“We went to dinner then the club.” I can feel the heat rising from my skin. I’m a terrible liar but know it’s best to keep this a secret from Drew. Besides, Mia will never tell him that we went there considering she knows how angry he would get.
“I didn’t think you’d tell me.” His facial expression turns into hurt. He rises from the chair, the same time I catch his arm, and instantly he recoils. “I guess you better head off. Slater needs you… again.”
“Drew, nothing happened. I’d never cheat on you. Let me explain… Mia just…”
He shakes his head releasing a short, disturbing laugh. “There’s nothing left to explain, Zoey. You were at Slater’s apartment. End of story. I’m going to be staying at Isaac’s until I can figure out what I want.”
“What you want?” I almost cry. “You don’t want me?”
“Zoey, I just… I need time apart… to think.”
“Because you don’t trust me?”
“Yes. No. Because of many things,” he answers, sadly.
With his back to me, I see his shoulders slump as he walks out of my office leaving me to stand still, burdened by shock. I don’t understand what just happened. He wants a break. Somehow, it’s leaked that I was at Slater’s apartment. But what doesn’t make sense is Drew’s sudden jealousy. He was never this person. Okay, granted the time that Jess was at Mia’s wedding or when Noah slept over, but aside from that he’s generally a laid-back guy.
This wedding should be bringing us closer, but instead, it’s tearing us apart.
I lower my head swallowing hard as my chin begins to tremble. We’re supposed to be getting married, enjoying our last moments before tying the knot. And now, we’re breaking up or whatever Drew calls it. I have no idea. My mind and heart are clueless as the punches came hard and fast knocking me about.
As if on auto-pilot, I grab my laptop and walk to the meeting room where Slater stands. The second he sees my face, he quickly ushers me back out of the room stopping just shy of the door. “Gentlemen, would you excuse us for a minute?” He latches onto my arm until we’re inside his office when he closes the door behind him.
“Zoey, what’s wrong?”
My eyes begin to water, yet I refuse to break down at work and in front of Slater. I’ve already cried in front of him, but you can blame the tequila for that one.
“Okay, so you won’t talk, and I’m guessing the man in your office was Drew, and he delivered some not-so-good news.”
“He wants a break.” I choke back the sobs trapped inside my chest. “From us, from the wedding. It doesn’t matter. A break is a break. It’s a hop-skip-jump away from a break-up.”
“Zoey.” Slater touches my arm attempting to calm me down. It doesn’t do anything but stream guilt. “I’m sorry, we need to begin this meeting. We have a lot riding on it. Will you be okay in there?”
I nod my head with a forced smile.
He returns the gesture, his face lighting up instantly. “How about I take you out afterward? A few drinks won’t hurt, and you can do that thing women love to do when they’ve had a few drinks.”
“Talk nonstop about why life is unfair and how the Dallas remake will never be the same as the original?”
Slater laughs placing his arm around me as he leads me back into the meeting room. “Patrick Duffy looks ripe for his age.”
“A silver fox.” I laugh, happy to get my mind off things if only for a moment.
We close the door to his office and walk back to the meeting room when I see Drew standing just outside my door. His expression is mixed with anger and resentment. Holding up his cell, he grits through the word
s, “I left my cell.”
Torn between my obligation to my job and the man who’s supposed to be my husband, I call his name hoping he will tell me this is stupid, and we’ll talk things over at home.
But he doesn’t.
Keeping his gaze tight, and his jaw locked firmly, he glares from me to Slater and shakes his head, bowing his eyes. “I guess I was right all along. That’s what happens when you fall in love with a woman who never thinks you’re enough.”
His word’s stab me every which way possible, the emotionally-delivered speech straight from the heart that confirms my worst fears.
We are over.
Chapter Nine