Page 17

Marcus

“So, they were absolutely having sex,” Erica said as she tossed the phone onto the sofa.

Sat in the lobby of a hotel just outside of the city, they enjoyed a cup of coffee before they drove back.

When they had left his flat a few days ago, neither of them had a plan in mind. All they were clear on was punishing Alex and Sophie yet again.

Erica had suggested the hotel.

Supposedly, The Ol’ Witchery had a reputation for being haunted, and as she said, they’d be fools to pass up that kind of research.

Not that he needed much persuading.

If he had his way, they’d be in one of their rooms, away from prying eyes, so he could admire her in peace.

But coffee in the lobby was one of his better ideas.

Although it wasn’t necessary, Marcus had made sure security cameras proved how innocent this trip was. He didn’t care about himself so much, but he wanted to protect Erica’s reputation.

If they weren’t asleep (which cameras would prove was in separate rooms), they were hanging out in the various facilities available to them.

Plenty of witnesses.

Plenty of video footage.

It probably wouldn’t matter in the long run. He was sure she could present Alex with all the evidence in the world, and he would still choose to believe what he wanted to believe. But Marcus was going to do his part not to make things worse for her.

“How do you know?” He asked. “Or don’t I want to know? ”

“You don’t want to know,” she confirmed, shuddering as she ran her hand through her hair.

Bathed in wintery sunlight from the open windows, it was clear to see what a positive effect this impromptu break had on Erica. She looked more relaxed than he had ever seen her, and that somehow made her more beautiful to him.

“Well, we said this was a probability.”

“We did,” she agreed. “But something about it bothers me.”

“How so? Aside from the obvious, of course.”

“Well, that’s just it. The obvious isn’t what’s bothering me.” She took a drink and looked out of the window for a moment, the breeze playing with her hair. “Them having sex doesn’t bother me. We’ve known about this for a while, and I’ve come to terms with that.”

“Okay, so what’s getting to you?”

“Only that it’s Alex clear does not love me the way I thought he did.”

Marcus pulled a face, shifting in his seat. “Yeah, that part sucks, huh?”

Erica sighed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “Maybe it’s arrogance on my part, but I really thought Alex would see sense once I was out of the house and he realised he was about to lose me.”

“And instead, he’s screwing my wife,” Marcus said with a nod. “Believe me, I get it.”

“If anything, it’s shown me I’m making the right decision by not giving him another chance,” she said, turning to face him. “Aside from blowing up my phone, he hasn’t even tried .”

“Lottie still hasn’t heard from him?”

The first thing Erica had done when arriving at the hotel was call her younger sister. Outside of Marcus and Erica, Lottie was the only other person who knew about the affair, and as such, it was her job to make sure Erica’s parents didn’t find out.

Not yet, anyway.

“Nothing. He hasn’t called anyone. ”

“Would you call?” He asked. “If the roles were reversed and Alex had gone to a hotel with another woman, would you call his family?”

“Maybe not,” she admitted. “You think it’s an ego thing?”

“That’s one word for it,” he said with a shrug. “I think he doesn’t want to admit to anyone that he’s in danger of losing you because they’d absolutely call him out for the idiot he is.”

She chuckled, offering him a smile. “That’s sweet. But let’s not forget, he thinks we’re here fucking each other into oblivion. I’m not sure he’s the idiot in that scenario.”

“I think anyone who knows you would know that you’re not a cheater. He’s absolutely the idiot for accusing you. I don’t care how much we’ve baited him.”

“I’ll give you that,” she agreed. “But he should know me better than that. I’ve never given him a reason to doubt me, and what is a marriage without trust?”

“Why did you believe me?” Marcus asked.

It had been a burning question for a while now, settled in the back of his mind, waiting for an opportunity to ask.

“You know, Lottie asked me the same thing.” She paused and finished her coffee, gathering their used cups and cutlery and organising them neatly at the end of the table.

“Not to use your own words against you, but like you said, what’s a marriage without trust?”

“On Sophie’s birthday, I went into the office to give her a gift. She was quite frosty towards me and I thought it was kind of obvious she was crushing on Alex. No big deal. We’ve dealt with crushes before.”

“Okay? So, what was different this time?” He asked, murmuring his thanks as someone collected their mugs.

“His reaction. The way he spoke about her rubbed me up the wrong way. Like he was trying too hard to be rude about her. I kept telling myself I was being crazy . All these intrusive thoughts were unfair when he had never done anything untoward.”

“They’re good at making us feel crazy, right?”

“So good,” Erica said with a nod. “I was so annoyed with myself and for no reason! I should have listened to that nagging feeling and I didn’t. ”

“It’s hard to listen to our gut when it doesn’t give us a reason to,” Marcus said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re right,” she said with a nod. “You’re right. Anyway, that’s why I believed you. Because deep down, I already knew, even if I didn’t want to admit it. There was a warning inside me, telling me something bad was coming.

