Collapsing against the counter, I braced my palms on the chilly surface and dropped my head, trying in vain to catch my breath.

Each desperate gasp was punctuated by a broken sob I fought to keep back. “Shit. Oh shit,” I gasped as tears streamed down my cheeks, spilling onto the counter in big fat droplets.

The door creaked open and I shot up, trying to bat the mascara streaks from my face even though it was pointless.

“Sutton?” Tate caught a glimpse of my face and came racing toward me. “Oh, god, what happened? Are you okay?”

“N-no. I’m n-not okay. I’m not even fucking c-close to okay!”

Tate hurried back to the door and threw the lock so I could have my privacy while I lost it.

“Did you know?”

She jerked back at the venom in my tone. “Know what?”

“Did you know about Camden working with my father?”

“What?”

It was difficult to get the whole thing out, but I managed to gain control of my tears and fill her in on everything that happened. By the time I was done, I was no longer crying, but my heart was shattered into millions of pieces.

“I… I can’t fucking believe him!” she snapped once I’d finished. “And that fucking bitch.”

Those were my sentiments exactly when it came to Ryan. She was an evil bitch from Hell. No woman did what she’d done to me for any reason other than bitter jealousy.

“I just want to leave. Can you take me home, please? I can’t stay here.”

Before she could answer, a loud banging started on the door. “Sutton, open up. Please, baby, just open the door.”

Tate looked from the door to me, her gaze questioning.

“No.” I shook my head frantically. “No, Tate. Don’t.”

“What are you gonna do, sweetie? Stay in here all night? There are no windows, and I get the feeling he’s not going anywhere. That’s our only way out.”

“I can explain everything, Sutton. Just gimme the chance. Please,” he begged through the door.

He could explain? He could explain? Was he fucking kidding?

Storming to the door, I twisted the lock and yanked it open, ready to lay right into him, but before I could get a word out, he pushed in, forcing me back several steps.

“Give us a minute, babycakes, yeah?”

Tate hesitated for a beat, her eyes asking me the question she wasn’t saying out loud. When I gave her a tiny nod, she moved to the door and pulled it open. “I’ll be right outside,” she said, looking back at me over her shoulder. “If you still want to go home after, Deck and I will take you.” Then she exited, leaving me alone with the man who’d annihilated my heart.

“Baby—”

“Don’t call me that,” I seethed.

“If you’d just—”

No! I’m asking the questions. All I want to hear from you is answers.”

His chest rose with a huge inhale beneath his tuxedo jacket. “Okay.”

“Did you ever sleep with Ryan?”

His chin jerked back in shock. “What?”

“A woman doesn’t pull bullshit like she just did unless she’s hung up on a guy. So tell me, did you ever sleep with her?”

“Yes,” he whispered before quickly adding, “But it was a long time ago.”

My words dripped with sarcasm as I spoke. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I should’ve been told you were going to see a woman you’d been in a relationship with when you went to LA all those weeks ago?”

“It was never a relationship, Sutton. I swear. It was just sex.”

“For how long?” I wasn’t sure why I asked that. The answer was sure to gut me even worse than I’d already been.

“Three years, off and on, if we happened to be in the same city, but that was all it was.”

“Well it was obviously a lot more than that to her!” I shouted. “Enough to make her so goddamn jealous that she came here tonight to rub my fucking father in my face.”

“Baby, I didn’t know that was gonna happen. I never would’ve—”

“I’m not stupid,” I said, cutting him off. “I already got that you met with my father when you were in LA. Did you know who he was to me back then?”

“No. I didn’t have a clue.”

“But in Boston? When I opened up to you and told you everything?” A fresh wave of tears welled in my eyes and trickled down my cheeks.

“Yes.” That one word came out completely ravaged, but I couldn’t let his pain affect me.

“But you were still gonna do it. Even after everything I told you. After you knew he was the worst kind of person, you were still gonna work with him.”

“I….” He cleared his throat, his eyes rimmed with red. “I hadn’t decided.”

And the hits just kept on coming. “Were you ever planning on telling me?”

“Yes.” He moved then, taking a step in my direction, but when I took one back he stopped, his face twisting like he’d just been stabbed. “I was gonna tell you, Sutton. I fuckin’ swear. I just… I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to hurt you, but it was such a great offer… I didn’t know what to do.”

A nasty, caustic laugh burst past my lips. “You didn’t know what to do? Are you fucking kidding? How about not work for a man you know is a piece of shit, Camden? How about that?”

“I’m not workin’ for him, baby! I told him tonight I was out.”

“Wow,” I sneered. “Thank you, Cam. Thank you so much for backing out after he and your little friend gutted me. That was so selfless of you.”

“Please, Sutton, just—”

“No! You don’t get to ask me for anything!” My words broke on a sob. “You betrayed me. I can’t believe that after I poured my heart out to you, you’d even consider working with that man! You picked your career over me.” I lifted my hands on a bewildered laugh. “Oh my god. You’re just like him! You’re everything my mother said you were.”

“I’m not!” He was on the move. Before I had a chance to dodge him, he grabbed my face, holding me close as he rested his forehead against mine. “I’m not like him. I would never intentionally hurt you.”

“How can you say that?” I whispered. “You knew the truth. I told you things I’d only ever shared with one other person, and you kept this from me because you were scared I’d try to talk you out of doing it.”

Wrenching from his grasp, I moved around him toward the door. “This is over.”

“Sutton.” His voice was so full of anguish it stole my breath. “Please don’t say that. You promised you’d stick with me.”

With my hand on the door handle, I gave him one last look as I said, “And you promised you’d never hurt me. I guess that makes us both liars.”

Then I did the hardest thing I’d ever done.

I walked away from the only man I’d ever loved.