Page 168 of Checkmate
“Okay, the envelope now,” he said, handing it to her.
“I don’t know how you could top all of this,” she said, cutting along the seam. Pulling out the two tickets, she frowned, looking up at him. “Are we going somewhere?”
“Just look,” he said, his eyes dancing with excitement. Curious, she turned the tickets over, her heart leaping out of her chest.
“Oh, Marcus,” she breathed. “You didn’t.”
But he had. In her hands, she held two tickets for a flight to New Orleans. This could only mean one thing, and she had never been more excited in her life. “Are we going to the Lalaurie mansion?”
“And a handful of other places,” he said, laughing as she threw her arms around him. “You’re excited I take it?”
“So excited,” she agreed, releasing him after a moment. “It’ll be weird going on someone else’s ghost tour, though, won’t it?”
“I bet it’s not as good as ours,” he teased. “Even if our ghosts aren’t quite as famous as Lalaurie.”
“I don’t know what to say, Marcus,” she said, looking around at her gifts. Surprisingly, she felt a lump in her throat that she didn’t know how to explain. It wasn’t as though someone hadn’t spoiled her before. But never this personally. Never by a person who knew her as well as Marcus did.
“I love you,” she said simply.
“Quite right, too,” he replied, kissing her nose. Turning his head at the sound of the door, he pulled a face. “Sit and enjoy your coffee. I’ll get the post.”
Thanking him, she took her seat again, her fingers running over the flight tickets.
She couldn’t believe Marcus had gone through so much trouble for her. The flights alone must have cost him a small fortune.
He thinks he doesn’t deserve you.
She frowned as a long-forgotten conversation with Josh floated through her mind. It had been the night they told her parents about their relationship. After dinner was over, they went to the pub, along with Lottie and Liv.
Erica remembered Josh and Marcus sitting in a corner for what seemed like hours, talking away in hushed voices. When she confronted Josh, he’d spilt the beans, albeit reluctantly.
“He thinks he doesn’t deserve you. Look at all the positive things that have happened to him since you entered his life. He doesn’t know how to thank you.”
“He doesn’t need to thank me,” she replied with a frown.
“Well, he believes he does. His business is booming. He’s got this awesome new house. He’s happier than ever. It’s all down to you.”
“No. No, Marcus is one in a million. He’d have achieved all this without me. I just planted the seeds for him, but he’s the one that keeps people coming back. I wish he’d see himself through my eyes.”
She had planned to tell him exactly how she saw him later that evening. But as the drinks kept flowing, her conversation with Josh went by, forgotten. She could kick herself for that.
Especially now, when his thoughtfulness proved it was she who did not deserve him.
“Letter for you,” Marcus said, entering the room. “Seems important too.” Handing over her mail, he took a seat, taking a sip of coffee as he sorted through his own letters.
Putting aside the obvious birthday cards, Erica opened the official-looking envelope and pulled out the documents inside. Gasping, she covered her mouth with her hand and stared at the words on the paper, not sure if she was reading them correctly.
“What?” Marcus said, looking at her curiously. “Baby, what is it?”
Unable to speak, she handed over the confirmation of her divorce, written in black and white. She was no longer legally married. She was free.
“Holy shit,” Marcus said, looking at her over the top of the papers. “Congratulations, gorgeous.”
She returned his grin, giggling at the absurdity of the situation. Here she was celebrating her birthday with the man she loved, spoiled beyond belief, only for her ex-husband to give her the best gift of all.
Her entire future.
“We need to celebrate,” she said, glancing around the room for inspiration. “We need to get absolutely shitfaced and fuck like rabbits.”
