Liam dragged himself out of the taxi in front of his house. After five long days of deal-making, he was finally home.

And with great news, too. Jack had a deal with Arsenal, Liam had a deal with National, and Liam’s lawyers were looking into finding Audrey the right head hunter, the right job.

London had plenty of galleries and museums, and she was definitely going to have her pick of them. Liam was a strange mix of nervous and excited, ready to tell her all.

He’d already planned it in his head. First, he was going to fire her in grand style, tease her until she got angry.

Then, he was going to bring out the ring…

And he had no illusions this time about its meaning. Being without Audrey for a few days had given him a kind of clarity, which was a strange response on his part.

Normally, a girl giving him the cold shoulder…

Well, it had never happened before, because he didn’t stick with anyone for long enough. The point was, he’d been miserable without her in New York, and he knew that he’d be miserable without her wherever he went.

All of which he planned to tell her, once he dropped his bag and grabbed the ring from his safe.

He unlocked the front door and swung it open, heading straight for his bedroom. He tossed the suitcase in the closet and extracted the ring, pocketing it.

Then he walked out into the living room. Only then did he realize how quiet the whole house seemed.

Was Audrey out, perhaps?

He pulled out his phone and called her.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz…

He turned to see her phone sitting on a side table in the living room, buzzing away.

Frowning, he hung up and called Jack.

“Liam!” Jack answered. “Long time no talk, friend. I have so much to tell you…”

“Do you know where Audrey is?” Liam asked.

Jack was silent for a beat. “Well, yeah, man. She’s in San Francisco. She didn’t tell you?”

“Uh… no,” Liam said, glancing around the house.

“Yeah, she’s house hunting.”

“What?” Liam asked, snapping to attention.

“I got a contract in San Francisco, and Audrey’s gone out ahead of time to find a house that we can share.”

“We?”

“Me and Audrey,” Jack said slowly, like Liam was mentally impaired. “She didn’t tell you she was quitting? Leave a note or anything?”

“…no…” Liam said, shaking his head though Jack couldn’t see him.

“I’m sorry, man. That’s not like her.”

“Is she coming back?” Liam asked.

Silence for several beats.

“I don’t think so. She already got rid of most of her stuff. Said she was shedding her skin, something about snakes…” Jack said, clearly starting to lose interest.

“Ah. Well, she left her phone here.”

“Oh. I think that was her company phone, man. She said she’s just going strictly landline and email for a while. I don’t really know what to tell you.”

Nor did Liam know how he should respond. He walked over to Audrey’s bedroom and swung the door open.

The furniture was there, and the closet was full of clothes that Liam had purchased, but every single personal item was gone.

On the bed were the keys to her car, along with a folded piece of paper.

“Okay. Gotta go,” Liam said, hanging up on Jack.

Ignoring the keys, he picked up the note, feeling suddenly shaky.

Inside, there was a single line in Audrey’s elegant handwriting.

Thank you for everything, it read.

He turned the paper over a couple of times, befuddled, and sank down to sit on her bed.

The bed, not her bed, he corrected himself. Nothing about this room spoke of Audrey, not anymore.

He set the note aside and pulled the ring box out of his pocket, turning it over and over in his fingers.

“That’s it,” he said to himself. “She’s gone. She finally left you, just like you knew she would.”

He stood up, shoving the box back in his pocket. Striding out of the room, he slammed the door shut behind him. He made another call, one that would shift his life in the exact opposite direction.

“Stuart?” he said. “Is there any way I can move on this deal sooner? I know I said I couldn’t sign the final paperwork, but… there’s no reason for me not to. I’m ready now.”

“You could be in your new London flat in a week,” Stuart said.

“Do it.”

He hung up, then walked over to sit on the couch. Leaning back, he closed his eyes.

She doesn’t want you. Now you have to live with it, he thought.

This is your life now…