Page 80 of Unfaithful

Then, a thought hit me. "Emma, aren't you with—"

"Ben?" she finished for me with a shrug. "Nah, we decided not to become exclusive. So, I'm just using him for sex."

Julian, in the middle of sipping his coffee, choked and coughed violently. "Fuck—that just went through my nose." Hewiped his mouth before snapping his gaze at Emma. "What the fuck, Tink? Who the hell is Ben?"

"Like I said, he's a guy I've been using for sex," Emma explained nonchalantly.

Julian looked utterly flabbergasted. "And what am I?"

Emma shrugged, completely unfazed. "Pretty much the same."

Julian placed a hand over his chest like she'd just stabbed him. "Tink, you wound me."

Emma leaned over the counter, extending her arm to pat his cheek. "Aww... don't be so dramatic, Captain Studmuffin. You'll live."

I burst out laughing.

We then continued eating our sad excuse for breakfast—cereal and coffee. Nobody had the energy to cook. Julian sulked, Archie typed on his phone, and Emma watched Julian sulk with amusement.

"I am not Ben," Julian said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Emma looked up at him, her spoon halfway to her mouth. "You're Julian."

"No," Julian shook his head, frustration creeping into his voice. "I mean, I'm not just some guy you're using for sex."

Emma chewed thoughtfully, then shrugged.

Julian looked utterly betrayed. "And that should be my line," he said. "I cannot fucking believe you're throwing it back at me."

Emma blinked, confused. "And your point is...?"

We all exchanged glances, just as confused as she was.

Julian ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "My point is—you stole my damn line! You're too damn cute to be saying shit like that!"

At that moment, Archie's phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen, saving Julian from having to explain more. I peeked over and saw Nicole flash across it.

He picked up, his voice noticeably softer. "Hi," he said before standing and heading toward the back of the house.

As he walked away, I barely caught his faint words. "I'm fine. Oh, you're coming back?"

I stiffened. Across from me, Julian did the same.

We exchanged a glance.

Then I asked, "Who's Nicole?"

Julian hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "His ex-girlfriend."

I blinked. "Ex?"

I was surprised. As long as I'd known Archie, I'd never seen him with a girlfriend.

Julian nodded. "Yes. She called probably because of work."

"They work together?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. "Still?"

Julian took a moment to think before answering. "If Archie decides to return, then yeah. She's on his team, so they'd be working together again."

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