Tickled Pink (11 page)

Doubt dusted across her face. “Sure, later tonight. I have a busy day.”

“I meant what I said. I’m really proud of you.” He fought the urge to kiss her again. Not here. Not after the last few weeks. His phone rang and Toni rolled her eyes.

He retrieved the phone and glanced at the number. It was Piper—she never called this early. “Hello?”

Toni rolled her eyes and walked past him out of the room.

“Richard, I normally don’t say anything, but I have to know.” His sister barked with an edge to her voice he didn’t like.

“What do you need to know?”

Piper cleared her throat. “Are you cheating on Toni?”

He didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. “Please tell me you’re kidding? You’ve seen her—she’s gorgeous.”

A small gasp echoed behind him and he turned to a stunned Toni. She walked over to her purse and jean jacket then spun on her heel toward the door. “Wait a second.” He told his wife as the other line cut in. He glanced at the number. Dammit. “I have to call you back I have another call coming in.” He met Toni’s gaze. “Please wait.”

“Sorry, I have to go. It’s important.” She cast an asinine look. “You know all about important taking precedence—you’re the king.”

Defeat hit him full force and his wife walked out the door. Richard admitted he’d screwed up huge. Now he had to figure out a way to fix it. “Hello?” he answered the incoming call as realization hit him.

Piper thought he was cheating on Toni, which meant there was a good chance, his wife figured he was having an affair. Life couldn’t get much worse.

Toni glanced around Richard’s condo. Big improvement. The man didn’t need to know she’d skipped out of the office work to come back and redo his place. There was an exceptionally high chance he would be upset. However, with the amount of upset she had carried around since they had come back to California, it served her husband right.

He’s definitely having an affair.

And she was about to put a stop to it. Besides, if he was, it was a direct violation of their sentencing and she refused to be punished because he was thinking with his second head.

Why couldn’t he notice her? Every other man on the planet seemed to, but him. After confiding in both Piper and Kayla over a couple lunches, she decided to take their advice and do something to get his attention. She glanced around the room. This was definitely going to do it.

She darted a look out to the deck where the pool and hot tub were. In the forty-four days she’d been living in the penthouse suite, not once had she been in either. Sure, she’d sat on the balcony, but this was Los Angeles and the view wasn’t anywhere as magnificent as her place in Vegas.

The sound of the key in the door pulled her attention from the patio doors to the front one. She glanced at her watch. It was the first time Richard had been home before seven in weeks—like five and a half.

The door opened and he crossed the threshold. His steps halted as the door shut behind him. He glanced around the room and frowned. Richard then glanced back at the front door before his gaze landed on her. “For a minute I thought I was in the wrong suite.”

She shook her head. “Nope, this is definitely the penthouse suite.”

He stepped deeper into the room and his mouth dropped open. Disbelief washed over his face as he blinked at the very large television that now hung above the fireplace. Gone was the black and white with chrome accent furniture and replaced by a deep rich dark brown, a light sky blue and Tan. Cream colored accents tied the room together. The space was now bright, modern and designed for entertaining.

“Where is my furniture?” His tone held a hint of temper as well as something else she couldn’t identify.

“In storage.” She replied flatly. “You mentioned you entertain. This was not designed for entertaining. You run an investment company.”

His blue eyes darkened. “I’m aware of what I do.” Oh yeah, he wasn’t happy. Too bad. Neither was she.

“Right, well, that means you’re entertaining people with money and often taste. No offense but it looked like a really expensive bachelor pad in here and not the signs of success.”

Richard’s mouth fell open in shock. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Well that’s because you’re too busy not being around to get to know me.” Logic said to keep her feelings and hurt out of it. The female side of her thought to hell with it. “Now this screams success and is still, from what I can gather, to your tastes.”

“I had things the way I wanted.” He all but snapped at her.

“Well since this space is also mine for another 321 days and I’m supposed to be the wife, I thought I would make it more tolerable and cater to your needs.”

He stepped closer to her and took another look around the room. “What I need is for my stuff to be put back in here and all this out of here.” This time he raised his voice. “Toni—”

“Don’t Toni me. By what grace of God, warranted you home before dark? Let me guess—you have an important meeting later.” And enter her sarcastic side. “That’s right, your house, your rules, your life. I’m so far the only one who has had to give up everything. My house, trips I planned months ago and high paying jobs which would have made me a ton of money. Not to mention carry a lot of prestige.”

“Do I even want to know what this cost because from where I’m standing that appears to be a ten thousand dollar living room set.” He again had raised his voice. Richard focused on her and narrowed his gaze. “I can tell already, you aren’t hurting for money.”

“No I’m not. However, neither are you and you still go to work.” She shook her head and refused to back down. “The only thing you’ve had to give up is changing your girlfriends every six weeks to three months, which reminds me, you should be due soon to give up the one you have now.”

Slapping his face would’ve had the same effect. He placed his hands on his hips and stared at her in shocked horror. “I can’t—”

A small meow filled the room as a small kitten ran by his feet and jumped up onto the back of the sofa. She walked over to the tuxedo and rubbed his ears. “It’s okay Boxter,” she reassured. Another streak of black and white ran across the floor and the cow print Vette jumped up and joined her brother.

Richard stared at the nine week old kittens. “What the hell are those?” He pointed to where the two fur balls sat.

“Those are called kittens, eventually they will grow up into something called cats.” She didn’t mean to be quite as sarcastic as she was, but she wasn’t going to be ignored anymore. “I know, you’re not used to this kind of pussy—just the kind that comes in the form of models and actresses.”

