Page 20 of Unbreak My Heart

“Nothing happened!” Eva interrupted. “We talked and, and…” She bit her lip, looking around the small group. She certainly didn’t want them offside or thinking she was a home wrecker or something. It was the last thing she would ever knowingly do. Her gut churned at the thought that Simon would do such a thing, that he would take her back to his room like that on such an important day. “He looked so sad,” she whispered.

Tears brightened Darby’s eyes in the harsh, bright fluorescent lighting in the room. Her hand hadn’t left Eva’s upper arm. She squeezed gently for a brief moment, then let go, tucking her hand back across her chest under the other.

“Yes, Valentine’s Day is his wedding anniversary. ThislastValentine’s Day was the first one without his wife, Amy. She died almost a year ago.” Darby breathed deeply and swallowed noticeably, then rubbed her forehead.

“Right in front of him.”

Chapter Five

He’s our son.

Simon still couldn’t temper his anger at those three words as he watched his sister and the others hustle Eva into the public restrooms on the landscaped council block next door.

To have a family and just… throw them away. He couldn’t fathom it.

If only he’d known before Vance had left. He’d have sat the bastard on his ass, right there.

His gut tumbled and twisted, threatening to relieve him of his coffee and cupcake. He shoved his hand through his hair again. At this rate, he must look like Krusty the Clown with the number of times he’d scruffed his fingers through it.

He couldn’t comprehend the sheer gall of the prick turning up today, on such an important day for her, and the hide of him to do so after no contact whatsoever.

A sneer twisted his mouth. Yeah, he knew exactly why the prick had turned up.

He’d been wearing a fancy suit worth a fortune, but he’d arrived in a rental car. Simon had seen him slide into the Lexus, but he’d also seen the rental plates.

Either he lived elsewhere and had rented one at the airport; or he didn’t own a car or it was a normal, everyday car, and he was putting on a show.

He’d place money on the second option.

He’d come across plenty of pretentious people in his years working at the Cow, and now the Bistro, where he picked up whatever shifts he could to keep his mind busy. Plenty of poserswho tried to come across as educated or wealthy, or both. He usually paid them no attention, unless they became painful. But something about this guy ratcheted his asshole-metre to one hundred.

He cast one last look toward the public restrooms, then turned, looking for Max or Gabe.

Both were looking right at him.

Both were surrounded by people, but it was obvious they wanted to know what was going on, that they’d seen—if not all of what occurred, then at least some. He pulled out his phone and swiped the messaging app and tapped the chat he had with just his brothers.

Eva’s until-now absent ex. Was harassing her. Upset her. Sent him on his way.

He glanced up at them as both their phones dinged at the same time and they pulled them out of their respective pockets. Identical frowns appeared almost simultaneously, and it would’ve been enough to make him laugh if it hadn’t been so serious.

Gabe started tapping at his phone and Max looked up at that moment and caught his gaze, a singular, decisive nod on his stony face telling Simon all he needed to know.

His own phone pinged. He glanced down to see Gabe’s thumbs up on his screen.

Good. Both of them were on board. Not that he’d thought they wouldn’t be.

He knew Eva was in good hands with his sister and the others, but it didn’t stop him from being concerned. Particularly if that douche got it in his head to turn up more often.

He wasn’t usually one to get suspicious, but everything about the guy had sent his Spidey-sense clanging.

Eva’s ex was going to be a royal pain in the ass, he could just feel it.

Sighing, he walked toward where his father stood chatting with the mayor. Roland Suffolk had been re-elected earlier in the year. Simon didn’t know how the man kept doing it. Both the re-electing and the actual job. Simon was busy enough just doing a normal job, let alone running an entire district.

Just the thought of all the paperwork involved was enough to send shivers racing down his spine.

Simon stopped beside his father and nodded a hello to Roland. Ed patted Simon on the shoulder absently as he kept talking about cattle prices and the latest in-vitro techniques Gabe was trying out to maximise conception in his small herd.

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