The Business Proposal

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ethan stared into his glass of whiskey. His mind muddled by all the drinks he'd consumed, but still he continued to drink more. No matter how much he drank, Ivy was never far from his thoughts.

They'd barely spoken to each other since their return from Bali. An uncomfortable silence followed them whenever they were together and it didn't bode well considering their wedding was in three days.

They were both going through the motions, pretending to be the doting couple, but it was taking a toll on both of them. He felt exhausted and fed up.

He'd all but refused to be in the same room as her and his family. Even he had to admit he'd had more work emergencies in the last few days than ever before and he felt like that excuse was wearing thin. At least his mother seemed too engrossed in wedding details to notice.

He'd half expected Ivy to call off the wedding and rip up their contract, but she'd remained steady in her determination to continue on. She'd thrown herself back into planning. Spending hours on the phone with suppliers and wrangling out deals that even he thought would be impossible.

He could see the strain it was taking on her but every time he went to comfort her, or even talk to her, the memory of their argument reared its ugly head and made him turn his back on her. In the few forced pleasantries they'd exchanged the argument was never mentioned but it hung over them like a black cloud. It was impossible for any of their previous joy to shine through.

Although they still lived in his apartment, it was like they were living two separate lives. Work had been no good as a distraction for the first time in his life.

Instead, he went to the house he'd bought them and for the first time in his life he ignored work. He followed the instructions of the builders and moved materials from place to place, helped unload vans, and became a general dog's body. And mostly it helped.

At the end of each day he dragged himself to bed and passed out into a dreamless sleep. He would have done just about anything not to be plagued with visions of Ivy. Those dreams always left him thoroughly aroused but hollow, knowing they were far from his reality.

Despite his exhaustion, he still missed Ivy's small, warm body next to him. Missed hearing her laugh echo through the apartment, missed the way she smiled and talked to him whilst he made breakfast. His life felt cold and lonely even though they were only a few feet apart.

A hard hand clapped him on the back and a body slid into the stool next to him.

"This is some bachelor party," Liam chuckled without humour as he turned to look at George singing some terrible duet with Kai on the karaoke machine.

Both were wasted and if he'd been in a better frame of mind, Ethan knew he'd find his brother's actions amusing. As it was, he could only muster a slight smile before he lapsed back into his more typical brooding expression.

He hadn't even wanted a bachelor party, but Kai had insisted. His brother had surprised him by inviting Liam and George, but Ethan found he quite enjoyed their company.

He'd been waiting all night for one of them to mention his argument with Ivy, but they'd said nothing. A part of him wondered whether Ivy had shared their argument with anyone else, but judging from the warm reception he'd received from her two friends, he thought not.

He picked up his whiskey and took a long sip, feeling it burn down his throat, but he couldn't feel its warmth. Although the bar was a complete dive, he couldn't fault the selection of whiskey on offer and he was happily drinking himself into oblivion.

"So you and Ivy still not talking then?"

Ethan choked on his whiskey whilst his wide eyes found Liam's. For a moment he floundered, not sure what to say.