He must have canceled his class today. Was this the first time he’d canceled so that he could engage in midday activities that didn’t require clothing? How long had this been going on?
His mistress, ironically, was the one wearing medical scrubs. The pants were pink and the top had little balloons on it.
For the second time, Cameron’s steps faltered when he saw Evie. “You’re still here?”
“This ismyhouse!” Evie reminded him, her yell echoing off the pitched ceiling.
The blonde looked between Evie and Cameron. “My shift starts in a few hours,” she said before hurrying past Evie and out the side kitchen door.
And, just like that, a huge piece of the puzzle fell into place.
“The broken tibia,” Evie said.
“What?” Cameron asked.
Last Halloween, Angelique James had arrived at the veterinary clinic with her son Mychal and Spanky, their Jack Russell terrier. The dog had gotten into the Halloween candy before the family had the chance to welcome any trick-or-treaters. While they were still waiting to be seen, one of the vet techs brought the Edwards’s bullmastiff into the lobby, and at the sight of the huge dog, Mychal had run like the hounds of hell were at his heels. He’d slipped on the tiled floor and let out a cry that Evie could still hear to this day.
Cameron had embodied Superman, the character he’d dressed up as for the holiday, swooping in and carting Mychal and his mother to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital. The eight-year-old had broken his tibia. And, to Cameron’s relief, his mother had not considered suing the veterinary practice.
“You met her when you brought Mychal James to the ER last Halloween,” Evie told him. “Was she his nurse?”
“Ev—”
She put her hand up. “I don’t care. Just leave.” That painful lump had returned to her throat, and it pissed her off.
Cameron dropped his head back and sighed up at the ceiling. The condescending sound had her reconsidering jail time. Maybe itwasworth it.
“Where am I supposed to go?” Cameron asked.
“Do you think I give a fuck?” Evie yelled. A dull ache began to throb at her temples. She rubbed them with her thumbs. “I’m sure your little girlfriend has a nice enough bed. Go there.”
The bastard had the audacity to look annoyed. With her! As ifshehad somehow inconveniencedhimby catching him in bed with another woman.
Evie had never had to fight so hard against the urge to commit bodily harm.
Without another word, Cameron grabbed the keys to his Mercedes S-Class and left through the same side door his girlfriend had used.
Only now did it occur to Evie that she hadn’t seen his car parked on the street. Finding a spot in this neighborhood could get dicey in the evenings, but there was ample parking during the middle of the day. If his trip home had been as innocent as he’d claimed, there would be no reason for him not to park in front of the house.
“That cheating son of a bitch must have parked on one of the other streets and walked.”
She didn’t care enough to follow him and find out.
An oppressive exhaustion came over her. Evie stood in the middle of the open-plan living area, unsure of what to do next. It all looked the same, but everything felt different. Tainted. She hated feeling this way about a place she loved so much.
She’d bought the house from her grandmother three years ago, when she and Cameron were going through one of their “off” periods. There had been three of those during their ten-year relationship. She had moved out of Cam’s one-bedroom condo with a vow never to take him back. With her grandmother’s blessing, Evie had gutted this house, renovating nearly every inch.
She sometimes regretted the decision to renovate, but not today. She didn’t want memories of what had just transpired to mar the sweet memories she had of this house back when Rita Mayeaux still lived here.
Her grandmother would have cut Cameron’s dick off. No question about it.
Evie closed her eyes tight and covered her face with her hands.
Cameron was right; she shouldn’t even be here. She should be at her friend Ashanti Wright’s doggy daycare, Barkingham Palace, where Evie worked as the in-house veterinarian several afternoons a week. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to continue with her workday—not in the state she was in. She couldn’t even remember what she had come home to pick up; to examine anyone’s pet in her current condition would be tantamount to professional negligence.
There was one thing she must do. Andrightnow.
She stalked out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. She plopped her hands on her hips and stared at the scene of Cameron’s betrayal. Maybe if she washed the sheets in really hot water and added an entire bottle of laundry sanitizer they would be okay?
