“Oh-kay, I’m drunk, but how does that make sense? And are you not fucking Brandi enough?”

“She may have complained about it a few times, but that’s not the fucking point, Tomás. We were supposed to be going through these stages together. I can’t talk to you about married life because your ass ain’t married.”

“I mean… I get it. I thought I would be too.”

But was that true?

How could I think that we would ever be able to go through those stages together when Darcy was the only woman I’d ever truly wanted?

“Maybe I just need to get out more. Not work so much,” I conceded.

“Definitely that,” Jared readily agreed. “Maybe take a vacation or something.”

“I just took a vacation when you got married—”

“That wasn’t a vacation. That was four days of being my best man and taking care of my mother. I mean a real vacation. Two weeks or a month somewhere warm. Isn’t that supposed to be a perk of being a business owner?”

“I heard that somewhere…yeah,” I agreed.

“Well, you need to do it. You’ve hired three architects in the past year. You can delegate and take some time for yourself before you burn the fuck out. Because that’s where this is headed.”

Jared wasn’t wrong. I did need to get out of Chicago and out of my own fucking head.

I stumbled out of my Uber and rode the elevator up to my condo. Had this building always felt this cold and sterile to me? Admittedly, I should live in some renovated townhome like the one I saw in Bronzeville today, but I thought it seemed too much like a place a man looking for a wife would buy.

Haha. Joke’s on me.

Amazing how getting the one thing I’ve always wanted more than anything made all of my previous accomplishments feel pointless and empty. I’d never really understood that statement until I opened the door to my condo.

Sweeping city views greeted me. My cleaning lady came by this afternoon, so everything smelled faintly of bleach and purple Fabuloso. Everything was neat, clean, and undisturbed.

It felt and looked like a fucking tomb.

“Fuck this,” I cursed out loud in the empty apartment. Stripping out of my clothes and leaving them in the middle of the floor, I poured myself some more whiskey and opened my laptop.

It was time to plan my fucking escape.

18

Darcy

“Darcy Anne MacFarland!” Minerva exclaimed as she stormed into my bedroom.

I groaned and rolled onto my side. “I could’ve sworn I told you that I didn’t need you today.”