and Erica on the TV?” She said, interrupting him.
“What?” He frowned, glancing at the screen. “What the… Turn it up, babe.”
Dropping the bank statement onto the coffee table, Alex took a seat next to her. Relieved she had distracted him, she turned the volume up, turning her attention to the screen.
“We can’t thank Mr MacFarlane enough,” Erica said, smiling at the camera. God, she was annoyingly beautiful. Even with her cheeks bright red from the cold, she was fucking stunning. Sophie rolled her eyes and stole a glance at Alex.
On the plus side, he didn’t look at her with longing eyes. But damn, did he look angry.
“… we’ve gifted a brand new tour bus, along with the funding to replace all their stolen goods…”
“Mother fucker,” Alex muttered beside her. “Son of a bitch!”
“And if anyone has any information, we’re offering a monetary reward…”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Sophie jumped as Alex thumped the sofa between them, a dark look coming over his face.
“What ha—”
“Shush a minute.”
“... And if we all rally together as a community, this beautiful young couple can continue to provide us with spooky entertainment for many years to come…”
“God, how nauseating,” Sophie said, rolling her eyes as the camera focused on Marcus and Erica and the look of pure adoration they shared. Had Marcus ever looked at her like that?
Somehow, shockingly, she doubted it.
“Turn it off,” Alex said quietly as the camera panned back to the newscaster. If she thought he was angry earlier, he was fucking livid now. She switched the TV off, biting her lip and staying silent.
What could she say?
She didn’t even know what exactly he was angry about. Better to stay quiet and figure out how she was feeling. Marcus had clearly moved on from her. What was it the old man had said? The beautiful young couple?
That was as official as it was going to get.
And, gosh, they were beautiful.
