Perfectly Pink - An It's Always Been You Romance (Complete)

Chapter 40

The Waterfront was as a hollow shell of its summer splendor, the tourists departed, the weekend over, the clock drawing toward midnight. Closing time. Everywhere he looked, Simon was reminded the warmth of the season was over, the good times gone, and a dark road lay ahead. For the bar and for him.

Gisele counted her tips on the table at the back. Tom nursed the final dregs of his last call beer and the spark of hope Simon carried around in his chest all day sputtered and began to die. No sight nor sign of Mary.

She didn't choose him.

"Just one more?" Tom's red-rimmed eyes left the beer and struggled to focus.

Simon packed lemon wedges into a container. "Sorry bud. Time's up."

For all of us.

The hole in Simon's chest throbbed with every breath, reminding him of what was lost and what would never be. Although he said he'd sign the contract tonight, Simon didn't have the strength to follow through. Not right now, at least. Tomorrow he could rip apart his life with signatures. Tonight, he needed to find oblivion with a bottle.

What he preferred was to walk out of this bar and find the woman he'd held a candle for over a decade, the woman he loved waiting for him. Give anything to see her leaning against the hood of his vehicle, dressed in head-to-toe pink. Hell, even if she wore the stiff confining outfit from the other night. As long as she was there. For him.

He knew the image was a fantasy. Like most of his hopes and dreams around Mary Montgomery. What they had, they were, had burned slow and long, but the flame was only air and heat, no substance left to sustain the relationship. He'd have to move on.

Simon rubbed his temple. Bachelordom wasn't so bad. Meant he could go anywhere, do anything without compromise. With the money from the sale of the Waterfront, he'd be free from financial worries. Perhaps he could distract himself with globe trotting adventures in far-off lands. Anything to shore up the hole in his heart.

Finn had been surprisingly supportive of his plan yesterday, suggesting places to travel to he'd seen during his time with the military. He declared, once the baby came, and all was well, the whole family would make the trip to wherever Simon ended up. The words meant the world to Simon, Finn willing to come to him for once, a revelation. The insight he wouldn't lose his brother again made the pain a little less.

"Want me to call a cab for this one?" Gisele pointed a thumb in Tom's direction.

The man in question clung to his beer like the glass was the last lifejacket on the Titanic. "Wanna come home with me?"

Gisele covered her giggle with a manicured hand, the luminous pink nail polish the same tone as her lipstick. "My girlfriend might object."

"She can come too."

"Generous offer but I think we need to pass." Gisele nudged Tom toward the exit. "Maybe next time."

Snatching up the empty beer glass, Simon returned it to the sink in the kitchen and flicked off the lights. In his office ghosts of Mary appeared everywhere, jabbing at him like knives with the recollections of them together on the desk, the couch, up against the wall. His fingers twitched with a longing to trace the gentle arch of Mary's cheek, jaw, run his thumb across her lips.

Never again would he hold her, be singed by the heat of her skin where her touch branded him. This room, a testament to their passion, would be torn down, disappear. If only his feelings for her could be demolished as easily.

Simon plucked his leather jacket off the back of his office chair and, not bothering to grab his tablet, plunged the room into darkness. Closed the door to the past and walked away.