“You drink fast. Just want to make sure you have a refill.” She leaned close to me, pushing her brown hair over one shoulder. Her perfume wafted into my nose, smelling like peonies on a summer day.
My arm moved over the back of the booth, and I leaned close to her. “That was thoughtful, sweetheart.” I grabbed the glass and took a deep drink. “It’s got a nice kick to it.” I continued a quiet conversation with her while the music played overhead.
Twenty minutes later, Ash fell into the seat across from me.
I was so distracted by the woman whispering dirty things into my ear that I almost didn’t notice him. “What are you doing here, man?”
“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for like two hours.”
I’d silenced my phone because I didn’t want to be bothered. “Then how did you find me?”
“Damien.”
“Of course. Fucking snitch.”
Ash turned to my date. “Scram. Let the men talk.”
I kept my arm around her shoulders. “You’re fine, sweetheart.”
My brother gave me a heated stare. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Getting laid. What are you doing?”
“What about Sofia?”
She pulled her hand from my thigh. “Who’s Sofia?”
Before I could say anything, Ash blurted out the answer. “His wife.”
“Whoa, I’m not married…” I pulled her closer so she wouldn’t slip away.
She gave me a disgusted expression. “Pig.” She pushed off me and left the table.
Since my brother chased off my tail, I shot him a pissed-off look. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I want to ask you the same thing. Sofia kills Maddox and saves you, but then you dump her?”
“I didn’t dump her. We haven’t been together in months.”
“You slept with her a month ago.”
I hadn’t expected my brother to corner me late at night in a bar. “That doesn’t mean anything. I didn’t want to sleep with her in the first place. I’m ready to move on with my life. It’s been a long time coming, and I feel free.”
“What about the conversation we had on your terrace?” my brother asked. “You said you could never move on.”
“Well, I found a way. And if you don’t mind, stay out of my business.”
Ash stared at me in annoyance. “I wouldn’t have to be in your business if you weren’t being a jackass. I know this isn’t what you want, so I don’t understand why you’re doing it.”
“It is what I want. That relationship was bullshit from the start. It’s always been a one-way street, me busting my ass for her. I’m over that shit. I want to be single again. I want to fuck whomever I want and then kick them out the next day. No more heart on my sleeve, no more relentless sacrifice. I’m glad I’m not married anymore, and I don’t want to be married again.”
Ash stared at me in disbelief, like he couldn’t believe a single word that came out of my mouth. “Did Maddox do something to you?”
I immediately thought of the date Maddox made me attend, but it had been so uncomfortable that I didn’t want to share that night with anybody. Nothing happened…but it was still creepy. “No. What kind of question is that?”
“It’s like you’re brainwashed or something.”
“I’m not brainwashed. I just don’t love her anymore. People fall out of love every day.”
“Not in a month,” he argued. “And not you. You’ve been infatuated with this woman since you met her. How can that just end? How can you be so committed to her throughout your divorce and then one day just stop? Do you really want to go home with that girl who only wants your wallet? Or would you want to go home with a real woman who killed your greatest enemy and gave birth to your son?”
When he described her that way, he made her sound like a saint. She was no saint. “Let’s not forget that she left me. Twice.”
“She was trying to protect your kid. And when was the other time?”
“When we first started seeing each other. I asked her to marry me. She said no.”
“The explanation for that is pretty simple…because you’d just started to see each other. That was way too soon, and you know it. You’re just making excuses, and I don’t understand why.”
I knew exactly why I felt the way I did. The gypsy cleansed my heart and made me feel nothing. It was freeing…not caring about anything. But I would never tell him what I did. It didn’t matter anyway. I didn’t love Sofia anymore, and that was the bottom line. “I just don’t love her anymore. It’s that simple.”
“And what about Andrew?”
“What about him? I’ll still be a father. Divorced couples do it all the time. I’m not reinventing the wheel here.”
Ash didn’t have any arguments left, but he was still surprised by my confession. “I could understand all of that if it hadn’t happened overnight. But one day, you were lovesick over Sofia, and now that you can have everything you’ve ever wanted, you don’t want her anymore.”