Offended. That was the best word used to describe the expression on his handsome face. “I’m not having an affair. I can’t believe…I can’t do this.” He turned on his heel, walked over to the door, and pulled it open.

“Don’t worry, I won’t wait up,” she told him. “I never do.”

Richard glanced around the room again and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

She glanced at the kittens and scratched their little heads. “Well, at least he knows I exist now.”

Toni took in the room. She’d really outdone herself. Everything looked incredible. She should be pleased, but she was just as miserable as she was before. She walked over to her purse and withdrew her cell and tapped Piper’s name.

The call connected. “So, what did he think?”

“I think he hates it, I’m positive he hates me and he walked out the door. Of course I confronted him about cheating on me.” She sighed and debated a glass of wine.

“Toni, you didn’t.”

“No, I did. I mean, can he not control his man whore ways to survive a year?”

Piper gasped. “Oh God.”

The two simple words—not so much the words but the tone of her new friend’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s not cheating. He’s been working on a really big client.” Piper sighed. “He won’t even tell me the details, but whoever this client is has to be a pretty big fish, because he doesn’t even know if he can pull it off.”

“Well that explains part of it, but you’ve witnessed his attitude toward me first hand.” She started to pace the floor. “I don’t know why he admitted he was attracted to me when now I might as well be the plague.”

“I came out and asked him today if he was cheating.”

Toni snorted. “And what, he denied it? Of course he did, he knows we’re friends.”

Piper sighed again and cleared her throat. “He at first asked me if I was kidding then reminded me you were gorgeous.”

She was confused. “Well if I’m gorgeous, why is he being such a jerk?”

“Because I think he’s falling for you.”

Her steps halted and she swore she misheard. “I’m sorry; I think you better repeat that.”

The other woman laughed from the other end of the phone. “I’m dead serious, Toni. All he could do was tell me how smart you are and creative and so talented. My brother doesn’t say that about women nor does he talk about them.”

“If that’s how he feels…why hasn’t he said anything? Why does he avoid me at all costs?” Toni’s nerves were officially fried. “I don’t get it. All I know is I was crazy about your brother and I knew if I wasn’t careful, I’d fall for him.”

“You’re speaking in past tense.” Piper noted then paused. “Oh dear.”

Toni was ready to scream. Instead, she squeezed the bridge of her nose to keep the pending headache at bay. “Now what?”

“I think it’s too late. I think you have already fallen for him.”

Point’s for Piper.

“I was starting to and then—”

The other line cut in. She glanced at the phone. It was Kayla. “Piper I’ll call you back. Kayla is calling.”

“Okay.”

Toni clicked the call over. “Hey Kayla, what’s up?”

“Your husband just showed up here,” her friend responded. “I’m gathering you had a fight over the changes you made and the new furry residents.”

“You could say that is putting it mildly.”

There were male voices in the back ground.

“You know what,” Toni whispered not wanting to be on the phone talking to anyone or standing in the designer prison. “Go deal with your company. I’m going to work for a bit before I lose my ever loving mind.”

“Toni—”

She resisted the urge to cry. “I’ll call you later.” She ended the call and stared at her phone. Toni glanced at the kittens. “You guys be good—I’ll be back in a bit.”

If Richard could come and go as he pleased, so could she,

“You heard me, Andrew.” Richard hung his head still trying to wrap his head around the condo, the kittens and the conversation. “I think I want a divorce.”

His friend blinked at him. “You don’t need to get a divorce; you’ll be getting an annulment.”

“That isn’t going to work. It’s not working. In fact my life is hell because of it.” He threw himself down on the sofa. “I’m attracted to my wife.”

“Seriously?” Andrew blinked in disbelief.

“You’ve seen my wife. She’s your wife’s best friend, not mention gorgeous and smart and funny. My God and she is so business savvy.”

“Richard, you’ve totally lost me.”

He stared at Andrew and shook his head. “I want to touch her, I want to hold her and kiss her. I want to hold my wife and God, do I want to take her to bed.”

Kayla walked in the room. “You know if strangers or aliens were listening to this rant of yours, they’d think you were nuts. Frankly I thought you two would be in bed together after two weeks.”

Andrew cringed. “I gave you four, just because Toni can be really stubborn.”

Stubborn? No kidding.

She destroyed my condo.” He shook his head. “Destroyed is not the right word. Redecorated. Redecorated is the word.”

“She was trying to get your attention.”

Richard turned to Kayla and for the umpteenth time that day, shock washed over him. “My attention?’

Toni’s best friend blinked then studied him before guilt washed over her face. “Yeah, she just wanted you to notice her and hopefully go back to that brief period of time when you were getting along.” She darted a look at her husband then met Richard’s gaze. “Toni has had to give up everything.”

Kayla’s words hit him hard. “She thinks I’m cheating on her and actually thinks it’s with a model or an actress.”

“You’re never there, you keep strange hours.” Kayla sighed and shook her head. “I would think the same thing if I knew your past and with your current behavior.”

The words sunk in. “I’m crazy about her—I hardly know her—but what I do know I really like.” Realization hit. She knew about the women he dated. “How did she find out about me?”

“That thing called the internet,” Andrew told him with a solemn expression. “She is a girl for research. Has been ever since I met her.”

Kayla smiled and shrugged. “Ever since we were teenagers, Toni’s been nosy and curious and likes to have answers. You’re married to a nerd.”

“A hot nerd.” He offered with a smile. “I like her in her glasses.” He paused and digested everything then met Kayla’s gaze. “I have no reason to cheat. Toni, from what I can tell, is the whole package, and that’s why I’ve avoided her.”