“Oh my gosh, you mean you didn’t want to have kids, so you dumped her?”

“Nice, Camille. Mind if I finish?”

“Sorry. Go ahead.”

“Hell, yes, I wanted a family. It was all part of the dream. But I wanted kids of my own, not kids fathered by some other guy.”

“Oh no, Finn. Really?”

“You think I’d make this shit up? There’s an old-fashioned word for it—a cuckold. I think we should revive the word, because that’s exactly what I felt like. I filed for divorce the next day.”

“The next day? Did you ever think there was a chance of fixing it, maybe trying to stay together?”

“Here’s the thing about infidelity,” he said. “It doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Even though she did the cheating, I suppose I played my part by not seeing the cracks in our foundation. Things hadn’t been right for a while, and I ignored them. I finished my stint as a naval officer and became a teacher. The opportunity to teach in Aix came up, but she didn’t want to go, and I did. So no, I didn’t think there was any point in trying to stay together. Emily moved in with Voldemort and they had a kid together. They’ve since split up, and now Emily’s a single mom.”

“I’m sorry you went through that, Finn. And I’m sorry I made you talk about it.” She knew he wouldn’t welcome her pity, but the sense of betrayal and ruined pride must have been devastating.

“Okay, now it’s your turn,” he said.

Camille felt cornered. But this was Finn, and she was fast discovering that she could tell him anything. It was strange and kind of wonderful, knowing he wouldn’t judge her. He’d just listen. “I was married for ten years, too. I just wanted a normal life.”

“Define normal,” Finn challenged her. “Does such a thing exist? For anyone?”

“It did for me,” she insisted. “I had a normal life until I lost Jace. I assumed everything would always be good. Is that wrong of me?”

“No. It’s romantic of you.”

She felt a chill, the one that was deeply embedded in her heart. “We need to join the others for lunch.”

He gave her a look that let her know he was onto her. “They can start without us.”

She sighed. Finn had been totally honest with her about his first marriage. He deserved no less from her. “After Jace, nothing felt normal to me. If not for Julie, I probably would have drifted off into nothingness. About two years ago, I was finally coming out of the fog, and then my father was diagnosed with cancer.”

“Ah, Camille. I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. He’s done with his treatment. There are still two tumors, but he’s stable and says he feels all right. So . . . we’ll see. There’s a high likelihood of recurrence with this type of cancer. His advice from the doctor is to stay well and enjoy life.”

“That’s good advice for anybody.”