AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hardly.” I tilted my chin up. “But think about the children.”
“I prefer not to. I have a strong aversion to them, generally speaking.”
“Color me shocked.” I snorted, getting more riled up, although I noticed he stayed close behind me, hiding my period stain. “I’ve never met a man quite so reckless. You’re nearing forty and don’t even have a place!”
“I could have a place,” he said dryly, in a way that almost made me believe him. “And a car. And all those little insurances you have to pay monthly. I choose not to.”
“Why?”
“Freedom. Did you know the wordmortgagemeansdead pledgein French? When you own something, it is bound to own you back.”
“Maybe I’d like to be owned. Living like a wild weed, without a place to call home ... seems like a miserable existence to me.”
Riggs followed me down the stairs to the subway, his movements panther-like—sleek, long, and graceful. He was drawing looks from women and men alike, and the sheer presence of him made me lose my balance.
“I was never in any danger of ruining Gretchen’s marriage,” he said finally.
“How come?” I challenged, passing through the turnstile. Hehoppedover it after me. My future husband was a delinquent. Lovely.
“Because.” He leaned against the wall on the subway platform casually, one leg propped up. “It was already ruined when I entered the picture. Jason has been having an affair with Gretchen’s sister for ten years.”
“What a bunch of crock.” I rolled my eyes, producing a small mirror from my wallet and then checking my lipstick. “Gretchen’s daughter Presence is already nine.”
“She named her daughters LyricandPresence?” Riggs wore a repulsed smirk. “She’s crueler than I thought. Anyway, that’s the God-honest truth. Gretchen found Jason and her sister in a compromising position the same day they arrived back from their honeymoon. Their marriage hasn’t been legit since.”
Shamefully, this piece of sordid information filled me with pleasure. Gretchen had always been on the winning end. I’d never seen her wronged.
“So why did she stay married to him?” I demanded.
“Didn’t you just say Presence is nine, soon to be ten?” He quirked a knowing eyebrow. “Do the math, Poppins.”
“Stop calling me Poppins.”
“Stop sounding like her.”
That made me shut up for a second while I digested the information.
Gretchen was pregnant when she got married to Jason. That made sense. Gretchen was the kind of woman to tick marriage and kids off her to-do list and move on to her next conquest. And by this stage—ten years ago—she was more concerned with not losing her position at the network than working on her marriage.
“And when did you enter the picture?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“About four years ago.” Riggs adjusted the leather strap of his messenger bag over his shoulder. “We were both covering the Olympics in Greece.”
“Who hit on who?”
“Does it matter?”
“You know bloody well it does.”
“The attraction was there from both sides,” he said diplomatically.
“Who made the first move?” I insisted, filled with fresh rage toward Gretchen for hitting on my fake fiancé.
“Me,” Riggs said carelessly. Unconvincingly. “What can I say? All that cardio made me want to have a workout myself.”
I didn’t believe him. He was covering for Gretchen. I couldn’t figure him out. He had the thoughtless, hedonistic air of a villain and the moral code of a hero.
“Do you love her?” I narrowed my eyes, drowning in those ocean-hued marbles of his.
