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Because now I was starting to wonder ...didI have something to lose?
Was Duffy mine to lose?
I don’t know, idiot, is she? Because last I checked, she is still talking about Cocksucker in the present tense and scheming how to work somewhere where she could bag a millionaire.
One thing was for sure. I had feelings toward my wife. They weren’t always positive, but they were in existence.
And that was becoming a very big problem.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
RIGGS
Later that day, I went to the hospital to visit Charlie.
Duffy was helping her friend Laura by taking her cat to the vet, since she had a last-minute presentation. Laura, not the cat. She sounded really upset on the phone that she couldn’t make it earlier and promised to visit him in the evening, once she was done.
I told her I’d keep her posted and spared her any mention of my meeting with Gretchen today. What was the point of ripping open that old wound? It wasn’t like I had any news to tell. Gretchen was still an asshole.
Joining me for moral support, or more accurately so we could all get trashed afterward, were Christian and Arsène. Most people would shy away from meeting a complete stranger in a vulnerable condition. These two didn’t flinch at the sight of misery, though.
“I want to see the person who makes Riggs go grocery shopping,” Christian explained as he power walked through the hospital’s corridorsin his Tom Ford suit. “It’s unfathomable that you’d give a damn about someone you don’t plan on bedding.”
It was a good thing I didn’t tell them about my hookups with my wife. First of all, I wasn’t eager to hear them say “I told you so.” Second, I was strangely protective of Daphne and her privacy, especially after she’d gone viral since meeting me.Twice.
“I’m capable of feeling,” I protested, my jaw locking in annoyance.
“Only without a condom,” Arsène sneered. Christian snickered.
“What’s wrong with the old man, anyway?” Arsène wondered.
“Dunno.” I stopped in front of Charlie’s room number and knocked on it. “Guess we’ll find out now. He’s supposed to be awake.”
“Come in.”
I heard Charlie’s voice and pushed the door open.
Charlie was sitting upright in his bed, white as a Colorado Christmas but looking better than I’d seen him last week.
“Hey, R.” His face broke into a tired smile. “Thanks for coming. And you brought some friends.” His eyes scanned the two men behind me. “How ... inappropriate.”
Christian and Arsène chuckled behind me.
“The one in the obnoxiously expensive suit is Christian.” I stuck a hand in his direction, yawning. “And the one who looks like a vampire and doesn’t need a six-grand suit to feel like he’s better than God is Arsène. They’re my best friends.”
They both reached to shake his hand.
“How’s Duffy?” Charlie turned to me.
“‘How’s Duffy?’” I echoed, taking out my stoner kit and then rolling him a joint. Surely, he was in pain. I could wheel him out of here for a quick smoke. “I found you passed out in your bathroom. Tell me howyoufeel.”
“First of all, that must be the stupidest thing anyone’s done in a hospital.” He pointed at the joint I was rolling. “And second, I’m good. Just had a little accident. Those happen.”
“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. What’s going on with you?”
Charlie looked away. “Nothing.”
“Is it about these two?” I jerked my thumb behind my back. “’Cause I can kick them out. They’re used to it.”
