The Affair: Week 4 Read Free Page A

a little undone viewing the Vanni Montand dressing ceremony, that ritual of blatant male sexuality and precision.
    Now he sat there in the driver’s seat, smelling delicious from his shower and looking impossibly gorgeous. The idea of him inside her apartment seemed . . . just
odd
. Unlikely. Surely he’d rather wait in the car.
    “I’ll just hop in the shower and change for dinner. It won’t take me more than ten minutes,” she said awkwardly when the car came to a stop in her apartment parking lot.
    He didn’t reply. She studied his profile in the soft summer evening light.
    “Um . . . do you want to come in?”
    Much to her surprise, he nodded once and twisted the keys out of the ignition. Her heart jumped when he reached for his car door.
    Oh my God, how is Amanda going to react? I haven’t even told her I was seeing anyone, let alone
someone
like Vanni Montand.
    “I’m on the third floor. It’s a walk-up,” she mumbled apologetically a few seconds later as they approached her building. Again, she experienced that dazed, dreamlike sensation watching Vanni rise up the starkly mundane wooden staircase that led to her third-floor apartment. They passed an overlook to the parking lot below on the second floor. Emma’s feet halted when she saw Colin’s car in the parking lot. She’d been so preoccupied sitting in the car with Vanni and inhaling his subtle, addictive scent that she’d hadn’t noticed it before.
    “Emma?” She blinked and looked at Vanni where he stood on the first step to the third floor, an expectant look on his face. Her brain whirred and then stalled. What excuse could she make? She couldn’t think of anything else to do but continue.
    “Sorry,” she breathed, following him up the steps.
    She led him to her door and fumbled the key in the lock. Suddenly, his hand was on hers. She looked up in surprise. His blue-green eyes seemed to glow in the shadows as he regarded her calmly. Soberly.
    “I don’t care if your house is a mess, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said.
    Her house a mess? She almost laughed. It was a mess, but not in the way he meant it.
    His hand turned the key in the lock. The door swung open.
    Emma led him through the small foyer and into her modest but comfortable living room, a lump swelling in her throat. She paused abruptly on the threshold.
    In some ways, the situation echoed the other night when she’d caught Amanda and Colin together. The pair sat close together on the couch and looked startled by her appearance. At least they weren’t kissing, though, Emma thought numbly.
    In actuality, it was drastically different. Vanni came to a halt beside her, and Colin and Amanda might have been a mile away. His presence altered the dynamics of the situation almost beyond recognition. How could she worry too much over Colin and Amanda’s new relationship with
him
standing right next to her?
    “Hi,” Emma said in a high-pitched voice.
    “Hi,” Amanda replied. She gaped at Vanni. So did Colin. For a few seconds, no one spoke.
    “Hi. I’m Vanni Montand.”
    Emma blinked in rising horror when she saw Vanni crossing the room. He held out his hand to Amanda. He’d had to introduce himself, because he was the only one in the room not tongue-tied. Emma forced herself to move.
    “I’m sorry. Vanni, this is my sister, Amanda.” Amanda stood to shake hands, still staring at Vanni dazedly. Vanni nodded cordially at her and turned to Colin.
    “And this is Colin Atwater,” Emma introduced through a dry throat.
    The small, warm smile Vanni had given Amanda flickered and faded. His dark brows slanted dangerously. He glanced at Emma and she read the sharp questions in his eyes.
The
Colin
?
Your
old boyfriend
Colin
?
    She gave him a wild look. Colin had stood in the meantime. He looked younger than usual, studying Vanni uncertainly. Colin started to put out his hand, but Vanni gave him a burning scowl and he let it drop. Vanni grabbed Emma’s hand