"No."
Something flickers in her eyes, and she blinks several times."Oh, my gosh, is it because of Dominic?He was going to be my next topic of discussion.I didn't catch you yesterday to find out what happened."
Great. It doesn't seem like I'll be able to escape talking about him today.
I raise my shoulders into a shrug and pretend the mention of his name doesn’t send off the nest of butterflies in my stomach.
“No, it's not about him.”
"I heard what you did on Monday when he came back."
I knew everyone would talk about that, but I don’t care.It's just one more thing to add to the gossip here.
"Yeah," I mutter sheepishly.
"Candace, what happened? It's not like you to bitch slap anybody, let alone him."
“We had a disagreement before he left and I was still mad at him,” I answer.
“Are you going to tell me what the disagreement was?”
“I’d rather not.”
Her shoulders slump and her eyes snap wide.“Candace,” she chides. “You’re seriously not going to tell me?”
“Helen trust me, it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t really matter anymore.”
“But you slapped the man. Twice.That’s not the kind of reaction you’d give someone if what they did to you didn’t matter anymore.” With a one-shoulder sassy shrug, she gives me a look of assertion,showing she knows what she's talking about.Once again, I can't disagree.
“I guess I was just surprised to see him.”
When her eyes bore into me, I know my friend isn’t about to let up.When realization forms on her face and she sucks in a breath I know she’s done some mental analysis of what must have happened between Dominic and me and formed one of her conclusions that’s probablyright.
“Did you sleep with him?” she asks in a hushed tone as if we aren’t the only two people in her office.
Although she did her analysis and landed on the truth, my silence is enough to answer her question.
“Oh my God,” she rasps out, and I swear her eyes are going to pop out of her head.“Candace, how the hell could you keep such a secret from me?You slept with Dominic D'Agostino.Jesus.”
“Helen, please don’t breathe a word to anyone.”
“I would never do that,” she deadpans, but when I harden my stare, a reminder she’s one of the biggest office gossips here, she raises her palms and shakes her head.“I would never do that to you.I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“Whatever, I’m still stuck on the fact that you had this secret relationship with Dominic D’Agostino and never said anything to me.You do know the entire female population of this hemisphere has their eyes on all three brothers, right?No one even cares that Massimo and Tristan are married.They still keep them on their Wishlist.And you’re here talking like we could be discussing eggs and bacon.”
I have to laugh. What she’s saying is nothing new to me.“I grew up with them Helen. I guess maybe I don’t see them like that.”
She looks at me with disbelief.“Fuck damn Candace that is ridiculous.As for Dominic, I remember seeing you with him a lot before he left.I suspected something but I was never sure.I actually thought you two would make a nice couple.”
I’m shaking my head before she can finish the words.There’s no way I can explain anything further without talking about the truth.It’s exactly like everything else.I’ve always had to dance around the truth.With him, it was no different and wouldn't have been the first time I had to do it to protect someone's name.
I didn't want anyone knowing what happened to me or what he did.I didn't want anyone knowing that Dominic was on drugs.I know his brothers were grateful I kept everything under wraps, but I did it for me too.
“We aren’t like that anymore.It’s over.” That’s the first time I’ve said anything of the sort out loud.I told Tristan I wouldn’t wait for Dominic.Saying that and saying it's over felt different.It felt final and a pang of sadness wraps around my heart.
“Really?” she asks cautiously.Helen holds my gaze like she’s trying to see beyond my words and into my mind.Like the good friend she’s become, I know she’s figured out that I feel more than what I’m allowing her to see.