“You called Kate?” I ask and sit back on my heels, glaring at my sister.

“Of course. Callie’s with her.”

Both women come running into my bathroom and frown when they see me kneeling at the tub.

“What’s happening?” Callie asks.

“I’m having a Mardi Gras party in my bathroom,” I reply, my voice clipped. “Why are you all in my house?”

“We’re here for the party,” Kate says. “Gabby won’t be here for a couple of hours. That’s what sucks about living so far out of town.”

“I don’t need any of you to be here,” I reply, angry all over again. “I’m not a child. I can handle this.”

“What, exactly, are you handling?” Van asks. “And would you please stop cleaning the tub? I’m sick of talking to your ass.”

“It is a nice ass,” Kate says.

“He’s gone.” I stand and throw my rag in the sink, then tear off my gloves. “Simon went to London.”

“Without you,” Callie adds.

“Without me. He said he changed his mind, and that this wasn’t ever going to work out between us.”

“What the hell?” Callie demands and props her hands on her hips. “That makes absolutely no sense.”

“He’s a man. They rarely make sense,” I reply with a shrug and march out of the bathroom, through my bedroom, and downstairs to the living room. The girls follow me down like baby chicks following their mama.

Baby chicks.

I shake off the memory and wrap the anger around me like a warm blanket.

“It doesn’t matter,” I say finally. “He’s right. I knew he wasn’t the one for me, and I let myself get attached. That’s my fault.”

“You’re pinning this on yourself,” Van says in surprise and I shrug.

“Well, it is my fault. I trusted him, and I let him in. I shouldn’t have. It’s on me.”

“I want to deck her,” Kate says to Callie, who nods. “But I’m not a violent person.”

“I can be,” Callie replies. “This is not your fault.”

I stop pacing and let my hands fall to my sides, staring at Van. Her eyes are sad, and that just tears me apart.

“I want to stay mad. If I don’t stay mad, I’ll fall apart, and I refuse to shed even one tear over that British pain in the ass.”

“Okay.” Van nods with encouragement. “Being mad is good. But at him. Not you.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I say at last. “I’m confused. How can he go from being the sweetest, most loving man this morning to a stranger this evening?”

“You didn’t fight?” Callie asks.

“No. We made love this morning. And then he attacked me in the shower. And then I went to work. Nothing happened. I haven’t even seen him all day.”

“This is on him,” Kate says, shaking her head. “Something might have happened with him, and it scared him off.”

“Or he’s a piece of shit who was manipulating you,” Callie adds.

“I like that one better.”

I sit on my ass in the middle of my living room and look up at these amazing women who I love more than anything and feel my eyes fill.

And that pisses me off all over again.

But I’m all out of energy.

“I don’t understand.”

“I know, sugar,” Van says and sits next to me. She wraps her arms around me and hugs me close, letting me cry a little. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m only going to cry for a minute, and then I’m going to forget him.” I wipe my face and look up at Kate and Callie, who both have tears of their own. “He’s not worth this.”

Except, I thought he was. I thought he was everything.

And now I know it was nothing.

Chapter Nineteen

~Simon~

“Can I get you anything before we take off, sir?”

What in the bloody fuck just happened?

“Sir? Mr. Danbury?”

I glance up at my name and realize that the flight attendant has been trying to get my attention.

I don’t fucking care.

“What?”

“Can I get you anything before we take off?” She offers me a wide smile and glances down at the ink on my arm, and all I can think is, get the fuck away from me.

“No.” I wave her off and scowl at my phone when it rings. “Mother.”

“Hello, Simon. I’m glad I caught you. It’s not too late, is it? I can’t keep track of these time differences.”

“It’s fine, Mum. What’s up?”

“Well, I just got off the phone with Amy, and I really think—”

“Listen to me very carefully,” I say, interrupting her mid-sentence, which would have gotten me slapped when I was a boy. “I want you to stop speaking to that woman. Now.”

“Simon Daniel Danbury, you do not speak to your mother that way.”

“Yes, apparently I do. I’m not going to say it again.”

“Sir, we’re about to take off. You’ll have to turn your phone off.”

I wave at the attendant again and sigh.

“Are you on a plane?” Mother asks.

“Yes, I’ll be home tonight.” I take a deep breath and realize that it’s time my mum and I had a long heart-to-heart conversation, no matter how much I hate the idea. “I’m going to come to your place on my way home from the airport. Will you please make sure Dad is there too?”

“Of course, darling. Have a safe flight. I’m so happy that you’re coming home. I’ll see you soon.”