My business had grown from there, despite nearly tanking again when Brooke had gotten involved. But the high-rise buildings I owned all over the country now made up for everything I’d lost back then, and the only thing that forced me to look back all the time was the fact that Brooke wouldn’t leave me alone.
“You should have your lawyer look over whatever the fuck she’s still doing,” he suggested.
“I already did that,” I said dully. “But she has some ground to stand on. She doesn’t have a degree or any qualifications of her own. She was about to go to college when we got married but never enrolled. She lives off what I give her. It’s been like that since we were married; she acts like it’s my job to take care of her. And her contact with me isn’t ever enough to qualify as harassment. She knows what she’s doing.”
I let out a long breath.
“Thank fuck we don’t have kids together—that would have been so much worse.”
“Sorry, man. That fucking sucks.”
I shrugged. “We live and we learn, right? I had to fall on my ass before I realized that women only want one thing from me.”
“Not all women are the same.”
I snorted. “As soon as they find out who I am—if they don’t already know—they see a bank account, not a man. And my business doesn’t help either. But that’s fine; I’m not in a hurry to get involved again. Fool me twice, shame on me, right?”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, you can say that again.”
When my phone rang a second time, I grabbed it and turned it off before I got onto the bench to take my turn.
3
EMILY
Iparkednexttothe main house, under the carport that was meant for visitors, and got out.
My mom waited for me at the front door of the garden cottage.
“Is this new?” she asked, looking at the shirt I wore.
I glanced down at my shirt. “Maybe, yeah. I’ve had it for a while, but I don’t think you’ve seen it.”
Mom looked me up and down. “You spend a lot of money on clothes.”
I shook my head. “I just think you haven’t seen it on me. That’s all.”
“Don’t you think you should put some money back into your business instead?”
I bristled but I forced a smile.
“The business is doing just fine.”
Mom nodded and finally hugged me. “It’s nice to see you, honey. You don’t come around very often.”
“I’m working myself to the bone with these contracts I’ve got. Working with high-end clients can be tough.”
I stepped into the small garden cottage. It wasn’t much—a one-bedroom place with an open-plan kitchen and a living area. But the cottage had a private garden my mom could dig her fingers into, and she didn’t need much more than this now that she lived alone. Anyway, it was all I could afford for her.
New curtains framed the window, and a rug I recognized from when I was just a child adorned the living room floor.
“Did you buy curtains?”
“The place needed something,” Mom said with a shrug. “Do you remember this rug?”
“I do.” I wouldn’t let her distract me. “The old curtains were fine. What did you do with them?”
“I gave them to Winnie. You remember her, don’t you? She used to live—”