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“There are all sorts of reasons,” Marco drawled with an edge of cynicism.
“Not for me.”
“Okay, so, you loved him. Why break up?”
She didn’t want to have this conversation, but Marco was like a dog with a bone and Portia didn’t want to go through this every time his curiosity reasserted itself. “We had different ideas about what an engagement should entail. For me, it precluded the possibility of sleeping with anyone else. For him, that was a definite grey area.”
“He cheated on you.”
“Yes.”
She played with her fingers in her lap.
“You know this for sure?”
“Yes.”
“Because sometimes gossip can—,”
“I walked in on them,” she interrupted firmly. “There was no mistaking what they were doing, believe me.”
Marco’s features didn’t change but something in the depths of his eyes flecked with emotions, dark and unyielding.
“The thing is,” she lowered her voice, despite the screen that separated them from the driver. “He was wrong to cheat. Of course. We made a commitment; we were only six weeks away from the wedding.”
Marco made a noise, but didn’t speak. Portia continued. “Except, it was never like this with us. Sex.” She bit down on her lip, choosing her words carefully. “We didn’t even, you know, do it, that often, and I always felt it was kind of a chore for him. And me.” She blushed to the top of her head. “You’re just so sensual, so open to that side of yourself. So when you propositioned me…I was curious. What would it be like with someone who obeyed these instincts whenever they wanted to? You were wondering if I was prim. I guess I was too. Maybe that’s why…maybe if I’d been less prim…he wouldn’t have cheated.” She shrugged.
The air between them seemed to crackle with the strength of Portia’s feelings and doubts and uncertainties, and despite how intense her chemistry with Marco was, she was still waiting for some kind of reassurance.
But he was quiet, thoughtful, ruminating and only a moment later, the car approached the office. Portia panicked. “Can you get him to drop me off here? I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
Marco nodded, pressed a button, spoke to the driver and the car immediately pulled into a bus lane. Portia, ever mindful of not inconveniencing anyone, went to scurry quickly from the car.
Marco though reached for her hand, grabbed it, pulled her back to him and pressed a kiss on her lips. “Listen to me.”
Her heart stammered.
“He was an idiot.”
It was the last thing she’d expected him to say. “If you guys didn’t have chemistry, that’s one thing. But it doesn’t excuse infidelity.”
Something hot flushed the back of her eyes. She felt the threat of tears and looked away, needing to compose herself, struggling to know what to say to a man who was telling her exactly what sheneededto hear.
“He just made it all…cheap. We’d been together years. We were friends before that. We’d planned a life together. And none of that meant anything to him. I felt like a such a fool.”
“You left him. What’s foolish about that?”
“I just mean, how did I miss it?”
“You’re fundamentally a good person. You expect everyone else to be too.”
She pulled her lips to the side. “I know not everyone’s good. I just thought he was.’
“You loved him,” Marco said gently.
She blinked quickly, her stomach swirling. “Anyway.” She lifted one shoulder. “That’s what happened. Now you know.”
He moved closer, brushing his lips over hers. “And now you want to make yourself feel good, by forgetting all about him. You want to have fun for a while.”
