Chapter 34

“That’s

not all, is it?”

“What

do you mean?”

Patrick’s

cheeks were flushed. “Someone told me they saw Dan, back here in London. Are

you coping all right?”

A

sudden silence fell around them. Bryan wanted to shout aloud that it wasn’t an

issue of how he was coping. He’d had plenty of time to come to terms

with the split, hadn’t he? It was his own fault if he hadn’t spent that time

either wisely or successfully. All that actually came out of him was a soft

huff of breath. He glanced down at his hands and saw he’d curled them into

fists on the table top. There was a single, melting drop of ice cream beside

his discarded spoon. “It’s water under the bridge. We haven’t been an item for

a long time.”

“I

know. I just—”

“Patrick,

I need to talk to you about the business. About With A Kick.”

Patrick

didn’t protest the sudden change of subject. He nodded, as if shifting mentally

into being a client, not just a friend. Bryan felt even worse. But he liked