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Sophie had been oddly touched by the gesture, for it provided some of the reassurance that she was desperately seeking. Beside their bed, which was practically burning up from the heat of their connection, he spoke to her with the same civil politeness he was employing with Olivia. In fact, perhaps even less!
She watched the two of them with a sense of exclusion.
“You should try some Soph.”
Sophie wrinkled her nose. “I’m still recovering from our champagne bonanza,” she said with a shrug.
“Bonanza.” Olivia shook her head with mock disappointment. “My sister just can’t handle her liquor, I’m afraid.”
“I have noticed,” he said with a laugh. “Where will you stay in Vegas?”
“I don’t know.” She grinned. “That’s part of the fun.”
“We have a home there. Of course you may …”
“No, no.” Olivia held up a finger. She’d had several wines with dinner and three different scotches with Alex afterwards, and yet she seemed completely in control. “You’re not going to deprive me of my fun.”
He arched a brow inquisitively.
Sophie smiled, despite the gnawing certainty that something was very badly wrong in her marriage. “Liv loves the thrill of destitution. She’s not a big believer in having money in the bank, nor a steady job.”
“I see.” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Sophie understood, too late, what she’d said wrong. It was not a joke to him. Alex had lived that life. He’d been destitute for real, and he knew, better than most, that it was not funny, nor was it fun. She searched for something to say – anything – to move the conversation forward before Olivia could add something else to the insensitive remark. “I’ve never been to Vegas.”
“I thought you went with Edwin,” Liv remarked, lifting a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “Didn’t you go when he had that conference?”
Sophie’s eyes flew to Olivia’s with shock. She knew they couldn’t speak of her former employer!
Alex, still in his chair, was instantly alert. He saw the panic in Sophie’s face.
“Edwin?” He aimed his query towards Olivia, who was far more communicative than his secretive wife.
“Sophie’s boss back in Sydney. A real pig of a man, but you thought the world of him for a while.”
Sophie winced at the poor choice of words.
“I see,” Alex nodded, but Sophie could see that he didn’t.
“Liv,” Sophie’s voice held a warning, but Olivia ignored it. She might have seemed unaffected by the alcohol she’d imbibed, but of course she wasn’t.
“Oh, come on. It’s ancient history. Besides, you must have told Alex about him?” Before Sophie could reply, Liv turned back to Alex. “This guy was a real piece of work. He fell completely in love with Soph and got really creepy for a while there.”
Alex, who had seen the report for himself, knew Olivia’s version of events was incorrect, but he did a good job of pretending otherwise. “Creepy how?”
“Olivia.” Sophie stood, and her face was completely white beneath her tan. “You must stop.”
“Why?” She sat up straighter, as if realising for the first time that she’d said something wrong. “Oh, Sophie. What did I do? I’m sorry. I’m such a blabber mouth. I just presumed he knew.”
“No,” Sophie was bewildered.
“Because of the agreement. Right.” She slapped her forehead. “No more scotch for me.” She stood, her expression contrite. “Having dropped that messy little bombshell, I might absent myself now.” She smiled weakly at Alex and then cro
ssed to her sister. In a whisper, she said, “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Sophie smiled kindly. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
She watched Olivia leave the room with a sinking heart. Confidentiality agreement or not, she certainly owed some explanation to her husband.
She toyed with her fingers and sighed. “It’s not a big deal. And it was a long time ago. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
