Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 124971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“You gave it a name?”
He put the kitty in its bed, and it yawned happily, stretching its legs.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s mine.”
“We can’t keep it.” Again, I found myself following him as he headed over to the kitchenette.
“We can, and we are.” Riggs grabbed the Sharpie by the fridge, stood in front of our laminated list, and crossed out another one of our house rules nonchalantly.
House Rules
No pets
No hookups
No fraternizing with your spouse
He turned around, smiling big at me. “There you go. I’m stretching your horizons.”
“More like tearing them apart.” I stood next to him, furious. I was happier when he stretched other parts of me. “You can’t just adopt a pet without consulting with me first. Especially as I’ll be the one to take care of it.”
Riggs stepped forward, getting in my face. His eyes were dark and thunderous. “I don’t think you understand the meaning of this word can’t. Because that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
He turned around and went back downstairs to bring the rest of Micko’s things, refusing to speak another word to me. And when darkness peered down at us from the window, he slid into the settee like he’d never left, turning his back to me.
Riggs was different. Changed. And he wanted to destroy my house rules, my anchor, my sense of control.
If he didn’t have control, he didn’t want me to have it either.
The message was loud and clear.
We were over. For good.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
DUFFY
The next couple of weeks were hell on earth.
Foolishly—and with complete disregard to logic—I decided to break the news to my family via FaceTime that BJ and I were done. A dreadful idea, really. Mum and Tim were technologically challenged and kept frowning at the screen and leaning into it, as if I was trapped inside Kieran’s mobile.
“My goodness, darling! Broken up? Completely, you mean?” Mum clutched her fake pearls. The same ones that usually made my skin crawl but these days seemed like a funny anecdote about the woman I loved so dearly.
“Yes, Mum, he cheated on me in Thailand. Kier, I thought you told her?”
“I did.” Kieran threw his hands in the air in the background. “She asked how many times, so clearly we didn’t get the reaction we were shooting for.”
“Mum!” I chided, appalled. “Once is more than enough! It’s like murder. You don’t have to be prolific to get into the halls of villaindom.”
“Was he pissed when he did that?” Tim asked seriously. “You know the bloke can’t handle his liquor.”
“Stop making excuses for him!” I fumed.
“We just don’t want you to think you’ve wasted so many years on nothing, darlin’,” Tim explained sheepishly. “You seem to like that twat, for a reason beyond our grasp.”
“Mum, Tim, a time with the wrong person isn’t wasted. It’s like going to school. You’re paying your dues and getting educated about what you want in a partner . . . and what you certainly don’t.”
“Does she look heartbroken to you?” Kieran barked out a laugh. “Look at her. She has that bedding-someone-a-decade-older-than-me-who-is-also-my-roommate-oops-the-secret-is-out glow.”
Kieran was lucky we were an ocean apart, because I’d have loved to throw one of my heeled shoes at him right now.
“Is that so?” Mum lit up like a Christmas tree. On fire. Oh God, so awkward. Also—so raw. I wasn’t prepared to tell them Riggs and I were already finished.
“No, Mum, it’s not.” I shot Kieran a scowl. “Riggs and I are only roommates.”
“Who have sex together,” Kieran finished. Did Riggs tell him, or was it one of those twin psychic things?
“You snitch,” I accused.
“You prude!” Kieran laughed.
“Mum, Kieran wanted to moon our neighbor to ask her out,” I snitched back. Two could play this game. His mouth went slack.
“Mum, Duffy got married to Riggs to stay in America.”
Everyone went completely still. Nobody said a word. By the look on Kieran’s face, I saw that he hadn’t intended to let the cat out of the bag. It just rolled off his tongue, like all the other nonsense he spewed on a regular basis.
I lowered my gaze to my feet. Mum shoved her entire face into the camera, showing me an impressive close-up of her nostrils.
“Is this true, Daphne?”
“Yes, Mum.”
She frowned, mulling this over. “Do you love him?” Okay. That reaction, I did not expect.
“It’s just for show,” I reminded her, depressed. “Riggs is helping me out.”
She tilted her head. Now I had a close-up of her chin. “But do you love him?”
Ah, bugger. I couldn’t hide my emotions at all, could I?
“Yeah,” I admitted miserably. “Very much. But he doesn’t love me back.”
“Rubbish.” Tim laughed, delighted. “The man stared at you the entire weekend with worry and anxiety, like you held his balls in your pocket. He’s definitely smitten.”
But if Riggs was truly smitten, he wouldn’t be coming home every night reeking of alcohol and other women’s perfume, much to my chagrin. He wouldn’t ignore me so thoroughly. He wouldn’t move around with a disgruntled frown that made me feel like he was waiting for October 22 like it was the second coming of the Messiah Himself.