Page 43 of Fool Me Twice

“I’m sorry?” Peter asked, sure he’d misheard her.

“I want you... us.” She held his gaze as she walked toward him. “I want things to go back to the way they were.”

Was she for real? Had she forgotten how miserable they’d made each other? Nothing he’d ever done was good enough for her. Their marriage had been a huge mistake as far as he was concerned. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?” she said, like it wasn’t perfectly obvious.

“Why not? You’re kidding, right?” He was beginning to wonder if she’d lost her mind. “We both know this marriage was a mistake. I’ve— we’ve tried everything to make it work, and now I think it’s time to admit it’s over and sign the divorce papers, so we can both get on with our lives.”

“Hmm. Well, in that case...” She walked across the room to a wooden chest of drawers and removed an envelope. She handed it to him.

“What’s this?” he asked, his brows knitting together. “If it’s another of your demands, you could have saved yourself a trip and got that overpriced lawyer of yours to slug it out with Leland.”

“Just open it.” She watched as he tore open the envelope. He felt his face paling as his eyes skimmed the contents.

“What the hell?” Peter stared at the photos. “This is bullshit, Shari,” he said, trying to reign in his anger as he held up a photo of him and Evie strolling at the water’s edge. There was another, this time of him and Evie in the swimming pool, with Evie holding on to him. Nothing had happened between them before last night, but he could imagine how Shari’s lawyer would be able to twist the photos of their therapy sessions and turn them into something sleazy. He decided to bluff it out. “These don’t prove anything, and you know it.”

“Ah,” she said, her wide smile conveying her triumph. “Did I mention I have a witness?”

“Witness? What witness?”

“A disgruntled employee who knows Evie very well, apparently.”

Peter frowned, racking his brains about who the ‘disgruntled employee’ could be. From what he’d seen, Evie got on great with her staff.

“And he’s-”

“He?” Of course. “Matt.” Peter said in a flat voice. The mention of his name leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

“As I was saying before you interrupted.” She cleared her throat and paused for maximum impact. “He’s willing to stand up in court and testify that you and Evie have been seeing each other for months.” She smiled sweetly when she’d finished.

Peter shook his head slowly, his lips drawn in a thin, tight line. That lying bastard. His fist clenched and unclenched tightly at his side, sending shards of pain through his already tense shoulders when he thought about what he’d like to do to that devious little shit.

“So, unless you put a stop to this divorce nonsense, I am going to divorce you – on the grounds of your adultery with Evie.”

Peter let out a long exhale with the realisation that once again Shari had won and it was going to cost him. But what choice did he have? They both knew he’d pay, whatever the price. “What do you want?” he said in a low, menacing voice. “Name it.”

“I told you.” She swaggered provocatively toward him. “You.”

He let out a surprised laugh. “That’s not going to happen. It’s over.”

“And what’s Evie going to say about having her name dragged through the courts in such a high-profile divorce?” She looked up at him, her eyes wide as she tapped her blood-red lips with her forefinger. “And what about Jaxon? I’m not sure he’ll want the world to find out what a tramp his mother is.” She let out an exaggerated sigh. “And how do you think it’s going to look on you? I can just see the headlines now – ‘Peter Cook, philanthropist and all-round do-gooder, abandons the mother of his unborn child... for a second time.’” She arched her brow triumphantly.

“For God’s sake, Shari,” Peter tried to reason. What the hell was she thinking? They both knew the marriage was over. They should never have married. Why couldn’t she just let go so they could both move on with their lives? He loved Evie and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, if she’d have him. But even if she wanted nothing more to do with him, there was no way he could stay with Shari, for his own sake. “This has got nothing to do with Ev— Wait, you’re pregnant?”

Chapter twenty-four

Evie hadn’t spoken to Peter in the five weeks since he’d left. Well, five weeks, one day and five hours.

And technically, he hadn’t left. She’d kicked him out.

Of course, he’d called, but she hadn’t picked up, and when she hadn’t answered his calls, he’d left messages on her voicemail, filling up her inbox until she’d blocked him.

And when everything else failed, he’d tried sending messages via Jaxon and Anya, begging her to get in touch.

She’d been mad as hell that day, mad at Peter for lying to her and mad at herself for falling for his lies a second time. She’d been such a fool.

Evie knew he’d gone back to the States, to Shari, because of the number Jaxon had given her, suggesting she keep it in case she changed her mind and decided to hear him out. Jaxon meant well, but he didn’t know the whole story. He thought it had just been another silly quarrel between them, and she hadn’t felt like sharing details of her sex life with her son.

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