This time, it was Kallie’s turn to be silent.

“So, should we come over?” Nick pressed.

Still, she didn’t respond.

“I’ll take that as a yes. We’re on our way.”

“No, don’t,” she finally managed. “I don’t want to see Marla right now.”

“Fine. I can call someone else, but you might have to wait half an hour. Think your man can last that long?” Nick taunted.

Kallie was speechless.

“Hello? Is that a yes?” he asked again.

She flung the phone aside, furious that she’d already lost this contest of shamelessness.

Seeing her distraction, Noah pulled her up, settling her onto his lap. He leaned against the headboard, lit a cigarette, and let his other hand trail over her flawless skin. “So, where do I rank?”

Kallie snapped back to the present. “What?”

“This is all about revenge, isn’t it? So how many of his friends and family have you fucked? Where do I rank in the lineup?”

Her eyes flickered. “Why are you asking?”

“No reason. Forget it if you don’t want to say.”

Her mind was a mess. She’d been raised to be a proper, well-behaved girl.

At Columbia, they’d even called her the “innocent girl next door.”

Nick had pursued her for four years in college. He’d driven across half of Manhattan at 6:30 every morning to wait for her outside her dorm. He’d sat beside her in the library, fanning her while she studied.

When she said she didn’t like guys with bad grades, he’d spent a semester pulling his GPA up to the top three in his department and landed a job at Goldman Sachs.

When her favorite limited-edition Godiva chocolates were discontinued, he’d rallied all his friends to buy out every last box in New York City.

How could the Nick who had loved her so fiercely turn into this?

“Why don’t you want to see Marla?” Noah asked after finishing his cigarette. He shifted his legs, a smile playing on his lips as he watched her body move with his. “Is he planning to marry her?”

“Just stop talking,” Kallie snapped, her irritation growing.

“Looks like I guessed right.”

Kallie didn’t answer.

“You never cared about his other flings,” Noah continued. “Marla is the only one who’s made you lose it.”

“Can you just shut up?”

“Hit a nerve?”

Kallie got up, gathered her clothes from the floor, and started to dress. “I’m leaving.”

When Kallie got back to her apartment, she was heading for the shower when she saw him sitting on the living room couch. She stopped in her tracks. “What are you doing here?”

Nick crossed his legs, looking up from his newspaper. “This is my home. Why can’t I be here?”

“Your home is with Marla. Not here.”

A wicked grin spread across his face. “Jealous?”

“Never!”

“Try a different tactic next time,” Nick said. “We’ve been together too long, Kallie. I know you. You’d rather kill yourself than have a one-night stand. You’re not that kind of woman.”

Lord knows she had tried to win him back. She’d cried, begged, even drank herself into a stupor. She’d pleaded with him to remember their ten years of history, promising to forgive everything if he just came back.

But he’d simply carried on a phone call with his mistress while telling her coldly, “In the animal kingdom, no capable male has only one mate. Demanding lifelong monogamy from a man goes against the laws of nature.”

So Kallie had compromised. She’d allowed his affairs, as long as he didn’t bring the women home. The final straw had been discovering he was serious about Marla.

She laughed, a bitter sound. “Then what kind of woman am I?”

“You can’t sleep with someone without feelings,” he said confidently.

“You’re a traditional housewife at heart. What kind of games can you play? You just want me to come home, right? There’s no need to lie like this.”

“What would you have done if I’d actually gone to the room next door yesterday? What if I wasn’t there?”

“Didn’t you hear us?”

“Hear what?”

“There was a man talking to me when we were on the phone last night.”

Nick looked at her, as if waiting to see how long she’d keep up the act. “You hired an actor? How much did that cost you?”

“Don’t assume you know me so well,” Kallie said. “It’s a lot easier to be a slut than a faithful wife.”

“You’re just putting on a brave face.”

That enraged her even more. “What gives you the right to say that? I can call him over right now.”

“Fine,” Nick said. “Noah’s on his way, too. He can listen in on your little escapades.”

