Page 147 of Checkmate
“Okay, I have to ask,” Bob said, shifting in his seat. “Is what Lord MacFarlane said true?”
“Which part?” Erica asked, deliberately stalling. She was nervous. Deep down, she knew she had her family’s unconditional support and love. Nevertheless, she wasn’t sure how they were going to react to their news.
“You know which part, Erica,” Debra said with a knowing smile. “You’re stalling, my girl.”
“Are the two of you together?” Bob asked, his eyes focused on hers.
“They are!” Josh said before she could answer. “I saw them kissing!”
“Josh!” Erica shot him a dirty look. Unfazed, he grinned at her and shrugged.
“I don’t know why you’re being so cagey, sis. We all like the bloke.”
“How heartfelt,” Marcus murmured, to which Josh happily flipped him off.
“Yes,” Erica said, interrupting before they could get into a playful back and forth. “We’re together. We’re a couple.”
Marcus’ hand found hers, lifting it so he could kiss the back of her fingers. She smiled at him, silently thanking him for his support even as her heart fluttered wildly at the simple gesture.
“How long for?” Lottie asked as Bob watched their interactions closely, his eyes taking in everything. Erica chewed her lip. She had always been so desperate for her parents’ approval - not that she ever had to work particularly hard to earn it. The thought that her decision would disappoint them left her with an icy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Not long at all,” Marcus said. “Things first started around the beginning of this month. The night of our first bus tour.”
“I see,” Bob replied. The group had fallen silent, and even Josh, who normally had some wisecrack in the most awkward of circumstances, seemed to realise that their father had something he needed to say.
“It’s not been long since you both ended a marriage,” he said, speaking more to Marcus than to Erica. “Are you sure this isn’t too fast?”
“It’s absolutely too fast,” Marcus said with a shrug. “But emotions don’t care about timing or ex-partners or impending divorces. I absolutely adore Erica. I have since our first meeting.” He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. Linking his fingers with Erica, he focused on Bob, speaking earnestly.
“I ignored a lot of what I was feeling because it felt inappropriate, and, as you said, far too quick. So I found other ways to admire her, to channel what I was thinking healthily.
“It worked for a short while too,” he said with a chuckle. “I had myself convinced that my interest in her was purely platonic. She became my best friend, my business partner, and my anchor against the tide. After all, she was going through the exact same thing I was. She knew what I was feeling better than anyone.”
“And Erica, what about you?”
“Shush, Dad,” she said, desperate to hear more of what Marcus had to say. He hadn’t even told her this. “Let the nice man say more things about me.”
Marcus smirked and squeezed her fingers. “I probably should have had this conversation with you already. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise. Continue the story,” Josh said. “Who came on to who?”
“I don’t think we need to hear that level of detail, Joshua,” Debra said with a small chuckle.
“Oh, it’s fine,” Marcus replied with a shrug. “Erica absolutely made the first move.”
“Marcus!” Oh, god that was mortifying. Her family must think she was a right horn-dog!
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Marcus said. “If I had any balls, I would have made the move long before you did. But look at you.” He gestured at her with an admiring smile. “You’re so clearly out of my league, I didn’t want to get my heart broken.”
A chorus of swoons from the women in her family broke Erica’s stunned silence. She glanced at her mother, and then her sisters. God, he had them in the palm of his hand.
“Well, you can certainly talk the talk,” Bob said. “But what if this turns out to be a big rebound for both of you? You’re walking on air right now, but what happens when the excitement wears off?”
“Dad, with all due respect, I’m not a child,” Erica cleared her throat until her father turned his gaze away from Marcus. “I am a grown woman, with my own mind. You don’t need to give Marcus the third degree because I trust him, and that should be enough.”
“You trusted Alex,” he retorted. “We all did.”
“Exactly. He had us all fooled.”
