"How about I give you my theory?" Seth put in. "When you found your ex-wife in bed with two guys"
"Fuck you."
"Fuck you, too," the brash New Yorker tossed back. "We can trade fucks all night, but I'd rather you think about what I've said."
"Gwyneth has nothing to do with what happened at the club tonight."
"Bullshit."
"She doesn't," Kai growled. "There's nothing wrong. People change."
The last thing he wanted to do was rehash everything weighing on him. Most days, he felt like the cocky Irishman he'd once been. Other days… Well, didn't everyone deal with anger, frustration, and regret from time to time? Admittedly, he had more of that than he used to, but he was doing all right.
Maybe, but if Seth had noticed his means of coping, maybe he'd ventured too far to the "dark side."
"Look, I'm choosing subs who seek pain because it's filling a need in me, too. Everyone is happy."
Seth scoffed. "You're not."
"I'm enjoying giving a woman her pleasure of choice. If you can't say the same, maybe we should review the birds and the bees."
"Oh, now you're a fucking comedian?" Downing the last of his beer, Seth set his mug on the table. "Can it. Have you seen your ex since that benefit you were forced to attend with her last fall?"
"No, thank god. I haven't even heard from her since she moved back to London." He pushed his plate away. "Can we not talk about her? It makes me queasy."
"I believe that," Seth shot back. "Look, there's nothing wrong with being righteously pissed off about what that bitch did to you. Maybe what you need is time to chill. Why not take a vacation? A change of scenery might do you good. Hey, maybe you should go see Axel, work over some of his subs. You say he talks about how great Los Angeles is. I'm pretty sure it's going to fall into the ocean someday…but you should enjoy it until then."
Kai grinned. "I've never seen a grown man so afraid of an earthquake."
"Yeah, make fun, asshole. I like my ground stable, thank you." Seth glowered. "Seriously, visit Axel. The weather here will turn cold in a month or two.
You could take in the warmth and new sights out west. Relax. Get away from all the reminders."
The notion of leaving everything behind for a while was tempting, and Seth made it sound so easy.
"I don't know…" Kai said to the big blond Dom.
"Sure you do. You can run your business from most anywhere. I'll stop by your brownstone every so often to make sure it's still standing. And I can take care of your casuals while you're gone."
Kai sat back, considering. He had this feeling, a tingling at the back of his neck, that he should listen.
"Maybe I'll go for a wee spell." Since Axel had asked him to visit more than once, he shouldn't mind the company. "I've not seen him since he came for his annual visit last November."
And Axel had seemed off then. The last few years, actually. Kai worried that, while he'd been dealing with his own shit, he'd let the man's troubling aloofness fester.
"Maybe while I'm there, I'll get up to that lodge I inherited and check on the place."
"Absolutely. And while you're in Cali, get a suntan for me."
"Thanks." He clapped Seth on the shoulder. "I just might."
They paid their tabs and exited the booth. Kai hadn't taken two steps before his mobile rang. He slipped it free from his pocket and glanced at the screen, then scowled over his shoulder at Seth. "Jesus bloody Christ. Why is my mum calling in the middle of the night?"
Seth laughed. "She's so uncanny it's scary. You know that, right?"
Did he ever…
Striding out the door, he tapped the screen to accept her call. He'd been avoiding Bryn O'Neill for weeks because he'd suspected she intended to dispense her brand of sage advice. But he could probably use it now…even if she wouldn't make it easy to understand. "Hi, Mum."
"Hello yourself." Her sweet Irish lilt traversed the three thousand odd miles between them as clearly as if she stood before him. "'Bout time you answered. Anyone would think I pester my own son senseless just for a chat."
"You don't. I'm sorry."
"Nothin' to be sorry about. I only call because I care. We all do."
Kai rubbed at the back of his neck and tried not to sigh aloud. "I know. Thanks for that. I'm fine."
She scoffed. "If you were, I'd not be ringing you in the middle of the night and you'd not still be in limbo. Seth is right, son. Head west. Go see Axel. It's time."
He didn't bother to ask how she knew about his conversation all the way from Ireland. "Mum…"
"Your future..."
"Is something I'll figure out in good time." He sighed.