“We’re done when I say we’re done.” He lets me go suddenly, and I stumble on my feet, almost falling.
I steady myself against the wall and turn to glare at him.
“You’re no longer worth the effort.” He eyeballs Callan. “You want her so badly, you can have her. See if you can fix the mess you created because I’m done wasting my time.” Seán grabs my hand and rips the ring from my finger. “I’ll find someone worthier to give this to. Melissa’s been angling for the position for a few weeks now.”
“You fucking bastard.” Callan storms over, hands balled into fists, ready to let swing, but I’m not about to let that happen.
I step in front of Callan and keep him back. “Don’t bother. He’s not worth it.” If Callan hits Seán, he’ll use it to break the contract without paying them what they’re owed, and he’ll probably even try to sue. I straighten up and pierce my ex-fiancéwith a confident look. “Melissa is welcome to you. You’ll only ever be married to your job anyway. I want a man who will hold me when I lose his baby, not prioritize meetings and say it’s for the best I miscarried because the timing isn’t right to gain Daddy’s approval. You’re not a man. You’re a fucking puppet.”
“I don’t know what I ever saw in you.” Seán sneers as he picks some lint off his suit jacket.
“Ditto, asshole.”
“You have twenty-four hours to get your things out of my house. I’ll send Paige your stuff in New York.”
“Fine.”
He turns to walk off before throwing one last venomous look over his shoulder. “Oh, by the way, you’re fired too. You can collect any personal items from the hotel the same time your fuckboy is getting his shit off my property.” He spears his last vindictive look in Callan’s direction. “Good luck with my sloppy seconds. You’re going to need it.”
I slam the door shut after his sorry ass, seething as I press my back to the wood and work to calm myself down.
Callan’s gaze bores into mine. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I hiss. “I mean, I’m fucking angry. How dare he do this, but I’m also relieved. Things haven’t been right between us since I moved back here. It was obvious we want different things in life, but I was in denial, refusing to admit the relationship was drawing to a close.”
“I can’t stand that slimy fucker,” he admits. “I was tempted to fly to Switzerland and introduce him to my fist when he left you to deal with the miscarriage by yourself.”
“That’s when I knew for sure, and though it’s not easy to lose a baby, on this occasion, I am glad I didn’t have a child with him.”
“Unlike me.” He offers me a sad smile before kneeling and picking up the debris on the floor.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I say, padding toward him.
“I know you didn’t. Doesn’t make it untrue though.”
“You love your daughter.”
He looks up. “I do, and I only see Darcy when I look at her, but there was a period where she reminded me of Gwen, and some days it was hard to look at her and not remember.”
I don’t want to admit I can relate because it would hurt Callan, and he’s been hurt enough. We both have.
He raises his palm when I move to bend down. “Don’t come any closer. You don’t have shoes on.”
Or much clothing. Feeling self-conscious, I tug his shirt down. “I’ll get dressed and come help. You should wash the blood from your nose so we can see what the damage is. Also, check for glass fragments in your hands and your foot.”
“It’s not broken, though I’m guessing I’ll have one hell of a bruise.”
After we clean up the mess in the hall and I tend to Callan’s wounds, he makes me a delicious ham and mushroom omelet for breakfast, and then he trails me to the house on Sweet Maple Lane in one of his company vans.
Travis and Riley are waiting out front for us.
“What are you doing here?” I ask when I get out of my car.
“Came to help you load up,” Riley says.
“And for moral support in case Devlin shows up,” Travis adds.
“He’s already left town. I checked before I terminated the location sharing app.”
