"A life sentence with time off for bad behavior?"Killian suggests."Yes.Started young, stayed too long, ended badly.The American dream."
At least she’s alive to hate you.
I push the sickening thought away, just as the server appears with Killian's drink.And I study the man with new eyes.
This is someone who built an empire parallel to mine, in an adjacent industry.We should be comparing notes about market penetration and supply chain optimization.
Instead, I ask, "Why did it end?"
Everyone looks at me.
Probably because I never ask personal questions.
Killian considers me over his glass."The official reason?Irreconcilable differences.The real reason?According to my wife’s attorney, I loved my hotels more than my wife.She found someone who loved her more than his portfolio."
"She cheated?"Connor asks.
"Spectacularly.With my former business partner."His smile is sharp."They're married now.Just had their first baby.Instagram is fascinating."
The table quiets.We’re all doing the math.
All thinking about what it takes to walk away from that kind of history—and survive it.
Before anyone can follow that rabbit hole too deep, Grayson deflects.“Well.Now we’ve all shared our trauma.Except Luke.”
Connor grins.“That’s right.Luke’s the last of us still single.”
“Technically,” Alex says.“I think Buttercup may have claimed him.”
“Not legally binding,” I mutter.
“But emotionally?You’re in deep,” Connor says.
Killian lifts an eyebrow.“Buttercup?”
“Goat,” my friends say in unison.
I clear my throat, hearing myself say her name.“The woman I’m, uh, seeing is named Sage," I confirm."She runs an inn.Lovely little B&B out of Alder Ridge.I…helped her with her security system.”
"Charming.Mixing business with pleasure?"His tone is light but his eyes are knowing."Dangerous game, that.Trust me.I married my first investor's daughter.Built the business and the marriage simultaneously.When one failed, they both did."
"It's not like that," I say.
"No?You're not integrating your technology into her business?Not tangling professional interests with personal ones?"He leans back."Let me guess—it started as purely business.Then suddenly you're making excuses to visit.Finding reasons to extend meetings.Until you can't tell where the partnership ends and the relationship begins."
I raise my own glass to my lips, finding it hard to answer.
Killian chuckles early.“No worries there, brother.I get it.I lived it.”He leans back in his chair, carding his fingers through his hair.“Hell, my ex-wife?She was brilliant.Ran the hotel development side while I handled operations.Perfect partnership.”His expression shutters.“Until it wasn't."
"What changed?"Grayson asks.
"Success.We built something extraordinary and forgot to build each other."He pauses."Or maybe we never knew how.Easier to love something quantifiable.Occupancy rates, revenue streams, expansion metrics.People are messier."
"That's cheerful," Alex mutters.
"That's experience."Killian raises his glass."But don't let my bitterness dampen the celebration.To Callum and Karina.May they beat the odds."
We drink, but the toast feels hollow.
