An Open Marriage by Tess Stimson

Author:Tess Stimson [Stimson, Tess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780230764101
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

14

Charlie

No one ever lost money by underestimating the self-control of a man left alone with an attractive woman. It’s entirely my fault for believing my husband has a conscience, let alone a single shred of self-restraint.

‘Just because you could didn’t mean you had to!’ I cry tearfully.

‘Then why the hell did you tell me it was OK?’

‘Jesus, Rob! Are you really that stupid, or just that fucking selfish?’

He stiffens. ‘I refuse to have a discussion with you if you can’t be civil.’

‘You lost any right to complain about my language when you screwed my best friend!’

He pushes his face into mine, his eyes flat and hard. ‘You stood right here in the kitchen and told me you didn’t have a problem with it. Now you want to crush my balls because I took you at your word?’

‘I said it might be nice if you and Mia took the girls out for pizza!’

‘That’s not all you said, and you know it.’

We square off furiously, neither of us giving an inch. ‘OK, I also asked you if you wanted to sleep with her, yes!’ I concede angrily. ‘How does asking the question qualify as permission?’

‘That’s not the way I remember it,’ he snaps.

‘Go on, tell me. How, exactly, do you remember it?’

‘You told me if I really wanted to sleep with her, I should go ahead.’

‘And you took that as a green light?’ I demand.

‘How else was I supposed to take it?’

He knows damn well I was being sarcastic. I can’t believe he’s being this manipulative and disingenuous. ‘You were supposed to take it the way it was meant,’ I say bitterly.

‘So this was another one of your little tests, was it?’

‘Of course not!’

He laughs shortly. ‘Would you like to get a mirror and look yourself in the eye when you say that?’

Suddenly I’m not so sure. I know how strong the sexual attraction is between them. Was I testing him? Did a part of me want to push him and see if he was capable of spending an evening in her company without trying to screw her?

‘So why did you tell me to ask her over?’ Rob demands now, scenting blood in the water. ‘What did you think was going to happen?’

‘I thought you’d have a pizza!’

‘You asked me if I wanted to fuck her, and I told you yes. And you told me to go ahead.’

‘You know I didn’t mean it! I was just . . .’

‘What? Setting me up? Playing another one of your mind games?’

‘For God’s sake, Rob! So what if I was! You couldn’t have proved me wrong, for once? You couldn’t have turned her down?’

‘You started this whole thing with Mia and Kit!’ Rob exclaims angrily. ‘You’re the one with the agenda. Where do you get off, turning on me for doing exactly what you set me up to do! You helped me fuck her, for God’s sake!’

I’ve got no answer to that. He’s right. And I still feel guilty about it. ‘It wasn’t enough for

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