The Malone Brothers

I'd never needed a week away with my brothers so bad until I'd broken up with my girlfriend. The female persuasion was the farthest thing from my mind . . . that was until I lock eyes with the stunning brunette sitting on the other side of the bar. It didn't take me long to figure out that she was there alone. My brothers and I had decided to move the party from the bar to my hotel room. Things got loud, and before I knew it she was standing on the other side of my door. Only she wasn't here to join the party, instead she was raging with anger at the fact we'd kept her up half the night.

I knew things had been strained between Hope and me. So, when she suggested going away for our tenth wedding anniversary I couldn't say no. She'd planned for weeks and after a couple of hours together we were just beginning to get intimate. That was when my phone began blowing up. There was an emergency with two of my clients and I had no choice but to put an end to our getaway. I figured she would understand, she always understands, but it didn't hit me just how far we'd fallen until I saw the disappointment line her face.

I was in the middle of the biggest merger of my career when my love life took a nosedive. My now ex-girlfriend wouldn't leave my apartment, so I moved into my office, only to be caught by my brothers one morning after I'd gone on a bender. Angry and bothered that I'd violated company policies more than once, I was put on a two-week forced vacation effective immediately. One week into what was supposed to be peaceful solitude to get my life back on track, I decide to cut my trip short and return to work.

My best friend Sophie was gorgeous, at times uptight and desperate. Her biological clock was ticking, and after yet another failed relationship, she pulled me aside.