Page 80 of The Fake WIfe Playbook

I don’t even finish reading her text before I walk to the check-in table. The ballroom doors open with a soft click, and suddenly everything is right with the world. She’s here, standing in a room of millionaires, but her simple elegance brings the focus of the room to her.

She must’ve changed at the airport or in the car, because she’s walking in like a goddamn vision—this midnight-blue silk gown that hugs her in all the right places, dipping low in the back, the front just daring enough to draw attention but still leaving plenty to the imagination. Her heels glint under the lights, and her shapely legs are impossibly long.

Her hair is pinned up, loose tendrils curling around her face, and she’s wearing the diamond necklace I gifted her. It’s simple and delicate, but it catches the light every time she moves. Pendant pearls and black sapphires dangle from her delectable earlobe—the ones I love to nibble on because it drives her crazy.

I’m too stunned to speak.

She’s scanning the room, searching, and then her eyes find me.

She mouthsI’m sorryagain, totally demure and breathless as she walks toward me, but before she can reach me, she gets intercepted.

Of course, it’sTessa. No event would be complete without an ex or two floating around.

Tessa Langford—my ex. Still clinging to her relevance, and she’s still sniffing around every charity event like she’s looking for husband number two.

I can’t hear their words, but I can see the tension on Kate’s face. Tessa smirks. I’m sure she’s being petty, and it’s words laced with venom, but Kate doesn’t flinch. Instead, she tilts her head, smiles, and says something with a slow, steady smile.

She must have hit a nerve as Tessa’s face blanches, and then Kate saunters away, unbothered, her hips swaying like she owns the floor.

I reach her, kissing her on the lips, I say, “I hope you had a great retort.”

She flashes me a grin, still smug. “I think I defended myself.”

I lean in, my voice low and rough. “What exactly did you say?”

Her eyes gleam. “I just let her know I’m the one you’re fucking now. Every night. All night long.”

I choke on a laugh—I’m unprepared for her fight and turned on as hell.

Kate slips her arm through mine like nothing happened, her head tilting to whisper in my ear, “She wasn’t nice.”

I stare down at her, torn between dragging her out of this place or dropping to my knees in gratitude for whatever luck brought her to me tonight.

“You’re late,” I say, just to push her buttons.

She smiles, wicked and beautiful. “But I showed up.”

And right then, I know one thing for sure.

There’s no one else in this room more worthy of my time.

“Can I get you some food? You must be hungry.”

“OMG, I’m starving.” And the way she looks at me, like I’m her salvation, makes my heart flutter.

I think I love my wife.

37

KATE

SOME DOORS NEED TO BE CLOSED

Mama’s heartwas made of rhinestones/Shinin’ bright but cheap and worn/She said ‘Find a man with money/That’s the safest kind of storm. Kate Riggs

I wake up and my phone has an alert. The headline hits me, and it’s worse than a hangover.

“Country Cinderella or Career Climber? Kate Riggs’ Mother Speaks Out”