Isabella
Just as I was about to take a sip of my mango milkshake, the one I’d been craving all morning, my phone rang. Rhea stared at it in disgust.
Luke.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” she muttered. “You do realise if he wasn’t your husband, you could get a restraining order against him, right?”
I stared at the evil bastard through the restaurant window.
That low-life piece of shit. That backstabbing son of a pimp.
“He’s using the bodyguard to spy on you,” said Rhea, aka Captain Obvious.
I answered the call.
“Hello, darling—”
“It’s all pasteurised,” I snapped, and hung up on him before sticking my middle finger up at Rem, who had the decency to look away in shame.
“He is kind of cute for a bodyguard. All rough and ready.”
“Rem is a backstabbing son of a pimp.”
“So, how’s those hormones working out for you?” she snickered.
I was halfway through my pregnancy now. It wasn’t my hormones that were the problem—it was my husband’s insanity.
My lips touched the straw, and I finally got my exotic milkshake fix.
So damn good.
Sweet, milky, creamy, and ice cold.
I was having two.
“You should have hooked up with Callum at the wedding,” I said, taking a breath before diving back in.
“What’s the point? He lives in Australia. I couldn’t live out there. Boxing kangaroos and being chased by spiders bigger than my head.”
“There’s life after divorce,” I told my friend gently.
She shrugged, lifting her tuna melt panini.
“Too much hassle.”
Most men would be put off by her strength, or even her lack of filter, but I believed there was someone out there for her. She had too much life and fire in her. She’d need someone exceptional.
I lifted my burger.
My phone rang.
I ignored him.
? ? ?
His embrace, and his cologne, felt like a second home. I clutched the lapel of his expensive suit and kissed him back. His hand came to rest on our son.
We were halfway to his car when I mentioned I’d had sushi earlier.
The drive home was so good.
A full-blown lecture.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d taken a midwifery course behind my back, purely so he could torment me some more.
It wasn’t until we reached home, the metal gates beginning to swing open, that I finally told him the truth.
“I don’t know why you’re so worked up, darling. It was vegan sushi.”
The gates were fully open, but his attention stayed on me. I stared straight ahead.
“Vegan?”
“Yes, it’s a food choice where people don’t consume animal products. Some may consider it a lifestyle.”
Silence.
The car moved.
“Well played,” he muttered.
I smiled as he drove up the driveway.
Zach’s Audi was parked up. He was home for the May half-term break. We’d had so much fun at Easter.
“Zach’s mum came to my office again,” Luke said, parking the car beside Amber’s.
I was banned from driving mine for the time being.
“What did she want this time?”
He sighed.
“Money, publicity, and my dick.”
I gasped and turned to face him.
“Hey, my dick is one hundred percent yours. She’s banned from all Newbury Global Technologies buildings. She reminded me of Sadie.”
“How on earth does she think you owe her anything?”
“She tried to say it was a business loan, and when I said no, she asked if I could open some doors for her in the media. That’s when she tried to come on to me.”
“What the hell?”
“I didn’t punch her, like she claimed. It was more of a gentle push. It wasn’t my fault she was wearing inappropriate shoes.”
And it just kept getting worse.
I groaned into my hands.
“Should I tell Zach?” he asked quietly.
I lowered my hands and unclipped my belt to kiss my husband on the cheek.
“He cut her off. Leave it. He doesn’t need to know. It will just embarrass him.”
He nodded, and his face cleared.
“You should have pushed her harder, though,” I muttered, opening the door.
He chuckled as he came around to help me out of the car like a toddler.