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Bloody Kieran.He must’ve told BJ that I knew. I hit the decline button again. The third time, I put my phone on silent and shoved it back into my purse. Let BJ get a taste of what it felt like to be ignored.
I didn’t know how long it took before I was in front of my building. I felt sufficiently plastered and dissolute when I tripped up the stairs. Passing by Charlie’s door, I made a mental note to check on my neighbor. I’d been so busy avoiding my new husband that I’d neglected my responsibilities. One of which was to give the lonely man some much-needed companionship.
I jabbed my key four times into its hole before I managed to unlock the door. The lights were off. The dim, bluish light of the TV danced in the darkness. I dragged my feet across the floor, hiccuping and kicking Riggs’s worn-out leather boots from my path.
So hewashere. Wonderful. Splendid. Better nip that conversation in the bud.
“Duffy.” He stood up from the couch, like a pupil who’d been waiting outside the principal’s office. He looked particularly dashing, after not seeing him for a few consecutive hours straight. “Hey. I didn’t want to bother you, b—”
“Oh, bollocks!” I moaned, loudly and rather aggressively. “You justhaveto be gorgeous. With your bedhead and dimples and muscles and ... and ... lack of shoulder hair. It’s like nature didn’t get the memo you’re middle aged.”
Riggs stared at me with confusion. “Uh ... thanks?”
“You’re fit.” I took a swig of my vodka. “And I fancy you.”
“Why are you yelling?” He frowned. I couldn’t tell for sure, but he looked a bit upset. And by a bit, I mean a lot. And by a lot, I mean IMMENSELY. His cheekbones were flushed, and his eyes were so dark they looked like an endless abyss.
“Because I’m wasted.” I laughed, feeling incredibly empty on the inside, the echo of my laughter bouncing in my lungs.
“No shit.” He gave me a slow once-over. His jaw locked. “Where’ve you been?”
“My mate’s place.”
“A boy-friend or a girl-friend?”
“A none-of-your-business friend,” I declared cheerfully. “Let’s not pretend you’re not visiting your lady friends whenever you fancy.”
“And you couldn’t send a text? Spare a phone call? ‘Hey, Riggs, by the way, I’m staying over with a friend, not dead. So don’t send a search party.’ You know, like a normal person?”
“Why didn’tyoutext?” I stumbled toward him, poking my finger in his chest.
His nostrils flared, and his eyes tapered. “I wasn’t the one who—”
“Yes, you were,” I said, cutting him off. “In the courthouse. You left me.”
Incredibly, I didn’t think I was taking my BJ rage out on Riggs. I genuinely felt more hurt about my fake husband not spending time with me after our sham wedding than myrealboyfriend for the last decade running off with some plastic-tit Finnish girl. Or was she Swedish?
Riggs looked ready to toss me out of the Empire State Building. “You can’t just run off like that.”
I tipped my head back and laughed. “Why? You’ve made a career out of it. Running off is literally your entire personality.”
“We’re not talking about me,” he said tightly.
“I second that statement.” I took another generous gulp of vodka. “Wenevertalk about you. I don’t know the first thing about you. Why all the mystery, Riggs Bates? What do you have to hide?”
Even though I desperately wanted to know more about him, what I really wanted right now was to unbutton his jeans, drop to my knees, and suck him off until he couldn’t stop himself anymore and enjoy a round or two of his wife. Revenge sex was the best kind of sex, or so I’d been told.
But Riggs didn’t look sultry and turned on. He looked like he was ready to pump my stomach and send me off to a wellness center. “Look, I owe you an apology, and an explanation for what happened the day we got marri—”
“BJ cheated on me,” I said, bursting into his speech again.
“What?”
“Aren’t you happy?” I giggled, leaning against his body shamelessly, fingering the long column of his neck. “You were right about Cocksucker all along.”
“No, I’m not happy.” He captured my shoulders and guided me gently to the settee, where I flopped down bonelessly. “What happened?”
I waved him off with a snort. “Please stop pretending you care about anything or anyone. I happen to know you, Riggs Bates.”
