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He studies me for a moment. "Where have you and Callum been? Logan said only that you left the grounds."
"We went into the village." I shuffle over to the bed and sit down beside him. "I met his parents. We stayed the night, then Jack and Autumn joined all of us for breakfast. Callum cooked a great meal."
"Callum cooked? You must have met his doppelgänger. Cal thinks cooking means reheating Scotch pies he stole from his mother's refrigerator."
Interesting. Callum never told Hugh he can cook. I'm starting to think these two have more secrets from each other than either of them realizes. "We need to have a real conversation, Hugh. A serious one that doesn't involve flirtation."
"Yes, I figured as much."
"Are we still friends?"
"Honestly, I don't know."
"Fair enough." I start to lay a hand on his shoulder, but pull it away. He might not want me to touch him. "I'm sorry, Hugh. I should have told you I was sleeping with Callum instead of making him lie about it."
"Not your fault, pet. I should've noticed the signs. Cal isn't exactly hard to read." One side of his mouth kicks up in a sardonic smile. "Though it's clear I'm not as tuned in as I thought. My best mate had me fooled for a good while there."
"He hated keeping the truth from you. So did I. But… Oh, I shouldn't talk about that stuff."
"You can tell me anything, Kate. I'm a big boy, so I can handle it."
Well, he is taking all of this better than I expected. And I want him to understand why I kept my relationship with Callum a secret. "Okay. The thing is, I was attracted to Callum from the start. Talked myself out of believing that was true, but my subconscious couldn't deny it. Eventually, the id overcame the ego, and I lost control of my passions. Had sex with Callum in the living room of his apartment."
"That was the day I walked in and found you two behaving strangely. You ran for the bathroom, and Callum held a pillow over his lap." Hugh shuts his eyes and winces. "How did I not realize you two had been shagging just before I walked into the apartment? It was so bloody obvious."
"You trusted me, that's why you didn't see it. I vowed I did not want Callum."
"I forgive you, Kate."
"Wow, thank you. I assumed it would take longer for you to be ready to forgive and move on."
He swivels his head toward me. "I said I forgiveyou, Kate. But Callum has been my best mate for years, and he lied to me repeatedly. Swore he had no interest in you. Then I find you two had been shagging in secret, not only once, but multiple times. A man can't just let a thing like that go."
"Please don't beat the crap out of each other. Try a mature, adult approach to repairing your friendship."
"Not sure we can repair it. This was a serious betrayal."
Do I have the skills to convince him otherwise? My intuition tells me that his anger toward Callum isn't only about his best friend lying to him and sneaking around with me behind his back. Something deeper is troubling Hugh, but I've never tried to counsel someone through a crisis like this. I treat clients who have experienced injuries, not friends whose relationship has been torn asunder.
I decide my best approach is to be upfront with him. "The main reason I need to help you and Callum work things out is because I feel guilty. I'm the cause of it all, and I don't want to become the hammer that shatters your friendship."
"You are not a hammer, Kate. Callum and I did this on our own."
"Callum loves you."
Hugh smirks. "I doubt he would ever phrase it that way."
"No, but it's the truth. You guys are best friends who have a powerful bond. I think that's the main reason you're so angry with him."
"I'm angry because he's a bloody liar."
"Come on, Hugh. It's more than that." I turn toward him so I can see his profile. "Based on the things you've told me before and the way you behaved when you wanted to woo me, I think this is more about you than about me or Callum."
"How? I haven't done a ruddy thing."
"You kept struggling to win me over, even after I told you I wasn't interested. Why did you try so hard knowing your efforts would fail?"
"My efforts never fail."
