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MY PHONE KEPT LIGHTING up with messages and alerts. I’d turned it on silent, but it continued to vibrate on the counter. Annoyed, I turned it over so I couldn’t see it light up anymore and lifted my empty glass to the bartender. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as he poured me another drink.

“You might as well wave a sign to the press saying I’m drunk! Take your pictures now!” Miles grumbled next to me as he lifted a beer to his lips. “If all you wanted to do was get hammered, we could have done that in the privacy of our own home.”

“My home,” I snarled. “You live in New York. Why are you even here?”

He sighed. “I am trying to protect the family name. God knows that someone has to.”

“Go the hell.” I lifted the shot glass to my lips and closed my eyes. As I knocked it back, I barely even felt the stinging liquid slide down my throat. My entire body numb. I just wanted to feel something.

Miles scrunched up his nose. “This might be a classy joint, but I’d bet good money that woman over there is a hooker.”

I glanced over my shoulder. A beautiful woman in Marilyn Monroe curls and bright red lipstick gripped the thigh of a man twice her age. “You’re probably right.”

“If you’re here to pick up women, I’d start with her. At least she won’t turn you down.”

I wasn’t here to pick up women. I was here because I couldn't find any alcohol in the house. I’d sent Daniel to get me more, but he hadn’t returned. I had a feeling that everyone was punishing me for running Julie away.

Her face haunted me. I love you.

She’d told me that she loved me, and I’d called her a gold-digging whore and accused her of running back to her ex. The only way I could sink any lower is if I’d asked her to still sleep with me.

But wait, I’d already done that as well.

Miles continued as if I were paying attention. “Of course, with all the women blowing up your phone, you could probably plan an orgy. Is Darleen among those numbers.”

No, she was not. In fact, I hadn’t heard a peep from her. She probably realized that she’d crossed the line, that she put a child in danger, and had hidden away to the far ends of the earth. I’d thought about finding her and taking out my aggression on her, but she hadn’t driven Julie away.

I did that all on my own.

“If you’re feeling lonely, you’re welcome to them,” I muttered as I slid the phone his way.

Miles wrinkled his nose. “I do not want your leftovers.”

“Most of them can only dream that they’re my leftovers,” I muttered. The phone buzzed again, and I dropped the phone in a glass of water. Satisfied that it wouldn’t annoy me anymore, I pushed the glass away.

“You could have just turned it off.”

“How can I make you leave?”

“Leave?” a breathy voice asked to my left as a beautiful woman straddled the stool. “You’re not leaving, are you? I just got up the nerve to come talk to you. It would be rude if you left me now.”

Her voice alone should have stirred my cock, and if that didn’t do it, her huge breasts that were spilling out of her red dress should have at least given me a few dirty ideas. Instead, I just remembered the last woman I’d seen in a red dress.

Very little make-up. Small, perfect breasts. Effortlessly beautiful and completely terrified when she’d been surrounded by the press.

I needed to stop thinking about Julie. If I wasn’t going to marry her, then I couldn’t be pissed that she was gone. She wasn’t the kind of woman you tied to the bed and left there to suit your needs. She was the kind of woman that needed to be loved around the clock.

Although tying her to my bed did give me a few ideas.

The woman next to me slid a finger seductively down my arm. “What do you say? Stick around and buy a lonely girl a drink?”

“Not interested,” I said as I stood and reached for my wallet. “But I’m sure my cousin can show you a good time.” I threw some bills on the bar and hurried out. The idea of being with the woman disgusted me, and that was horrifying.

I was not the kind of man to run from a beautiful woman.

“Christ’s sake, we don’t have the driver with us,” Miles said in disgust as he followed me out. “I drove, remember?”

“Good.” I slid into the passenger seat and waited.

“It has been a week, Graham. You need to pull yourself together,” Miles snapped as he started the car. “Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re supposed to admit that you love her and go after her,” he growled in frustration. “Men like us don’t get chances like this. We have to settle for women who say they love us but would probably stab us in our sleep to get our money. Julie is one of those rare women who is beautiful inside and out, and for some unknown reason, she loves you. I know you love her. I see it in your face every time you stare at that stupid boat in your office. Why do you even have that thing?”

I did love Julie. I knew it the moment that I realized just how badly I’d fucked things up. “What’s the point in admitting it?” I hissed. “She’s gone.”

“So go after her. Put some effort into it, man. You deserve nothing less than to have her shut you down, but at least you’ll know that you tried. You owe her that much. She doesn’t even know how you feel. She thinks you just want her for sex.”

The pain on her face kept me up at night. I’d known exactly what I’d done to her. Was Miles right? Could I make it up to her?

“I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Go big or go home,” Miles said with a smile. “Buy her a real boat. Set off some fireworks. Hell, buy her an island. I hear women love that.”

“No,” I said as I settled into the seat and closed my eyes. A sense of peace and calm settled over me. “She wouldn’t want flash or money.”

“So what does she want?”

She’d already told me what she wanted, but I was too busy trying to keep her at arm’s length to listen to her.

All she wanted was me.