Page 89 of Checkmate
“You’ve heard of an emotional affair, I assume?”
“Oh, hey wait. Erica, no.”
“No, you haven’t heard of it?”
“No, I don’t think you need to worry about it,” he corrected. “We’re not having an emotional affair.”
“We’re not?” Her eyes searched his, the smile gone from her lips. “I see.”
“Wait, no. I’m cocking this up.” He took her hand, holding it between both of his. “Erica, all I mean is our marriages are over. Have been for a long time. The only reason we’re not sitting here as two divorcees is because we wanted to screw with our exes.”
“But we are still married.”
“Honey, we have a toe in those marriages. And really, what have we done except help each other through the shit they put us through?”
Hell, maybe she was right.
The way he was beginning to feel about her didn’t feel entirely innocent, and it hadn’t been for a while now. But he wouldn’t tell her that. Not when the thought of being like Alex left her so distraught.
She wasn’t like him.
She was honest, sweet, and loyal. Theirs just happened to be a unique situation, and he couldn’t imagine anyone would accuse them of anything untoward.
No one that mattered, anyway.
Anyone who wanted to try besmirching her good name would have him to answer to, and he didn’t play nice when he was protecting those he cared about.
“Either way, I’ll feel better when this is all over with and I can do what I want to do and feel what I want to feel without any sort of guilt.”
As the big wheel moved once again, taking them back to solid ground, Marcus squeezed her hand.
“In a matter of days, you’ll get everything you want.”
“And you don’t want to change your mind about joining us?”
“And miss Alex getting punched by your brother? Oh, absolutely not. I’ll be there with a great big fucking smile on my face. Karma will make prisoners of all those who have wronged her, and she is coming for justice.
Chapter 23
Erica
“And you’re absolutely sure you want to do this today?”
Nope.
“Of course,” Erica said. “Everything is all set up, and I’m ready to get the ball rolling.”
She sat in front of her mirror, preparing for the day ahead. Despite her bravado, the dark circles under her eyes betrayed her nerves, along with her pale skin.
Alex, still in the shower, was in a fantastic mood and didn’t know what was coming for him. She couldn’t wait to see the blood drain from his face as he realised she had caught him.
“And you’re sure I can’t give mum and dad a heads up?” Lottie asked.
“I wish I could say yes,” Erica replied. “I hate the thought of ruining their day. But if they knew, they’d act different, and Alex would know something is up.”
“Right. You’ve said that before.”
Erica could picture her younger sister sitting on the edge of her childhood bed, chewing the end of her hair as she was prone to when nervous.
