Page 167 of The Silver Fox Brother

"He found out I'm working on Knox's project. He thinks Knox hired me to get revenge on him."

Kate and Amy exchange a look.

"Is that why Knox hired you?" Amy asks carefully.

"No." I shake my head.

"At least, I don't think so. He hired me because I'm good at what I do."

"And because you used to date his brother," Kate points out.

I don't have a good answer for that.

"What did Rowan say?" Amy asks.

"That he wants me back. That Madeleine meant nothing. That if I just give him another chance, we can fix everything."

Kate's expression hardens.

"Please tell me you told him to fuck off."

"I told him to leave."

"And did he?"

"Eventually." I take another drink.

"But he said it's not over. That he's not giving up."

Amy reaches across the table and squeezes my hand.

"Are you okay?"

I look down at my wine glass.

"I don't know."

"Do you still have feelings for him?" Kate asks.

"No." The answer comes quickly, firmly.

"I don't love him anymore. I haven't for a while."

"Then why do you look so shaken?"

I set down my glass.

"Because seeing him today made me realize how much I've been avoiding dealing with any of this. I left him, blocked his numbers, threw myself into work. But I never actually processed the breakup."

"You don't owe him closure," Amy says.

"I know. But maybe I owe it to myself."

Kate leans forward. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet."

We sit in silence for a moment, the ambient noise of the wine bar filling the space between us.