He’s not coming back.

I stare at my phone as it goes black and feel my eyes well. He’s just my friend. This shouldn’t upset me at all. So I don’t get to have sex with him one more time. So I don’t get to feel the weight of him on top of me, or his lips on my skin. So I don’t get to hear that sexy accent of his as he whispers in my ear because he’s so darn turned on he can’t help himself.

So I don’t get to feel his hands on my back as he holds me, or see the special way he smiles at me when he thinks I’m being particularly adorable or ridiculous.

So what?

It’s a clean break. Like ripping off the Band-Aid quickly. It’s probably for the best.

And hurts worse than any slap in the face.

I thought I’d at least get to say goodbye in person.

I lie back and can’t stop the tears that flood my eyes, and that only pisses me off more. I refuse to waste one more tear on a man. Any man. Especially a man who doesn’t love me and says goodbye with safe travels.

No more tears.

Not one.

I roll onto my belly and bury my face in the pillow, crying angrily. Why did I let myself fall in love with him? Haven’t I learned anything?

***

“Hey, superstar,” Declan says, when I open the door for him and turn to gather my luggage.

“Good morning. Thanks for picking me up.”

“No problem. Eli said he—”

“I don’t care what Eli said,” I interrupt, and then scowl. “That sounded really bitchy.”

“Kind of.” He helps me gather my bags.

“The moving people will come get the rest later today or tomorrow.”

Declan nods and follows me down the steps. I glance to my left, and also coming down Eli’s steps is Gabby’s friend, Cindy.

She glances over at us, smiles and waves, and then walks to her car, climbs in, and leaves.

Are you fucking kidding me?

“She’s a little slut,” Declan mutters, as he loads my bags into the back of his car.

“So is your brother,” I reply. “That is what he got hung up with last night?”

“Hey,” Dec holds his hands up in surrender. “I honestly don’t know. I was simply asked to come take you to the airport.” He winces and offers me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry.”

“Whatever,” I reply and get in the passenger side. “It was over anyway.”

“Was it?”

“It sure as heck is now.”

Chapter Twenty

Eli

I drop into the chair behind my desk, lean my elbows on the smooth wood and prop my head in my hands, gripping my hair in my fists. It’s after eight in the morning, and I just got here.

I never went home.

All I want to do is sleep, so I’ll take a cold shower, get dressed, and get back to work.

Back to my life.

But first, I dial Kate’s number, needing to hear her soothing, sweet voice after the fucked up night I just had, and frown when I’m immediately sent to the automated voice of her mailbox.

Her plane has taken off.

And it’s probably for the best.

“You okay?” Beau asks, as he walks into my office and flops into the chair across from me, looking every bit as exhausted as I feel.

“I feel the way you look,” I reply. “I told Sal to replace that hydraulic. I told him. I made it very clear what would happen if he didn’t.”

“We just never planned on a guy being killed in the night shift because he didn’t do it fast enough,” Beau replies, and rubs his eyes with the pads of his fingers.

“It was pride,” I spit out. “I bruised his fucking ego, so he drug his feet.”

“Well, he can drag his feet all the way to the unemployment office.”

I nod grimly. “That doesn’t help that young man’s widow and two small kids.”

“We’ll make sure they’re very well taken care of.”

“Something tells me she’d rather have her husband,” I whisper sadly.

“Eli,” Beau begins and scratches his scruffy cheek. “I wanted to tell you, I was really fucking proud of you last night.”

I raise a brow and watch my older brother. He’s my best friend, and we respect each other, but we’re men.

We don’t get mushy.

I shift in my chair, uncomfortable, but he keeps going.

“You handled the situation perfectly.”

“I didn’t do it alone,” I remind him. “You were right there with me, taking on your fair share of the work.”

“Yes, and I’ll continue to, but you did great. Dad would have been impressed.”

I smirk. “Right.”

Beau cocks his head, narrows his eyes. “Dad loved you.”

“I know.”

And I do. But, he didn’t respect me, and wasn’t impressed by anything I did once in my life.

“You’re a good man, Eli. A fair one. A good leader. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

“Is she gone?” he asks suddenly, changing the subject.

“Yes.”

He sighs. “And you let her go.”

“She doesn’t live here, Beau. She has a life and a job.”

He shakes his head at me. “I’m sorry you missed last night with her. She was good for you.”

So am I. So fucking sorry.

“Did you at least call and say goodbye?”

“I’m not a dick, Beau. Of course. I called and wished her safe travels.”

His jaw drops. “That’s it?”

“What else was there to say? Discuss the weather? Exchange recipes? Pledge my undying love?”

“You’re wrong,” Beau says quietly, as he stands and shoves his hands in his pockets, the same way I do, looking very much like our father. “You are a dick.”

“Never claimed otherwise,” I mutter as he walks away. I check my phone, for what I’m not sure. She may have landed by now. I tried to call Declan earlier to ask him how she was this morning, but he’s not answering my calls.

He’s probably either asleep or bouncing on one of his groupies.

I’d give just about anything to hear her voice right now, to smooth the rough edges left from holding that young widow through the night while she cried long, heartbroken sobs against my chest for a man who’s never coming home. From being awake for too fucking long.

From already missing her.

But she’s gone, and I have a business to run. So I schedule a mid-morning mandatory meeting with the men at the shipyard and hurry to shower and dress to make it there on time.

This is my life. This is what’s important. Kate was just a pleasant distraction. It’s time to get back to business.

***

“I don’t give a fuck. I want it done. Today. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” I hang up and bring up an email, just as Savannah and Declan saunter into my office.

“I see you’re just your usual puppies and rainbows self,” Declan says dryly, as he lowers himself into a chair, a smirk on his face.

“What do you want?”

“We want to talk to you,” Savannah says. She folds her hands in her lap, sitting straight in the chair, head high, the way she always does. But her eyes are sad, and that kills me.

“How are you, bebe?” I ask her softly.

“Worried about you,” she replies.

“Alright.” I sit back in my chair and rub my fingers over my mouth. “What’s up?”

“We’ve come to point out that you’re back to your old asshole ways,” Declan says.

“How would you know?” I ask with a raised brow. “You haven’t spoken to me in two weeks.”

“And I’d rather not speak to you now either, but Van talked me into it.”

“Since you’re talking to me, would you like to explain why you’d rather not?”

“Because you’re a fucking dick, and you made Kate cry.”

“What?” I scowl at them both. “I haven’t spoken to Kate since she left two weeks ago.”

“Oh, we know,” Savannah replies. “And you’re back to your BK attitude.”

“BK?”

“Before Kate.”

“Is this an intervention?” I ask with a laugh, and immediately wish for a glass of bourbon.

“Yes, if you’d like to call it that,” Van replies. “It’s an asshole intervention.”

“Noted. You can see yourselves out.”