Page 47 of What Should Have Been Ours

“This is productive. I’m keeping tabs on your love life.”

I shake my head, and he keeps going.

“Admit it,” he presses. “You two are just tiptoeing around each other at this point. Are you waiting for her to make the first move or something?”

I exhale sharply. “Not everything is a damn game, Wes.”

He studies me for a second before shrugging. “Fair. But you can’t tell me you don’t want her.”

I run a hand through my hair, debating how much I want to say. “Of course I do.”

Wes tilts his head. “So what’s stopping you? Why are you still in the friend zone?”

I shake my head, looking down at my phone screen in Wes’s hand, Gabrielle’s last message still glowing on it. “She is.”

And that’s the truth.

Gabrielle is being cautious. I know she still feels something. I see it in the way she looks at me, in the way we talk to each other, in the way she always texts me back right away, even if she’s pretending not to care. But she’s scared. And I can’t blame her.

Wes groans, stretching as he stands. “You do realize she’s into you, right?”

I raise a brow. “Oh yeah? You got some insider intel on that?”

He snorts. “Please. Women don’t reply that fast and that often unless they actually want to talk to you. Trust me, I’ve been ignored enough to know.”

I chuckle, tilting my head. “Wow, that’s…sad.”

“Whatever, man,” he shrugs. “Point is—she’s interested. Now stop overthinking it and just ask her out on an actual date. Show her you’re serious and maybe she’ll take you seriously.”

* * *

As I walk out of the hospital later that night, I finally pull out my phone, staring at our last conversation.

I hover over the keyboard for a moment before typing.

Cam: So, what’s your schedule like this week?

My Future Wife: Why? Do you need to schedule a meeting?

Cam: Something like that. But less business, more fun.

My Future Wife: Oh, so you’re saying being friends with you is fun now?

Cam: It’s always been fun, Gabrielle. You just forgot how much.

My Future Wife: Mmm. Debatable.

Cam: Let me refresh your memory, then. What day are you free?

I wait, watching those three little dots appear.

My Future Wife: Friday. Why, what do you have in mind, Hayes?

I grin, already picturing the look on her face when she sees what I’ve got in store.

Cam: Wouldn’t you like to know.

My Future Wife: I would like to know. That’s why I asked.