He leaned in, lowering his voice so only I could hear as he tugged my elbow, guiding me toward a quieter corner of the room. “Hey, I heard a lot today,” he said. “Ben heard the same.”
I frowned. “What kind of things?”
“First, people noticed Sloane isn’t wearing her ring anymore.” His eyes flicked to my hand. “And you’re still wearing yours. Then there was the woman who hugged you last week and ran off crying. What the hell happened, Cam? Are you and Sloane still together?”
I swallowed hard, forcing the words out. “We’re not,” I said.
Dean sucked in a breath. “Fuck, man. I know you guys fight a lot, but I always thought you’d make it. You love each other so much.”
“Yeah... there’s a lot you don’t know,” I said quietly. Dean had been my best friend since medical school, and he probably knew more about the problems in our marriage than my own family. Not because I told him everything, but because he’d seen some of it firsthand. He had also picked up on the growing distance between Sloane and me. He was that perceptive. Ben was even more so.
Dean crossed his arms and stood right in front of me, lowering his voice even further. “So who’s this woman?” he asked. “Are you fucking cheating on Sloane, Cam?”
His eyes locked onto mine, his face taut like he was bracing for impact.
“Yes,” I said quietly.
Dean dragged a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. “Fucking hell, Cam. You fucking asshole,” he muttered. He stepped back, thensurged forward again, hissing, “If Ben hears this, you know he’ll chase you around the floor with a scalpel.”
I didn’t respond to that, but I knew Ben well enough to know he’d hate me for this.
“What happened, Cam?” Dean asked glumly. “Was it really that bad? Bad enough to cheat? For how long?”
“Three months,” I said, lowering my head. I stared at the floor, unable to face him. “And I had ended it. But she couldn’t accept it.”
He stared at me, seemingly at a loss for words. Then he said,
“I still can’t believe you did this, Cam. Knowing how much you love Sloane, how every time she knocked you flat on your face, you got up and ran right back to her. Even when you two fought like you wanted to kill each other, you always came back. Your determination and tenacity were something I admired. So no, I never would’ve fucking guessed you’d do this to her.”
“Yeah...” It was all I could manage.
“Why did you end it with the other woman? Was it because Sloane caught you?”
I shook my head. “I was the one who told Sloane.”
“Damn...” He shook his head, disbelief all over his face. “I can’t tell if you’re brutally honest or just plain stupid. But so far, it sounds like both.”
I looked at him and said quietly, “I ended it because I finally realized Sloane’s too deep in my blood and no other woman can bleed her out. It’s pointless fighting it now.”
He paused, staring at me again. “Sloane’s leaving you, isn’t she?” Dean knew her too well.
I nodded, a pinch blooming in my chest.
“What are you going to do now? Try to get Sloane back? Drag her to couples counseling again?”
I let out a long sigh. “That didn’t work, did it? I tried so many times. We went once, then she refused to come back.”
“So now what?” he asked.
“She said she’s going to divorce me.”
“Do you want to get a divorce?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. But the marriage was already falling apart long before, Dean, you know that. I just made it worse, and there’s no coming back from that.”
He stared at me, stunned. “What? You’re going to give up? That’s not you.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer. Dean’s expression softened as he said, “You’re exhausted, aren’t you?” He let out a heavy sigh. “Look, we don’t have time to dive into this now, but if you want, we can grab a drink tonight. I fucking hate what you did to Sloane, but you’re my best friend, and I want to help.”
