He sat on the leather couch and watched Darci. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, and the soft lighting glinted off the golden highlights. Desire curled through him as he began to weave a fantasy life that could never exist for either of them. To have a real marriage, a normal life, happy children and a home. It was something that had always been held just out of his reach until he’d given up on it.

But Darci brought the old wants back to torment him.

The office door popped open without warning and a well-dressed man walked in as if he belonged there. Cole tensed, looking back and forth between Darci and the newcomer. Darci hadn’t been very talkative about her past relationships, but Cole suspected he was about to learn more than if she’d told him her version of the facts.

“Jeffrey, what are you doing here?”

“You’ve been avoiding me. We need to talk.” Jeffrey braced his arms on the desk and leaned toward Darci.

“We’ve already said everything that can be said months ago. Now, please leave, Jeffrey, I have work to do.” Darci’s voice carried a coldness that Cole hadn’t thought she was capable of.

“You’ve said what you wanted to say. I was never allowed to present my side.”

“You mean you weren’t allowed to distort the facts, to try to convince me I didn’t see what I did?” She spread her hands on the desk. “How do you explain away that woman, what magic words do you use to make her disappear?”

Cole stood, fighting his protective urges, when Jeffrey grabbed Darci by the shoulders, forcing her up to his level. “You can’t throw our love away that easily.”

“What we had obviously wasn’t love. You never loved me, or even cared enough to consider my feelings. Good night, Jeffrey.” Darci shook herself free of his grip, but he reached for her again.

Closing the distance between them quickly, Cole tapped the man on the shoulder and waited for him to turn. “I believe the lady has made herself clear. Get out.”

“Who the hell are you?” The words were a direct challenge.

Cole eyed the man, almost relishing the thought of planting a fist in Jeffrey’s stomach. “I’m her husband.” He was surprised at the satisfaction the words brought him. “Who are you?”

The shock filtered through Jeffrey’s eyes as he stared at Cole. With a trace of panic in his actions, Jeffrey spun around to glare at Darci. “I’m her fiancé. What’s going on here?”

Darci had a sudden urge to crawl under the desk and pretend they couldn’t see her. But that was a game that hadn’t worked even when she was young enough to believe it would.