And oh fuck….

“I need to go. Bye, Ava.”

My phone fell to my side, and the pain in Emmersyn’s eyes was vividly clear.

Because those weren’t rocks she was staring at. They were speakers.

“My Bluetooth speakers were on,” I said.

She nodded, tightened her grip on her towel, and skirted around me. “I need to shower.”

I reached for her, but she moved around me. What was there to say? Hell, my head was still spinning trying to figure out what just happened.

She’d heard it all. Heard what I didn’t say. Heard me apologize to my ex-wife for marrying another woman.

“Emmersyn…”

“Don’t, Kane. Just don’t.” She had a hand at the railing, tears in her eyes. “I knew what I was getting into. Remember?”

My own words slammed back into me like a sledgehammer. I will never love you.

She turned and ran up the stairs, leaving a wet trail of footsteps.

And holy shit.

How had everything I thought was so good turned to utter shit so fast?

And how had I just managed to break two women’s hearts in a matter of moments?

“You want to talk yet?”

Dom’s forearms rested on the booth’s table at Malley’s. For some damn reason, it was him I’d called when I realized how badly I fucked shit up and needed a drink.

I stood in my living room while the shower in Emmersyn’s room turned on and I couldn’t bear to see the pain I’d caused her when she got out. After a quick change of clothes, I grabbed my cell and my keys and wallet, and I was gone before she got out.

Did that make me a certified pussy?

Probably.

But it wasn’t like she’d want to see me anyway, and it wasn’t like I had anything to say. Sure, I could stand in front of her, tell her I’d done nothing wrong. But the only woman I’d ever loved had all but admitted to still wanting me, essentially said I could have her if I wanted… and I’d just been making love to another woman, even if I wasn’t ready to admit what it was.

Yeah, I hadn’t told her I was in love with Emmersyn. Yeah, I hadn’t said much of anything, but that I didn’t was bad enough.

It was my job to protect Emmersyn and keep her safe, not hurt her.

I ended up at Malley’s bar, calling Dom on the way. He must have called Joey because the man walked in a few minutes behind me, looking entirely unsurprised when he saw me at the table, drink in hand.

He went to the bar, got his own, and took the seat across from me.

Dominick strolled in ten minutes later, grabbed a water because the guy didn’t drink much, and joined us.

For ten more minutes, they let me sit in silence, finish a second drink, and the question Dominick asked was delivered with my third.

Warm from the whiskey, and still smelling like saltwater from the hot tub, I tried to roll the tension from my shoulders and realized it was futile. I was one giant ball of stress and regret. “Ava called.”