I swiped the Chinese into the rubbish bin. What the hell did Isla want from me anyway? The accident wasn’t my fault. If the damn truck hadn’t overturned, I would have made it in plenty of time for the judging! Hell, maybe I would have been early enough to join Weston and Alistair in the kilted dash.
That was all beside the point though. I still couldn’t take off from the office willy-nilly whenever I wanted and abandon my responsibilities—there were more important things than bloody haggis tasting! What about that was so hard for her to understand? I pulled a glass from the cupboard. And who was Isla to question how I handled my own business?
The mother of your child, for one, my mind said.And the woman you thought you lov?—
I slammed the cupboard door. None of it mattered anyway. We were done as of tonight. That’s what she’d said she wanted. And that’s what I wanted too.
Right?
I filled the glass with water at the sink, gulping it down so quickly my chest ached.
I’d gone out of my way to show up for Isla in a million ways since meeting her. I’d waded through a bloody potato flood to get to Braeburn today when it would have been so much easier to just turn around. I called her almost every evening despite how late I still had to work. I had deliveries for the baby turning up at the inn weekly.
What part of all that looked like I wasn’t showing up for her or our child?
I dropped my empty glass into the sink with a clank, my stomach roiling.Whatever we were, it’s done.
I still had no idea how things had gone so sideways. How one conversation had turned out to be the end of us. I wrapped my hands around the edge of the counter, squeezing cold marble.Truth was, I didn’twantto be the guy who walked away, but Isla seemed insistent on backing me into a corner.
She wanted me to apologize for being who I was. Or maybe what she actually wanted was for me tobesomeone other than who I was: a guy committed to excelling in his career. And that wasn’t something I was prepared to do.
If Isla was too stubborn—too caught up in past hurts—to understand why me being late to the bloody festival was not some major statement about how I valued our relationship, then clearly, we were never going to agree when it came to our priorities. And I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life being harped on for going above and beyond to make sure I’d always have the resources to take care of my child.
I exhaled sharply. This breakup was for the best. Clearly, there was no way forward for us.
Thursday of the following week, Alistair called. It was early afternoon—an odd time for him to reach out when he knew I was slammed with work. Not to mention I’d have expected him to still be in court. I paused my meeting prep, answering the phone. “All right, mate?”
“Yeah.” He sighed heavily. “It’s done.”
What’s done?was on the tip of my tongue as I shoved a bunch of loose papers into a folder. And then it hit me like a sack of bricks to the head. The trial had concluded today, with the final judgment handed down.
“Fucking hell, I forgot it was today,” I said. How could I have forgotten? “I’m such an arse.”
“Don’t say that,” Alistair said. “I know you’ve had a lot on your mind.”
He didn’t mention Isla’s name, but I knew he was thinking it. While Isla and I hadn’t exactly made a grand announcement of our split, it hadn’t taken long for everyone to find out. Cat had gotten the news out of Isla. Lena had heard it from Cat. Weston had called me. And before I knew it, Alistair was read in on the entire situation—as if he needed anything else to worry about while the trial was ongoing.
But now the trial had ended…and I’d totally dropped the ball on remembering that. I hadn’t even messaged him a word of encouragement this morning!
I ran my hand over my face, feeling like utter shite. But that was hardly new. I’d been walking through a fog for days. “Tell me how everything went?”
Alistair huffed a hollow laugh, and I immediately thought the worst. Then he said, “I’ve been cleared of all responsibility for what Jessica did.”
“Bloody hell, mate! That’s amazing news—but not surprising. I knew the courts would see sense.” I slumped back in my office chair, a wave of relief crashing through me. I’d been so caught up thinking about Isla and myself that I’d completely neglected my friend. I bit down on the frustrated groan that shot up my throat and gave Alistair my full attention. “Are you all right? You must be glad to have it over.”
“I think I’m still sort of processing the verdict,” Alistair said. “When the judgment was read out, all I wanted was to get out ofthat courtroom, away from the press gallery, and go home to hug Kenna.”
“I don’t blame you.” The guy had been put through hell since the day Jessica blew up his life. The trial was just the latest serving of shite. I would have wanted to go home to my family too. My chest clenched at that thought, an ache throbbing.
What family—Isla and the baby?I didn’t have them to go home to.
I cleared my throat. “You deserve some actual down time now. Did you get home okay?”
“Yeah, after fighting my way through a mob of reporters,” he grumbled.
I frowned. “They didn’t have police there for you?”
“Of course they did,” he said, an edge to his voice, “but a lot of good they were! You should have heard the things the press were yelling.Negligence isn’t innocence! You should have known better, but you were too busy being led around by your dick!I think people are actually angrier now that I’ve been legally cleared.”
