Leaving at Noon by Jess Dee Read Free Book Online Page A

Jared said
quietly. “And she’s not the only one hurting.”
    “ True, Jazza.” Greg
frowned, obviously worried.
    Theo lifted his chin in the twins’
direction, a silent thank-you for the acknowledgement.
    James gave a low whistle. “Things are pretty
mucked up between the two of you.”
    Theo was about to toss a you think? in James’s direction but pulled short on the sarcasm. If he wasn’t
careful, he’d piss off not only his wife, but his mates too. It
wasn’t their fault his marriage was collapsing.
    “ Yeah, mate.” Theo dropped
back onto the couch beside James with a deep sigh. “They’re pretty
mucked up.”
    “ And Zo’s with Fiona now?”
Jared asked.
    Theo nodded.
    “ God help Noosa,” Spencer
muttered.
    Even Theo had to laugh at that. When Zoey
and Fiona got together, they created mayhem. Party on was
their motto and tequila their drink. If the women went out for a
night on the town, Theo became their designated driver. Neither of
them ever came home early or sober. Or alone, for that matter. Zoey
generally made it back draped over Theo—or being carried by him.
And Fiona took home whichever lucky guy she’d set her sights on
that evening.
    “ Here’s what I don’t
get.”
    All eyes turned to Levi again.
    “ If Bozo’s in Noosa, what
the hell are you still doing in Sydney?”
    A question he’d asked himself a million
times since she’d left. Why hadn’t he followed her? He hated his
answer every time. “She’s in Noosa because she doesn’t want to be
near me.”
    “ You and she need to work
this out,” Levi persisted. “Right?”
    “ Right,” Greg answered
before Theo could.
    James did too, slapping the table in front
of him for emphasis. “Hell, yeah.”
    “ Absolutely,” Jared
agreed.
    “ One hundred percent,”
Spence added.
    Theo waved his hand around the room. No need
to answer. His mates had already said it.
    “ Well, how the heck do you
expect to work anything out if you’re not together?” Levi
asked.
    “ She needs space.” If she
didn’t, she’d still be at home.
    “ She’s had space,” Levi
argued. “A week’s worth.”
    Yeah. Theo had been aware of every minute of
that week. “I need space?”
    “ Do you?” It was Greg who
challenged him this time.
    Theo worried the scar on his wrist. Did
he?
    The first night without Zoey, he’d slept
better then he had in months. Probably because he hadn’t slept a
wink the night before. He’d sat on the beach until sunrise
contemplating the fucked-up state of his marriage, then headed
straight to work, where he’d achieved all of nothing in the
morning. He’d gone home shortly after noon to find the house
empty.
    The first night of Zoey’s absence, he’d
climbed into bed without worrying whether he’d disturb her and
without wondering if tonight would be the night she’d finally roll
over and acknowledge him again. He hadn’t had to deal with her
pretending to sleep, and he hadn’t had to admit that her cold
shoulder pissed him off—and hurt like shit.
    Waking up and facing reality again had been
a bitch. Theo preferred the oblivion of unconsciousness.
    He’d nodded off quickly the second night
too, but woken up at some obscene hour and had trouble getting back
to sleep. Tossing and turning for hours on end had left him as
exhausted as he’d been after his night on the beach. The
restlessness had come compliments of his obsessive thoughts about
his wife and their relationship.
    Nights three and four had been the same, and
the next few a complete waste of time. Sleep had eluded him from
the get-go.
    Thanks to Zoey’s unscheduled departure, his
work was now as fucked-up as his marriage. He didn’t have the
capacity to concentrate long enough to grasp the current stock
market, and as a result had cost three of his long-term clients a
shitload of money through careless trading.
    Theo was an ace trader. He had a gut feel
for the market that almost never let him down. Over the years, he’d
built up a