Page 15 of Unfaithful

"Miss me, Peaches?" he teased, setting me back down. He'd been calling me Peaches for as long as I could remember, and he never once told me why. I had stopped asking long ago because he always dodged the question.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop smiling. "It's been forever! Where the hell have you been?"

"Somewhere in the Middle East," he said simply. He glanced at Bobby, who remained seated, arms crossed, watching us with a blank expression.

Knowing him, that was probably the best answer I was going to get. So, I just nodded, choosing not to press further.

"Hi, asshole," Bobby said to him.

"Bobby," he drawled, tilting his head. "Still as charming as ever, I see."

Bobby huffed, shooting him a look. "Still as annoying as ever, I see."

There was history between these two—messy, complicated history. They had slept together a year ago, which they bothknew was a mistake. It had the potential to ruin their friendship, and Bobby had gone ahead and shattered it completely by dumping Archie and then sleeping with Julian, his younger brother, instead.

Her excuse was simple. Archie never loved her anyway. His heart had always belonged to another woman.

I never probed further. It wasn't my business.

I spotted my husband striding toward us, scowling at his best friend. "That's enough," Cole growled, flicking a hand in warning. "Get your filthy hands off my wife."

Archie's hands flew up as he let go of me.

"Hey, baby," Cole greeted, leaning down to press a kiss to my lips.

"Don't I get a kiss too?" Archie quipped.

"Not in front of my wife," Cole shot back, smirking.

Archie chuckled.

"How's lunch?" Cole turned to me, looking at me affectionately.

My mind went to that pouch and that sound again. I couldn't get it out of my head.

"It's fine," I said tensely.

His brow furrowed in concern, noticing something was off with me. "Something's wrong?"

Before I could answer, his phone buzzed. He took it out of his coat pocket and glanced at the screen.

"Hold that thought," he said, picking up the phone. "Yeah?" His expression shifted, his voice tightening. "I'll be there soon... Just wait for me."

Cole glanced at me, remorse flickering in his eyes. "I'm sorry, babe, I have to go."

He had already turned away, about to walk off, when I called after him. "Where?"

"Some crisis," he said briskly as he jogged. "I'll explain when I get home."

He sprinted across the park toward the reserved parking lot in front of the lobby, leaving me standing there, completely stunned. I barely had time to process what had just happened before I turned to Archie, who was already watching me with confusion.

"What?" he asked. "What are you thinking?"

I froze for a moment, my eyes locking onto Cole's speeding car as it tore through the driveway. Then, suddenly, I bolted.

"Sara!" Archie and Bobby called out in unison, trailing behind me. "Where are you going?"

I didn't answer. I had a bad feeling about this. Call it intuition, but I needed to see this through. Reaching the curb, I frantically searched for a taxi.

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