I scrubbed a hand down my face.
Then I looked at Quinn.
Really looked at him.
And I saw what I’d always seen but told myself my friend could deal with.
That beneath his easy-going facade there was a lack of contentment.
Definitely a lack of happiness.
I hated that for him.
Quinn was a good man.
Better man than me.
And without Silver … I was staring at a window into my future.
I glanced down at Main Street. “It’s never too late. Taran’s here. You sure you want to give up yet?”
“Am I to take advice from a bloke who let his woman go?”
“Will you watch Akiva while I go to New York?”
Quinn grinned. “I can watch Akiva.”
“If I go to New York to bring Silver back, you have to try again with Taran.” I pointed a warning finger at him.
He scowled. “I think I’ve laid my pride at her door enough times.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You tried to find an opening with her just after her mum died. After her fiancé left her. It was never going to happen then. She needed time. She might even need a wee bit more time. But youwilltry again.”
Quinn’s brow wrinkled as he considered my words. “I’ll think about it. Not saying I will. Just that I’ll think about it. But you need to go to New York.”
I held out a hand to him. “Shake on it.”
He shook his head but took my hand in a firm grip. “Deal.”
“Deal.”
40.Tierney
This had to be one of the longest weeks of my life.
I hadn’t seen London since that first day.
While trying to remain incognito, I’d visited the apartment building in Soho every single day and been turned away. London wasn’t picking up the phone or answering my texts.
I left her a daily voicemail too.
I’d been trying to consider what hold Nick had over London. My best friend had always been so fiercely independent because of how shitty her parents were. She’d always been the one in the driver’s seat in a relationship because that’s what made her feel safe. In the past, if a guy had tried to take control, she would dump him at the first sign.
Nick had somehow emotionally manipulated my friend. She feared him. I could feel it emanating from her.
How, then, did I convince her that she didn’t need to be afraid of him?
Last night I’d left her another voicemail.