“Who’s coming?”

“Noah. Did you forget? Noah Hayes, my cousin. He’s coming to talk about some investment opportunities.”

The doorbell rang, and Nick went to answer it. “Noah, what took you so long?”

Noah stood there, immaculate in a fresh suit, his gold-rimmed glasses polished to a shine. And just last night, this was the man who had been buried deep inside her.

“Traffic was a bit heavy,” Noah said with a smile.

He walked in to find Kallie still frozen in place. He nodded at her. “Hi, Kallie.”

She snapped out of it and managed a small smile. “Noah.”

Nick led Noah to the sofa. “Kal, get Noah a cup of coffee.”

Kallie flinched at the nickname. It was his term of endearment for her when they were deeply in love. Now, it felt like a snake slithering over her skin—cold, sticky, and unsettling.

“Kal?”

She frowned. “Watch your mouth. Don’t call me that.”

Nick chuckled. “Alright. Ms. Kallie Claire, would you be so kind as to make Noah a cup of coffee?”

Kallie couldn’t stand the sight of either of them. One was a contest of shamelessness she was doomed to lose; the other, a masterclass in acting she couldn’t hope to match.

They were both bastards. She retreated to the kitchen, not to make coffee, but for some peace and quiet. It was the farthest room from the living room.

In the living room, Noah watched her leave. “Fighting again?”

Nick just smiled. “No, she’s just throwing a little tantrum.”

“I think Kallie’s a good woman. Are you really going to divorce her?”

“That’s why I asked you to come, Noah. Help me assess our marital assets so I can divide them.”

“You’d better think this through,” Noah said. “With Kallie’s looks and figure, the moment she’s single, you’ll have men lining up from here to Fifth Avenue. Don’t come crying to me with regrets.”

“Even the best dish gets boring after a while,” Nick said breezily.

“Has she agreed?” Noah asked.

“She probably won’t. She’s traditional. Once she’s committed to me, she won’t let go easily. Noah, you have to help me with this.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Nick grinned wickedly. “How about you go after her?”

Noah raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

“Of course I’m kidding!” Nick laughed. “But seriously, you’re Grandpa’s only grandson. Stop burying yourself in work and get married. Give him a great-grandchild.”

“Right.”

Suddenly, Nick’s eyes narrowed, focusing on Noah’s wrist. “What’s this?”

Noah pulled his cuff down.

“You weren’t stuck in traffic, you were with a woman!” Nick exclaimed. “You sly dog! You have a new girl and you didn’t tell me?”

“It’s not a good time,” Noah said. “I’ll introduce you when the time is right.”

“Fine. Then I’ll introduce you to Marla.”

“Don’t.”

“Why not?”

Noah cleared his throat. “I’d rather keep my distance.”

Nick laughed. “She’s your future cousin-in-law. What’s there to be shy about?”

“It just wouldn’t be appropriate for us to be together.”

“Tsk! I don’t care, so why should you?”

“Would you care if Kallie and I were alone in a room together?” Noah asked.

Nick looked at him like he’d told a joke. “You know, you and Kallie are surprisingly alike when it comes to these things.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re both so conservative, yet you love to make these kinds of jokes,” Nick said.

Noah smiled, then deliberately brought up some business details loud enough for Kallie to hear.

“I can help you with the assets, but ultimately, Kallie has to agree. In other words, you have to make her fall completely out of love with you.”

“Yeah, I know. She was bragging to me last night about sleeping with another man. As if. You know how innocent and naive she is. She’d rather die than sleep with a stranger.”

Noah touched the scratch marks on his wrist and smiled without saying a word.

“What are you touching that for?” Nick teased. “Didn’t get enough last night?”

“No, not really. She had to leave halfway through.”

“Ooh, a wild one! She scratched you up pretty good, huh? I can see the marks from here.”

Noah leaned back, speaking softly. “She’s usually quite gentle. Maybe it’s because… she’s never experienced real passion before.”