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“Have nothing to do with us. We’re giving them every bit of our effort and attention?—”

“Are we? You have Benedict’s burner phone in your pocket, and your brother should be examining it right now.”

“Don’t use that as an excuse. I’ll get the device to my brother in the morning, as soon as he wakes up. He’ll have it figured out in under an hour, I’ll bet.”

“Still, I’m sorry I derailed you. I’m sorry I messed up everything. Next time I’m overwhelmed and need comfort, and I lose my clothes and beg you, tell me no.”

“That’s never going to happen. I’m never going to say no to you, and I’m never going to give up on us. Why would you? Why are you so fucking eager to throw away what we could have if we just fucking tried?”

How the hell was she supposed to answer that without baring the worst horror of her life and fucking him up for good?

Suddenly, Haisley heard her phone trill downstairs and froze. Saved by the bell?

Unless… Was that Mila? Had the woman figured out that she’d been sneaking around the office earlier? Had she told Mr. Benedict? Was she going to be fired? Or worse, arrested?

“I need to get that.” She darted for the door.

Nash tried to haul her back. “Don’t you think our conversation is pretty fucking important?”

Yes, but she couldn’t say more. Reality threatened to destroy her again, and she didn’t know how she’d survive another heartbreak.

Haisley pulled from his grip and dashed down the stairs. When she reached her purse and fished out her phone, the caller ID flashed with Charli’s name and photo. Haisley’s gut clenched. Her friend almost never called this late unless it was important.

“Hey, Charli. You okay?” Haisley lowered herself onto the sofa in the nearby living room. When she heard Nash pad down the stairs after her, she covered her naked breasts with a nearby throw pillow self-consciously.

“No.” Her friend’s voice was thick and warbling, setting off alarm bells. “I’m s-sorry to bother you at this hour, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s okay. You can always call me.” Haisley glanced Nash’s way, finding him staring. “What’s going on? You sound upset?”

A muffled sniffle came through the line. “I d-don’t know what to do, Hais. Daniel and I… I think it might be over for good.”

Haisley’s chest constricted at the naked anguish in her friend’s voice. Charli had admitted when they’d had brunch a few days ago that she and Daniel had been having marital troubles. But divorce? After barely a year of marriage?

This was yet another reason she didn’t dare succumb to her impulse to truly try a forever something with Nash.

“Oh, honey… I’m so sorry. Tell me what happened?”

“We had lunch earlier today. I wanted to surprise him, so I told him I’d made plans for us to go away for the weekend to spend time together. Rekindle our spark. I have prepaid reservations at this cute little bed-and-breakfast about two hours away, and I splurged on some new lingerie. When I told him I packed him a bag because we needed to leave right after work and that we were going to spend the weekend together in our romantic cocoon, guess what he did?”

“He refused.”

“Worse than that. Not only did he say he wouldn’t go because he’d volunteered for overtime this weekend and the money was too good to pass up, but when he found out I’d already put everything on our credit cards, he flipped. He was seriously pissed off that I’d spent a few hundred dollars without consulting him. I pointed out that he’d volunteered for more work without consulting me, after promising that he wouldn’t.”

She hurt for Charli. “Oh, sweetie…”

“I organized a surprise for him, you know? A mini vacay because we’ve been working so hard, and we needed some us time. But he just lost his shit even more. Then I lost mine. He’s working so many hours. I only see him when he finally drags his ass home about nine each night. We barely speak before bed, and he’s gone before I even get up the next morning. He swears he’s just t-trying to save up enough for our dream house and eventually have kids. But at the rate we’re saving, we’ll never get there. I’ll be in menopause before he’s home enough to get me pregnant. I can’t even remember the last time we had sex.”

Charli dissolved into muffled sobs, and the sound tore at Haisley’s heart. As cynical as Haisley had always been about love and relationships, she knew how much her friend had pinned her hopes and dreams of till death do us part on Daniel.

“Breathe. Okay? Just take some deep breaths,” Haisley murmured softly. “Have you two considered marriage counseling? Maybe if a third party?—”

“Counseling?!” Charli’s voice hitched up an octave on a wild laugh. “Since our insurance is shit, that costs money, too, and he won’t part with it. He says that in five years we might be able to swing a down payment if we’re really frugal, but how can a marriage survive if I never see the man? If he invests in our bank account, but not in us? What am I going to do? I love him so much, but…but I can’t keep living like this, as his perpetual last priority!”

“You’re right. You should be his first priority—always. I’m so sorry…”

A soft curse made Haisley glance up. Nash regarded her with a concerned glance. She turned away for some privacy. Charli wouldn’t appreciate Nash knowing all her business. And the way he stared… Haisley felt too seen.

“What do I do?” Charli sniffled.