Faithful to a Fault Read Online Free Page A

love.” He leaned over and gave his wife a kiss.
    Pete couldn’t swear it, but he thought he heard Sarah breathe a tiny sigh. But before he could replay the moment to be sure, she stood.
    “Thanks for dessert, Mrs. M. Amazing as always. I need to get going.”
    “Didn’t hear that rattletrap of yours pull up. Did you get the muffler fixed?”
    Sarah paused in the act of wrapping her scarf up in some complex but adorable pattern. “No, haven’t had time yet. I walked.”
    “Walked? Honey, no,” Laura chided. “You could have called, we would have come to get you.”
    “I like the exercise,” Sarah said with a smile. “Knowing I’d gorge myself on your cobbler means I need to burn the extra calories. It’s only a few blocks.” She leaned over and gave Mr. Miller a hug. “Thanks. Maria, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “Tony, walk home with her,” Colin ordered.
    Pete didn’t give him time to agree. “I’ll go.”
    “You don’t have to,” Sarah said through her teeth.
    He bit back the urge to smile. “I want to. Just give me a minute to grab my co—” He was talking to thin air. She’d already turned on her heel and left the room. When he glanced back at the table, four grins greeted him. He shrugged.
    “I think she likes me.”
    * * * * *
     
    Sarah trudged through the bracing wind, hunching slightly when an extra powerful gust nearly knocked her over. She had to get out of there. For whatever reason, Pete was crawling under her skin. Infiltrating the perfect coat of armor she’d built up rivet by rivet after her divorce. Slipping in past all defenses to make her want again. Need again. Remember she was a woman.
    And that wouldn’t do. There was no point in investing her time in thinking about a guy who had nothing to do with her. Pete was about as interested in her as—
    A hand latched onto her shoulder and she jerked in response.
    “Ah!” She slipped and lost her balance, nearly pitching forward into a white-coated yard. Only strong hands and some fancy footwork kept her from a mouthful of dirty snow. She straightened, made sure her balance was intact and took a step out of reach before turning around. “What the hell are you doing sneaking up like that?”
    “Sorry,” Pete said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, not looking one bit sorry. “I called out your name but it must have gotten lost in the wind. Must have been lost in thought. What were you thinking about?”
    “Nothing,” she answered quickly. Too quickly.
    “Uh huh.” He wasn’t buying her bullshit, but he didn’t say anything else. Just fell in step with her as she trudged toward her apartment.
    After a few moments of silence, she asked, “So are you staying with the Millers?”
    “In the guest house back there. I guess it used to be a pool house, but then they got rid of the pool, as Mr. M. explained. ‘Perfect for houseguests and in-laws’ were his actual words.”
    Sarah chuckled. “Don’t let him fool you. He loves Laura’s parents like they were his own.”
    Pete laughed and the rumble slid through her insides like hot buttered rum and pooled at her core. Damn, she was not supposed to be affected like this. This called for a distraction.
    She said the first thing that came to mind. “What is hot-buttered rum?”
    Brilliant, Sarah.
    “Disgusting, would be my first guess. Past that, I’m lost,” Pete replied, not at all thrown by the quick switch in topic.
    “Hmm.” Better stick with silence. Safer that way.
    A minute later they came up on Sarah’s steps. “This is me.” She patted the peeling wooden rail that led up to her place. “Thanks.”
    Pete stood for a moment, immobile.
    After another few seconds of awkward silence, she blurted out, “Why did you volunteer to walk me home?”
    His lips moved then, a slow smile spreading from corner to corner. “The truth?”
    “It’s preferable.” And not offered often enough.
    “Because for some reason, despite your prickliness at times, and the Don’t