What Emma Craves Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Just know,” she told him in a low tone, “if you get to kiss other people behind my back, I can do the same.” With that, she spun around and headed to their bedroom, trying not to smile at Pete’s shocked expression.
    She would never cheat on him in a million years.
    But it might be high time for him to think she would.

4
    __________________________
    ____________

    P ete hadn’t been able to get Emma to continue the Candace conversation and he was going nuts. He’d talked in vain until she’d fallen asleep, trying to get her to see things from his viewpoint—that Candace wasn’t a threat to their marriage, and their rules of sex had not changed. But Emma hadn’t responded.
    Pete was having a hard time recognizing this Emma, and it was alarming. What he did recognize, however, was he was in deep shit, and he had to find a way to dig himself out.
    As he drove into Madison for work the next morning, he slapped the wheel in frustration. He had no idea what to do. A few more miles and Pete pulled onto the parking ramp attached to his building. He worked for an ad agency, just like Piper Collins. Their companies were similar, but barely ever competed for the same business. Pete’s firm was more specialized in providing branding for the movie industry. It was big business. He loved his job, which made the thirty-minute commute worthwhile.
    Once in his office, he tossed his briefcase on his desk right as his cell phone rang. He pulled it out, hoping it was Emma.
    Instead, the name on the front read Michael Collins. That was unusual. Pete hadn’t talked to him in over a year, even though their wives had started hanging out together on a regular basis.
    Pete accepted the call. “Hello, this is Pete Slater.”
    “Hey, Pete, it’s Michael Collins. How are you?” Michael’s voice was relaxed and cordial.
    “I’m doing well,” Pete said as he sat down. “What’s up?” There was a reason behind the call, and small talk wasn’t Pete’s forte.
    “I’m calling to invite you out for a drink tomorrow night with Jason Stratton, Brad Harrison, and me. Our wives are meeting regularly now, and us guys have slowly gotten on board. I think the ladies are heading out to your place tomorrow, so I figured you might be looking for something to do. We’re meeting at Johnny Q’s after work around six thirty. It’s a sports bar. Do you know it?”
    “I do,” Pete said. “That’s nice of you to offer, but—”
    “To be totally honest with you, I’m doing this at Piper’s request. It’s not that I didn’t want you to join us, but it didn’t occur to me to ask.” He chuckled good-naturedly over the line. Pete took no offense. “Typical guy brain. But Piper met up with your wife last night, and she thought you might like to go out with us. We talk about the lifestyle on occasion, among other things.”
    Pete cleared his throat. “She did, huh?” Pete’s brain raced. Emma had probably confided in Piper what was bothering her, and maybe Piper had given Michael some insight on how he could fix it. It was worth a try. Plus, he liked all those guys, even though he hadn’t seen them for a while. “Okay, you convinced me. I’ll be there.”
    “Great, see you then.” Michael clicked off.
    Pete sat there for a few minutes, thinking about his wife and what had shifted in their relationship, but he was at a complete loss. There hadn’t been any major upsets or fights—Candace notwithstanding—that had occurred in the last few months. They hadn’t done much swapping lately, but they’d been busy, which wasn’t unusual.
    The only thing he could think of was the vacation. Emma had wanted to go somewhere where they could be alone.
    He’d pushed for his agenda and won. But now she seemed genuinely excited to go. So what was it? Pete wondered idly if it was too late to get their deposit back after all. Maybe he could surprise her and book another hotel on a bigger island instead.
    He ran his hands through his