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fucking hard tonight.
    After gently shaking her off, he linked his hands behind his neck and stared straight ahead at the sculpture of entwined naked people in the center of the dining room table. It was faintly ridiculous and practically screamed Simon’s taste. He had more money than actual artistic sense and bought some crazy shit.
    And pondering Simon’s crappy eye was a lot more palatable than figuring out how to answer Margo. Christ, he didn’t want to say it aloud. Almost as much as he didn’t want to believe it was true.
    “She dumped me. So yeah, I guess you could say something happened.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    It was his turn to laugh, though the sound bordered on a rattle in his chest. “You never thought I was good enough for her in the first place.”
    “Did you think I was good enough for Simon?”
    “No.” He didn’t even hesitate. “I thought you were way too good for him, which meant you didn’t suit in any possible way.”
    She laughed again, softer now. “Maybe it was the same for me with you and Lila. She’s been hurt.”
    Almost without noticing, he balled his hands into fists that he propped against his knees. “I know. I could kill that bastard for all he’s done, and I don’t even know the half. But Jesus, I’m not like him. I would never hurt her.”
    “Does she know that?”
    “How do you propose I convince her? Hire a skywriter, maybe? Fall down on my knees and beg her to give me a chance?” He blew out a frustrated breath and scrubbed his arm over his face. His hair was still sticking in drying clumps to his forehead. He needed a shower and ten hours of unconsciousness.
    If he could even manage to close his eyes.
    “I almost tried that actually,” he continued quietly. “I would’ve begged if I thought it would make one bit of difference. She closed me out. I don’t know what happened between practice this afternoon and tonight, but something did. Maybe Donovan got to her, or that asshole she’s married to put the squeeze on her, but she did a one-eighty.”
    “She’s frightened, Nick. She’s not even divorced yet, and she never expected this—”
    “Do you think I did? I thought I had the fucking hots for her. Not this. I never for a second believed I could feel like this—” Hearing himself, he ground his teeth together and jerked to his feet. He stalked to the table and picked up the statue made out of pale green marble and hefted the thing, almost letting out a groan. “Goddamn, this shit weighs a ton.”
    “Cost it too,” Margo said drily.
    “You need to put a lock on his credit card. He does bad things with it.”
    She swung her legs off the windowseat. “How do you know I didn’t buy it?”
    “She’s wearing pasties,” Nick muttered, tracing the statue with a fingertip. “For fuck’s sake, he didn’t even get a proper nude statue.” He shook his head and set the statue down. “And no, you did not buy it. You actually have taste. He’s a poor kid gone wild.”
    “Maybe he was once, but he’s not poor anymore. Neither are you.” Margo came up to stand beside him and wrapped her hands around the back of one of the ornate cane chairs at the table. “He also figured out how to man up and do the big gesture to win the girl. You should do the same thing.”
    “I can’t win someone who doesn’t want to be won. And who’s also fucking still married. I’ve been the second fiddle position before, and I got out of that shit. Now you’re telling me I should campaign for the role too?”
    “I’m telling you that her last name doesn’t have a thing to do with who holds her heart.”
    He couldn’t deal with that tonight. Even a masochist could only face rejection so many times.
    Especially since he had another form of rejection on tap.
    Nick braced his fists on the edge of the table. “Where is he?”
    “Sleeping now, probably. He had a rough night.” Margo pushed a hand through her hair, and the big ring his best friend had given her caught