“You’re pretty arrogant to assume you would make her happy.”
“I’ve been her shoulder to cry on, and she’s been mine.”
I hated the idea of her running to him for comfort, but I couldn’t expect her to run to me instead. Instead of letting her hurt me, I hurt her. It was the only way I could protect myself.
“What’s your answer, man?”
“You know my answer.”
“Well, that’s pretty fucked up if you ask me. But fine.” Coen rose to his feet and walked out of the living room, abandoning me and all the garbage on the table. He headed upstairs and left me alone on the couch.
To suffer my rage in silence.
Coen and I didn’t speak for days.
I was too pissed off to even look at him, and he was smart enough to steer clear of me.
I was so livid, I actually wanted to punch him.
Hadn’t decided if I would or not.
I was sitting in my office when he stepped inside, probably choosing to speak to me in public instead of behind closed doors where I could punch his face in. To the best of my knowledge, Coen hadn’t tried to contact Monroe since I told him he couldn’t ask her out.
If he did it anyway, I might kill him.
He stepped inside and dropped a folder on my desk. “Simone is missing.”
My hostility disappeared for a moment. “Missing?”
“I’ve been wanting to sign our divorce papers and move on, but she’s nowhere to be found. I’ve asked her parents, and they say they haven’t seen her either.”
“I wonder what that’s about?”
He shrugged. “No idea. I can file for divorce without her, but it would take longer. It’s easier just to get her signatures on a few pages and be done with it.”
“Maybe she’s ashamed.” As she should be.
“Simone has never been ashamed of anything before.”
“Good point.”
“Maybe she’s going to try to convince you to give it another try…since she’s left with nothing.”
“Five million dollars isn’t nothing,” he said with a chuckle.
“But her legal defense must have been a few hundred grand.”
He slid his hands into his pockets. “She’ll turn up soon. I just hope nothing happened to her.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I hate the bitch, but I don’t want her to be dead.”
“Because the police would assume you were the one who did it?”
“No…but that’s a good point.” He lingered in front of my desk like he had more to say but didn’t know how to spit it out. He probably wanted to talk about Monroe since that was the reason for our newfound tension. He must have thought the better of it because he didn’t mention it. “That’s all the paperwork I got from the construction guys in Jackson Hole. All the foundation has been laid. They’re ready to build.”
“Great.”
He nodded before he walked out.
I was pissed at my brother for even thinking Monroe was an option, but I was also relieved he’d asked me before going for it. And I was relieved he’d listened to my answer. Because the idea of the two of them together made me sick to my stomach. The idea of Monroe being with anyone made me sick to my stomach…
After I hit the gym and showered, I kept thinking about Monroe.
It’d been over a week since we last spoke.
I hoped she was doing okay in her new place. She was sleeping alone every night, just as I was. I hoped she wasn’t afraid. I hoped she didn’t fear someone would break in again. She lived in a nice neighborhood with constant police surveillance, so she should have nothing to worry about.
But I wanted to check on her anyway.
I missed her like crazy. I missed the sound of her voice, the softness of her smile. I missed the way she rose on her tiptoes to kiss me when I walked in the door. I missed burying my nose in hair and smelling her perfume.
I missed everything.
I grabbed my coat then left for her townhouse. I didn’t ask my driver to take me because it was such a short walk. It was just across the street and a few blocks over. Knowing she was so close to me comforted me, because I could get to her quickly if she ever needed me.
Ten minutes later, I arrived at her doorstep.
I rang the doorbell and stood in the cold air with my jacket wrapped tightly around me. There were fewer people on the street than usual because people forked over cash to take a cab when it got this cold.
I chose to walk because I needed some time to prepare for this moment. I shouldn’t be here. My visit was completely selfish. Seeing me would only make it harder for her, but not seeing her was making it harder for me.
Her footsteps sounded a moment later. When they stopped, I knew she was looking through the peephole right at me. She probably lost her breath at my unexpected appearance, thinking she would never see me again.