Page 62 of The Wrong Husband

"No. But I have been to a few at Sotheby's when I was interning there."

"We do it better." Damian winked at me.

"Of course you do." I couldn't help but be drawn back into a good mood, which I hadn't thought was possible.

Conversation at our table eased, as if Bianca had never been there and told me she hated me.

We were having coffee and petit fours at the end of our meal when Damian asked me why I worked as a buyer for Bianca and my mother when I was a talented artist.

"They asked me for help. It was when they were starting out and they were desperate. I…couldn't say no."

"What were you doing then?"

"I'd just graduated and I had an offer with Sotheby's which I turned down. But when family asks, you show up, right?"

Damian kissed my forehead softly. "You're a generous soul, Emilia Archer."

"Still Winters. Never legally changed my last name."

I loved how Emilia Archer sounded and knew that kind of hope would only end in heartbreak. I'd seen Damian in action. I thought he'd loved Bianca and look at him now. He didn't love me, when our marriage was over, he probably wouldn’t even remember me.

"I don't care about legalities. You're an Archer. You're my wife." He nuzzled my cheek, and my heart went from calm to just ran a sprint from one beat to the next.

"Em, you smell so good." He kissed the corner of my mouth. "You ready to go home?"

I nodded like a fool because I loved that he called my loft home.

We were in the car and his driver was chatting with Damian. After the conversation ended, he raised the privacy screen and turned to me.

"What is this whole stealing of Bianca's prom date story?" Damian asked.

"I have no idea. I'd never do that. I know you think…I know I married her boyfriend but… I'm not like that."

Damian nodded. "Ex-boyfriend and I know."

"You believe me?"

He chuckled. "You were a virgin, Em. You obviously were not fucking Bianca's prom date and even if you weren't a virgin, from what I know about you, no way would you have done that. You and I got together after Bianca and I broke up. She had and has no claim on me. I was a free agent when we got married. You understand that, don't you?"

I tapped the side of my head. "I do here." I put a hand on my heart. "Here I feel tremendous guilt. Whenever I saw you with Bianca, it was clear how infatuated you were with her and her with you."

"Feelings change, Em."

"Love can disappear just like that?" I asked smiling sadly.

I knew it didn't because how I felt about Damian had taken root inside me and instead of becoming less intense was only growing. My crush had transformed into love—despite how he treated me. I think when people said that you can't control who you love what they were saying was that we human beings when it comes to our hearts have zero self-preservation instincts.

"Maybe it wasn't love." Damian shrugged and took my hand in his. "I thought it was but then it shouldn't feel the way it does."

"How does it feel?"

"I was irritated that she caused a scene, but I felt no pain. It should hurt, should it not?"

"She was crying."

He chuckled and kissed my knuckles. "You and I both know those were fake."

I leaned back on the leather seat and looked out of the window. "I don’t know about her tears, but I believed her when she said she hated me."