I recognised the gravelly voice instantly and spun around to see Alec standing behind me.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked, annoyed that he’d seen and heard all that.
‘I came for some Christmas treats. I see Marcus did the same.’ He gave Marcus a cold, hard stare as he did me.
‘It wasn’t what you think,’ said Marcus. ‘Noelle was desperate.’
‘Was she indeed?’ His raised brows said more than his sarcasm could.
‘We’re not in love,’ Marcus added. ‘We’re just friends. Say something, Noelle.’
‘Why do we need to explain to him? He’s hardly in a position to cast stones.’
‘What?’ Marcus looked even more confused.
‘I never thought I’d see the day when you would cheat on a woman, Marcus,’ said Alec.
‘I wasn’t!’
‘Kissing another woman is cheating,’ Alec said.
‘I wasn’t kissing her. Not really! Please, Noelle explain this to him and to me.’
‘I was trying to stop a man from asking me out, and all I could think of on the spur of the moment, and because Marcus happened to be here at just the right time, was that if the man saw me kissing someone else, he wouldn’t want me as his girlfriend.’
‘I agree with that,’ Alec said, looking me up and down as if even the dog wouldn’t drag me in. ‘I may be out of practice regarding dating but surely you could’ve simply told this other man that you didn’t want to date him?’
‘I suppose I could’ve. But it isn’t that simple. You don’t know the man, or the situation.’
He raised his brows once again. ‘I know that most people just say, ‘no thanks’, if they don’t want to go out with someone. AndI also know that if two people kiss, it usually means it’s because they want to.’
‘Marcus didn’t want to kiss me. I made him. He wasn’t cheating. It was all me, okay? I told him I needed him to kiss me, and like the friend that he is, he helped me when I needed him to do so. If I’d seen you, I might’ve asked you to kiss me instead.’
‘Damn. If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have spent so long buying that quilt for my mum. I’d have hurried over here to kiss you.’
‘Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.’
‘And cheating is the lowest form of relationship.’
I gasped at that. ‘People in glass houses and all that.’
‘What’s going on here?’ Marcus asked.
‘This so-called friend of yours would’ve had sex with me if I’d dropped my towel in my bedroom the other day and he has the nerve to tell us that you and I are in the wrong. Unlike you, Alec, neither of us has a wife.’
Alec and Marcus exchanged confused glances.
‘None of us are married,’ Marcus said.
‘He is.’ I pointed at Alec and he looked around, as did Marcus.
‘Are you pointing at me?’ Alec asked.
‘Yes. Of course I am.’
‘Why?’ asked Marcus. ‘Alec doesn’t have a wife. At least. Not now.’
‘Oh. Erm. Wait. Don’t tell me. She left because of his cheating. You told me yourself you had a wife.’
