Page 24 of Reckless Kiss

Yanny hummed for over thirty seconds and said, “not horrific, no.”

“You’re such a liar. Keeping my private life away from magazines had its downsides. Sometimes I think the celebrities who tell the world every breath they take has it right. Is anyone reporting that we’re divorced?”

“No. You made everyone involved sign confidentiality agreements. You have excellent lawyers, so it still looks like he had an affair and got a woman pregnant behind your back.”

“I’m going to look like a victim here.”

“Technically, he did have an affair, Erica. Just because you got divorced, you were still married when he got her pregnant. He hadn’t asked you for a divorce when she conceived.”

“But we were not madly in love.”

The public doesn’t know that. So this is good for him, sadly. He’s coming across as a stud.

“I’m a weak, stupid woman who couldn’t keep a man happy enough to stop him straying. Men are arseholes.”

“Some men are arseholes.”

“Sorry, Yanny, I didn’t mean you were an arsehole.”

“As a man, sweetie, I feel tarred by your sweeping brush.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the best man I’ve ever met.”

“Aw, thanks, love. I’ll keep an eye on the media and tell you if any rumours are being aired.”

“Thanks, Yanny.”

“How are things on Copper Island? Did I pick a good place for you?”

Erica looked up to see Archer coming through the French doors and walking past where she was sitting. He made the motion of writing a note in mid-air and gave her a wave.

“Erica?”

“Um, yeah. Things are good here. You chose well.”

“Who caught your attention? Was he hot?”

“The maintenance guy had come to fix the wiring in the bathroom. He was just leaving.”

“Sounds like he was hot if you couldn’t multitask talking to me and looking at him.”

“He is very nice to look at and seems like a decent guy.”

“You sound like you like him?”

“I do. He’s someone I could get to know better. The public thinks I’m heartbroken over my arsehole husband, but I’ve been leading a single life for a while in reality.”

“Do I need to give you the rebound guy speech?”

“No,” Erica answered, hopefully giving her manager a clear objective to change the subject.

“Fine. I’m sending over a couple of scripts for you to look at. How’s the swimming going?”

“I’ve been here a day.”

“You’re Erica Taylor.”

“True. I’m going for a dip later. I needed to get the house sorted first.”