Page 77 of Through You
“When was the last time you saw her?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Two months ago?”
“You don’t sound like a very interested fiancé.”
“I’ve been busy.”
Alex brings his hand to his chin, pondering. “How do you survive this long without sex?”
“How do you survive asking questions like that?”
Alex winks at me again. “You can complain all you want, but deep down you know you can’t live without me.”
I feign a quick smile. “Oh, how I would like to put that to the test.”
Alex gives me the finger.
His gesture makes me flash back to that night three months ago in December when Claudia gave me the finger following our challenge at the pool. Her words drew a line I haven’t crossed. I’ve kept my distance, as it should be. She’s absolutely right. I don’t deserve to get close to her or seduce her—not until I figure out what will happen afterward.
Yes, it’s true that Cristina and I are playing roles in a farce.
Yet, to the world, we’re still together. And I need to keep Claudia away from all of this. I’d never put her in an impossible and uncomfortable situation.
“Doesn’t it seem to you that Cristina’s taken a lot of photos with this man?”
Alex shows me a picture from Instagram in which Cristina is standing next to a tall man with a beard and sunglasses. She’s in a lot of photos with him in different stops throughout Europe.
“I’m glad she’s having fun. She needed a break from work.”
Alex frowns. “Artemis.”
“Yes?”
“Your fiancé is obviously having a fine time gallivanting around the best cities of Europe with another man, and you’re not bothered one bit.”
I let out a sigh. “I’m not a jealous guy, you know that.”
“Sure.” Alex nods. “You’re not jealous. Except you punched your younger brother and you were on the verge of hitting me when you found out that I was this close to messing around with Claudia. My friend, this pattern begs to differ.”
“Claudia . . . our situation . . . it’s complicated.”
“Okay, I’m going to straighten you out,” Alex says tersely.
“You don’t seem to mind that your fiancé is very likely having an affair right as we speak. But you turn into a wild beast if anyone gets within an inch of Claudia. Ergo, you are in love with Claudia and feel absolutely nothing for your fiancé.”
I snort. “In love?! For god’s sake, Alex!
“What I don’t quite understand is why you’re with Cristina when it’s obvious that you’d rather be with Claudia. Shit, this is some prime-time soap opera stuff.”
“You need to findyourselfa girlfriend so you can stop worrying this much about my life.”
“Nah.” His smile fades. “I’m not looking for anything serious for a while.”
“Alex.”
“Stop giving me that condescending look.”
“It’s been months. You need a fresh start.”
