Perhaps if I could just hear his voice one last time, I’d get closure. Probably not, but it was bloody hard to get over someone I was in love with while knowing that he still had feelings for me too.
Technically, nothing had even happened between the two of us to trigger our split. We were still the same two people who’d been sharing a bed every night and waking up together every morning, deliriously happy while it lasted.
But it was suddenly over and dealing withthathad been a damn challenge and a half.
Finally, I decided to just do it. The wine had obliterated my inhibitions and I missed him something awful, so I hit call and pressed the phone to my ear.
He didn’t pick up.
Maybe it’s for the best.
The line rang and rang until I got his voicemail, but instead of leaving a message, I simply let my hand drop to my side and then I curled up in my bed. Tomorrow was another day, and perhaps even the day when I’d finally be able to start putting our not-so-fake relationship behind me.
CHAPTER 33
JESSE
Iignored Will’s stare. It wasn’t easy since my brother had perfected the art of the silent, judgmental glare at some point while I’d gone in the opposite direction, but here we were.
“Are you going to keep brooding over there or are you going to admit I’m a genius and this is going to work?”
Will didn’t even blink. “Neither.”
“Wow. That’s supportive. I mean, like, really inspiring. It totally makes me want to open up emotionally and bleed my feelings all over the floor.”
“Please don’t,” he deadpanned. “These floors are centuries old. I don’t even know how to get blood out of them, let alone feelings.”
Across the room, Zach was hunched over a laptop in Eliza’s fancy castle, typing like his life depended on it. He suddenly grinned and interrupted me when I opened my mouth to respond. “Nate just sent through everything we need.”
I shot up from the armchair I’d been lounging in and crossed the room in two long strides to peer at the screen over his shoulder. “Please tell me that includes the documentation confirming that the dog has been handed over without a fight.”
Zach snorted. “Sadly, no personality upgrades on the part of her ex have been included.”
“That’s a shame. I was hoping for a clean sweep.”
He angled the screen toward me. “No such luck, but the rest of it is gold. It’s exactly what we needed him to find.”
I leaned in closer to scan the information, my gaze drifting across legal filings, financial records, and a neat little paper trail that made my lips curve into a wide, slow smile. “This is beautiful.”
Colin perked up on the couch. “Is it illegal beautiful or morally satisfying beautiful?”
“Yes.”
He grinned. “Hey, what do you know? That’s my favorite kind.”
Will made a low, disapproving sound at the back of his throat. “This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about.”
I didn’t look at him, still reading through the documents. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that. You disapprove of most things I do.”
“All you’re doing right now is adding fuel to the fire. It was already a volatile situation,” he said evenly. “We’re supposed to be in the middle of damage control, Jesse. You and Zach both being here right now? That’s not controlling the damage. It’s causing more.”
“It’s not,” I said, finally straightening. “We’re fixing a problem.”
“A personal one.”
I shrugged. “Those are the only ones worth fixing, right?”
Will’s gaze hardened on mine. “Not when it’s at the expense of everything else. Theo is working his ass off trying to spin the narrative back home, but here you two are, in the United fucking Kingdom, nowhere near the shitstorm.”