“And when we spoke on the phone, I heard the pain in your voice. There’s no way you can fake that kind of hurt. I knew you were telling the truth.”

“You’ve made this all incredibly easy, Erica. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever hear from you.” He paused, smirking to himself. “Although, I thought you were going to be a Sophie-eque clone.”

“Pardon?”

He shrugged and chuckled. “I didn’t know if Alex had a type. Apparently, he does not. You and Sophie could not be more different.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Given everything that has come to light about my wife, that’s a wonderful thing. For one, I enjoy being in your company.”

“Thank you.” She fell silent, her eyes roaming over his face as a smile lingered on her lips. “You ever think they’re getting off too easy?”

“Probably,” he nodded. “But I’m having a blast, anyway.”

“Me too,” she agreed, shifting closer to him. She curled her arm around his, resting her head on his shoulder. He pressed a soft kiss against the top of her head, inhaling her scent before he could stop himself.

“Hey, we have a bed upstairs. Two, in fact,” he said, his tone teasing as she looked up at him. “Shall we get revenge the proper way?”

Erica laughed, taking his joke the way he intended, tapping his arm playfully. “Ask me when I’m single,” she said with a wink. “You might get a proper answer then.”

He laughed with her, though it sounded hollow to his ears. The thing was, he wasn’t sure if he wanted her to be joking or not.

“You sure you don’t want me to come in with you?”

They sat outside Alex’s house, staring up at the window where he was watching the car with a thunderous expression.

“No, it’s fine,” Erica insisted. “I’ll be fine.”

“And you’ll call me if you’re not?”

“You’re on speed dial,” she said with a reassuring squeeze of his arm. “Don’t worry so much, Marcus. It’s you he wants to kill, not me.”

She smirked up at him before leaning in and kissing his cheek. “Thank you for the past few days. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

He pulled her in for a hug, his arms secure around her as he cherished the feel of her against him.

Oh, this was not good.

This was dangerous fucking territory. He liked this woman. Far too much. Way more than he was supposed to.

He risked a glance at the upstairs window, frowning as he noticed Alex missing. Releasing Erica, he cleared his throat to cover his reluctance.

“He’s gone,” he murmured, pushing his hair back from his face. “No doubt coming down here to kick my ass.”

“No doubt.” She sighed. “Okay, I’m gonna head in. I don’t want him storming out here.”

“Promise you’ll call?”

“Promise. I have no interest in staying with him when he’s in a good mood. I won’t put up with a shit one.”

“Okay,” he said, not sure what else he could say. He wanted her to leave with him so he could take her away from everything and everyone who wanted to hurt her.

All he could do was say goodbye and watch her walk back into the home she shared with another man.

He didn’t think it would bother him as much as it did.

“I’ll see you in a couple of days, yeah?”

“Absolutely,” she agreed. “I already can’t wait.” Blowing him one more kiss, she left the car, slinging her overnight bag over her shoulder. He watched from the car as she walked up the drive and hesitated at the door.

She turned to wave to him and Marcus clutched the bottom of his seat to keep himself in place. Everything inside him was telling him to go to her and stop her from going inside that house.

Stop her from going to Alex.

He didn’t start the car until long after she walked into the house, giving her every opportunity to come back to him.

Eventually, he conceded and pulled out onto the street, driving towards a home that didn’t feel like home anymore.

They may have spent most of the time working, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had so much fun with another person with clothes on.

Erica made him laugh effortlessly, even in the most serious of moments. She had an infectious personality, and he couldn’t help but be in a good mood around her.

“Ah, you’re a fool, Marcus Crowe,” he muttered into the silence. “A damn fool.”

A fool he was.

He wouldn’t see Erica again until after the weekend when they had a meeting at City Hall for new permits.

Was he really that starved of affection that he was clinging to the first woman that crossed his path?

He couldn’t deny he and Erica got along well enough. And given that they’d jumped into business together, they’d clearly bonded.

But beyond that?

“You’re just lonely, Marky boy,” he murmured. “And she’s a pretty face with a kind heart.”

That must be it.

Must be.

Why else would he feel so connected to her so quickly? Because she showed him kindness his wife had never shown him and now that he had experienced that kind of warmth from another person, he craved even more of it.

That’s all it was.

It wasn’t the person, but what she represented. Erica could be anyone, he was sure of it. Things didn’t have to have some bigger meaning. He could admire Erica without relying on her for his happiness. He could find her beautiful without crushing on her.

He wasn’t even divorced yet. There would be time for all that, eventually. When the right woman came along.

Feeling lighter, he joined the evening traffic as he turned on the radio.

As he sang along lowly to an old Elvis song, he pushed back the lingering thought he refused to focus on., the niggling voice that reminded him that despite his efforts, it would still be Erica’s face that he remembered before falling asleep that night.