Page 55 of What Should Have Been Ours

And he’s asleep.

I bite my lip, smiling, and shake his shoulder lightly. “Cam.”

He blinks awake, groggy. “Crap. I fell asleep?”

“Yeah,” I laugh. “I was about to leave you here.”

He smirks sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “You were gonna what? Push me out of my car and drive off without me?”

“Maybe—“ I say, eyes pointed, pretending to be serious.

He squeezes me closer to his body, playfully taunting me. “You wouldn’t leave me behind like that after you basically confessed your undying love for me.”

“Okay, reel it in, I did no such thing…I think you’re the one who’s so far gone for me.”

“Oh, I know I am Gab, but that’s old news,” he says, winking at me.

He turns me slowly so I’m now straddling his lap. “I’m sorry I missed such an important life-altering chick-flick, though, I know how much you love them. These long shifts are really starting to do me in.”

I nod, but before I can say anything else, he grins lazily. “Or…maybe you just felt so good in my arms that I got too comfortable.”

I roll my eyes, but my stomach does that little flip anyway.

“I guess now you just owe me an official second, second date then.”

He places his hands on my hips. “I owe you a million more dates to make up for the last twelve years, Gabrielle.”

20

Cameron

I’ve got exactly three minutes to inhale this cup of coffee before my next consult, but with the way today has been going, I’ll be lucky if I get two sips in.

The oncology wing is already buzzing—nurses moving in and out of patient rooms, a couple of residents hunched over their charts near the nurses’ station, and somewhere down the hall, the sound of the coffee machine struggling to produce the life-saving substance we all depend on.

I lean against the counter, scrolling through my patient notes, when Wes strolls up beside me, looking way too awake for someone who was on call last night.

“You look like crap, Hayes,” he says, stealing my coffee right out of my hand before I can take my first sip.

I don’t even look up. “And yet, I still look better than you.”

Wes hums, pretending to consider that. “Debatable. Though I did sleep with a weighted blanket last night, so I’m feeling pretty rejuvenated.”

I glance at him. “You were on call last night.”

“Exactly. Which is why I needed the comfort. Medicine is stressful, Cam. Sometimes, a man just needs to be cuddled, and if it can’t be with a woman, the next best thing is a heavy blanket to be wrapped in.”

I shake my head, grabbing my coffee back from him. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously well-rested.” He nods toward the hall. “So what’s on your plate today, Dr. Dreamboat?”

I roll my eyes, flipping through my notes. “Follow-ups, a consult for a new patient, and rounding on a couple of post-chemo cases. The usual.”

Wes lets out a low whistle. “Busy day. Have you eaten?”

“Have I—?” I scrunch my brows. “No, Mom, I have not eaten.”

“Figures.” He sighs, shaking his head. “You get too caught up playing superhero that you forget basic human needs.”