“Yeah. Seems like you’ve been really busy lately. I hope you’re not upset that Lea and I weren’t there to see you off.”
I wanted to laugh. That was the last thing I was upset about, but for some reason, I couldn’t tell him how I really felt.
“Dad, it’s fine. You didn’t know I was going to be staying for the summer when you and Lea booked your vacation.”
“Still…you just kind of disappeared. I thought you were going to wait until after we got home to leave.”
I lifted a shoulder, fighting back tears as I unlocked the door to my apartment. “You know how much I hate goodbyes.”
“I know. But you know I’m always here for you, right?”
“Thanks, Dad. I do.”
“So, how are your classes going? How do you like your new apartment?”
“It’s, um, fine,” I said, glancing around the space.
Every day was the same. I woke up, went to class, studied, worked on my coaching business and some course offerings I was hoping to start providing for clients. I did everything I could not to think about Jonathan, but then I’d find one of his shirts in my stuff. I’d see someone who looked like him across the street, and I’d long for what we had. But then I’d see reason. I’d remember how he’d cast me aside so carelessly.
And then I’d repeat my new mantra:I deserve more.
Chapter Twenty-Four
If I’d thought life before Sumner was tedious, it was absolute hell after. At my house, at the office, I couldn’t escape the memories of her. And it wasn’t just the sex—it was the conversation, the laughter, and the life she infused into everything. And now, it seemed as if all I did was go to work and work out. Over the past two months, my life had become monotonous and tiresome.
Someone knocked on the door to my office, and I glanced up to find Ian standing there, basketball tucked under his arm. He’d been trying to get me to meet up with him, and I kept putting it off. I was being a chickenshit, but I couldn’t face him. Not without thinking about her.
“Long time, no see,” he said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me.”
I laughed, standing to greet him. “I’ve been—”
“Yeah. Yeah.” He waved away my words with a grin. “Busy, right? Then it’s a good thing I made an appointment. See you on the roof in twenty.”
I glanced at my computer, at the emails waiting for me. I’d avoided him as long as I could. “Sure.”
I finished up some emails and then met him at the executive gym on the roof. We played for a while, and I tried to ignore the pain in my chest. It came and went, my heartbeat fluctuating rapidly. I didn’t know whether it was due to the exercise or the company, but I was more than happy to let him lead the conversation. He talked about everything except the one thing I really wanted to know—how Sumner was.
I couldn’t get her out of my head. But it wasn’t the quiet moments we’d shared or the feel of her writhing beneath me; it was the haunted look in her eyes when I’d finally ended it. It was the resignation and hatred shining back at me when she realized I was serious this time.
“What’s up with you lately?” Ian dribbled, and I stole the ball.
I made my way across the court, bouncing the ball, feeling the way it pounded against my skin. “A buyer approached me about selling the Wolfe Group, I took on another property with Alexis—”
“Anotherproject? I barely see you as it is.”
“What are you, my wife?” I teased, though when I shot the ball, I missed.Fuckingagain?
I’d needed to fill my days so I’d be exhausted at night.Tooexhausted to think about Sumner or wish she were in my bed. Too busy to consider all the ways I’d fucked up. Fucked her over, was more like it.
God, I wanted to ask about her. I wondered if she was as miserable as I was. Though that idea only made me feel worse.
“Wait. Rewind a sec,” he said. “Someone approached you about selling? Are you considering it?”
I lifted a shoulder, watching as he retrieved the ball from my latest shot. “Maybe.”
He stopped dribbling, tucking the ball against his side. “You’re serious?” He shook his head. “You? The man who’s married to your job.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be anymore.”
