“I don’t understand why you have to go!” Poppy’s head jerked from side to side in anger. “Your dead wife’s been gone for years. It’s about time you let it go, Charles!”
Heat suffused my cheeks at my wife’s careless words as I knotted my tie. My hands trembled slightly, but I kept going, not allowing her to goad me into doing or saying anything rash. I might’ve divorced all my ex-wives quickly, but I’d always treated them well during our time together.
Poppy made it rather difficult, though. In fact, I would’ve moved her out to an independent apartment, if not for my concern over the child she carried. With her at my home, I could monitor her to ensure she wasn’t doing anything to potentially harm the baby.
I had a plan. Half of a plan at least. I wanted that baby. Poppy had expressed more than once that she didn’t, but she had chosen to carry the baby to full term. The life growing inside her was nothing but a bargaining tool, and I had to pretend that it wasn’t a strong one too.
If she knew how badly I wanted that child to be mine, she’d never get her claws out of me.
Well, Charles, you’ve gone and really fucked up this time.
“I’d advise you to leave Miranda out of this, Poppy.” My words came out controlled, my tone well modulated, but I was seething inside. My first wife was a touchy subject for me, and her name on Poppy’s lips sounded blasphemous.
“Your devotion should be to me, not your dead wife!”
Her theatrics didn’t faze me one bit. I checked my tie in the mirror. Perfect. It landed just above my belt buckle. If it hadn’t, I would’ve done it all over again.
I patted my hair, eyes running over my appearance. I worked hard on my physique and took pride in the way I looked. Forty-eight, but an excellent exercise regimen and a healthy food plan kept me looking almost a decade younger.
Where nature took its course, such as the awful gray in my hair, my regular salon appointments got rid of all the evidence.
“Cut the act, Poppy.” In the mirror, I saw her texting. Despite her “anger” she seemed quite pleased with whatever she was discussing on her phone.
“Just for one night, you can stay with me.”
“We were supposed to have dinner last night,” I reminded her. “You stood me up to go out with your friends and didn’t even think to call me.”
“I forgot.”
Just as she had forgotten she was married when she decided to sleep with one of the cabin boys on our honeymoon cruise. It turned out she’d been faking her seasickness to shack up in our suite with the younger man who’d caught her fancy.
I didn’t blame her. After four marriages, little shocked me anymore. The truth was, if I were a better husband, I would’ve stayed in our suite to console her instead of wasting thousands of dollars at the casino.
If I didn’t think too much about the fact that the guy had been at least two decades younger than me, it could’ve even been laughable. It had been the old cliché—I’d walked in on them. I couldn’t have been gone for ten minutes when I realized I’d left my wallet. When I returned to our cabin, their loud cries had drifted through the door. I hadn’t even gotten angry like most husbands would have. I’d simply picked up my wallet and told them to carry on.
No one could disagree that had been big of me.
“At least let me come with you,” Poppy said.
Over my dead body. Although we’d agreed our marriage would continue in name only, I still brought her to functions with me. Not tonight, though. Tonight was too important to me.
Miranda would have disapproved of me choosing her for a wife. She would’ve disapproved of all my wives. Just another way I’d let her down.
“I’m sorry, Poppy, but can we not argue about this tonight?”
“I don’t want to stay here for another night alone.”
“Then call up your girlfriends and invite them over.” I sighed heavily and snapped the links of my watch over my wrist. My only son, Declan, and his fiancé would show up any minute now. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by Poppy’s antics.
“I guess I could throw a last-minute party.”
I stiffened, ready to object to her organizing a party, which meant booze and men. But Declan and I had talked about this before. We’d both agreed the more I