Page 27 of What Should Have Been Ours

Kinsley throws her hands up. “I knew it! That man is still screwing with your head.”

“I mean, can you blame me?” I say, exasperated. “I spent two years with that man, only for him to turn around and cheat on me with one of the vet assistants. Who we still have to work with every day, by the way. To make matters worse, he constantly tells me he wants me back. While he’s with her! How does that not mess with a person’s head?”

Kinsley’s expression darkens. “He is a walking, talking red flag, and I hate him with every fiber of my being.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, well, same. But that doesn’t change the fact that it made me realize I can’t trust myself when it comes to men.”

Kinsley groans. “Gab, you can’t let one emotionally stunted, cheating dirt-bag ruin the idea of love for you. Especially not with Cam. That man is in a completely different universe from Parker with all the stories you’ve told me.”

I shake my head. “It’s not just Parker. It’s all of it. Every guy I’ve been with, I either felt nothing for or I wasn’t good enough for them to stick around. I’ve just…come to terms with the fact that my love life is permanently in the gutter. It’s fine.”

Kinsley gives me a pointed look. “It is so not fine.”

“It is,” I insist. “I’m just…going to focus on my career and friendships. That’s where I thrive.”

She stares at me for a long beat. “Friendships, huh?”

I nod. “Yep.”

A slow, knowing grin spreads across her face. “Like the friendship you’re trying to have with Cameron?”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Yes. Exactly like that.”

She lets out a dramatic sigh. “Oh, babes. That’s cute.”

I groan. “Kinsley.”

She waves me off. “No, no, I support your little delusional ‘just friends’ plan. Really, I do.” She pauses. “It’s just that…it’s never gonna work.”

I cross my arms. “Why do you say that?”

She smirks. “Because that man has never just been your friend, and you know it. He set the standard for any man that came after him, and each and every one of them has failed to live up to those expectations.”

I narrow my gaze at her, knowing she’s right but refusing to admit it out loud. “We started out as friends. We can be friends again…and you’re gonna help make sure that happens.”

“And how is that?” she asks.

“He invited me to watch him and a league of other doctors play flag football next week, and I said I would only go if I could bring you,” I say sheepishly.

“Ahhhh, ‘using your friend as a buffer and to hide behind’ trick…I’m down.”

“You are? But you hate sports?”

“The sport being played will be the last thing on my mind, Gab. I’ll be there to assess the pool of available hot doctors and for the moral support of my best friend, who’s trying to deny the feelings she still has for her childhood friend.”

“You are beyond annoying,” I say, half groaning, half laughing.

She beams. “I try my best, just for you, Gabs.”

“Just promise not to embarrass me, okay?”

“I would never make such a horrendous promise like that,” Kinsley says, acting appalled. “I’ll try to be on my best behavior, but I can’t promise anything,” she finishes, blowing me kisses.

I roll my eyes, but deep down, I’m relieved she agreed to come.

Because, despite my best efforts to convince myself otherwise, I know I can never look at Cam as just a friend anymore. That ship sailed a very, very long time ago, and it never planned on coming back.

I let out an exaggerated breath. “I guess plan ‘make Cam just my friend again’ is officially in motion. But…if it starts to go south, I reserve the right to signal you for help, and you have to fake a grade A emergency to get us out of there, okay?”