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“Help get me the fuck out of here.”
Silence ticked over the line. “That bad?”
“That bad.”
“Give me five. I’ll get you transport and hook you up with the details as soon as I have them.”
“Thanks.” He hung up.
So that was that. Now to figure out how to pick up the pieces and go on with his life.
Without her.
* * *
Sophie sat on the barstool shaking all over. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Ryder didn’t want to see her anymore because of a job that might not even happen?
It was so unfair.
She thought about calling Penelope, who’d come to her in a heartbeat, but couldn’t make the call. She couldn’t admit to her friend he’d abandoned her. Was this forever to be the story of her life?
It was a complete one-eighty, and no matter how she attempted to wrap her arms around it, nothing about his actions made any sense to her.
How could he leave her like this? Didn’t he understand how much she needed him?
It served her right. This was why she never depended on anyone. When it came down to it, there was something missing inside her that made it easy for people to detach from her.
Maybe she was just unlovable.
Her phone beeped and her heart surged at Ryder’s name on her screen. Silently praying he’d changed his mind, she scrambled for the cell. Her stomach dropped to her toes when she saw the words written across the screen. Two little words that changed everything.
I’m gone.
He’d left her. It was over.
She felt exactly how she’d expected to feel when it ended. Crushed. Defeated. Hopeless despair. The weight sitting on her chest, threatening to destroy her from the inside out, didn’t surprise her. She’d prepared for it.
But what she didn’t understand was why he’d chosen to have this soul-sucking heartbreak now instead of later, when they would be forced to be apart.
They could have weeks, months together—so why?
How could he not want to spend what time they had left together?
The bartender came over, an older woman in her fifties with a friendly, warm motherly smile. “What can I get you, doll face?”
Sophie took one look at the woman and burst into tears.
The woman didn’t even blink an eye. She just patted her hand and tsked. “Hang on, I know just the thing.”
Sophie picked up a napkin and attempted to sob discreetly until the bartender returned and put down a drink. “It’s a mint julep. My mama was Southern and said it was the only drink for heartbreak.”
Sophie hiccupped. “Thank you.”
“Boy troubles?”
Sophie nodded, sniffing. “Men suck.”
“Yep, they do. Want to tell me about it?” The hotel bar was nearly empty, and she winked at Sophie. “It will kill the time and make you feel better.”
