Kayla opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again. Dr. Hell on Heels had done it again. She’d distracted Kayla and gotten them off on some weird tangent. What did she even mean? Love and passion were the same thing. That’s why love hurt. You couldn’t have one without the other, otherwise it wouldn’t be real love. But Kayla had learned during their time together than Dr. Hell on Heels was not the person to debate this with.
She put on her most winning smile and said, “You’re absolutely right and I definitely bring all of that to a relationship. No matter who it’s with.”
Dr. Frost’s smile told Kayla she’d played her part well. She said, “I’m glad to hear it. I also agree with you that this coffee meeting is a great opportunity for you to make amends and heal.”
“Exactly. That’s what I’m looking for with this coffee. To heal.”
That at least was true. Nothing on earth would heal her more than an afternoon of twisting sheets with Skye and getting that ring back on her finger.
“How did it go?”
Kayla swapped her phone to the other ear as she twisted around all the slow walkers littering the sidewalk. “Great. Everything was great.”
There were exactly three beats of dead air on the call, a sure sign that her best friend could read her far better than Dr. Frost could, even over the phone. “Don’t lie to me, LaLa. What happened?”
The nickname broke some of the tension coursing through Kayla’s body, and she was able to rearrange her mask. “Nothing, Mack. Seriously. She just told me that I shouldn’t treat this coffee with Skye as a chance to win her back.”
“Gosh, that sounds familiar. I feel like someone else recently told you that.”
“Don’t be sarcastic, Mack. It isn’t a good look.”
Kayla knew her attempt at being stern was ruined by the smile that undoubtedly shone through her words. Mack had been her best friend since before they learned to drive and there was no one on the planet more committed to helping her heal and grow. She also knew exactly what buttons to push and how hard she could push them.
Mack said, “First of all, everything is a good look on me, but fine, I won’t be sarcastic. I told you the same thing when you got Skye’s text two days ago. You’re only just starting to heal the damage she did. Don’t let her pull you back down.”
Kayla skirted a couple of businessmen on their cell phones blocking the majority of the sidewalk, but her scowl was for herbest friend, not the inconsiderate guys. “Skye’s not responsible for what happened after she left.”
Kayla squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment, trying to stop the flood of images from that terrible time in her life. She took a long breath and forced herself to acknowledge the pain and shame without letting it take over, just like stupid Dr. Hell on Heels taught her. To her surprise, it actually worked. The boost of getting to see Skye again was already changing her outlook. Take that, Mack.
“She is responsible for her actions, actually. She isn’t responsible for how you reacted to them, but she is responsible for what she did.”
“You’re only saying that because you hate her,” Kayla said.
“I only hate her because she’s a thunder cunt.”
Kayla couldn’t hold in her bark of laughter, and several strangers turned to stare. It probably didn’t help that she’d made it to the hospital, and some of those strangers were probably distressed in ways Kayla couldn’t imagine. Instead of pushing through the lobby, she shuffled off to a quiet corner of the waiting room and turned her back to the milling crowd.
“I know you two never got along, but I need you with me on this one, Mack. You know I love her. I have to get her back.” To her annoyance, Kayla’s voice caught on the last sentence.
Mack’s sigh was audible through the phone, but there was as much love as exasperation in that breath. “I know you do. I’m on your side, and I always will be. Whatever you want, I support you.”
“You’re the bestest best friend a girl could have.”
“You’re not a girl anymore, but the rest is accurate.”
“Love you, Mack.”
“Love you, LaLa.”
Kayla ended the call with her heart as light as air. She could do this. She could remind Skye how much they loved each other.She could get her fiancée back. Having her best friend on her side was all she needed.
The secluded corner of the hospital lobby where she found herself consisted of a few fake potted plants and a sadly abandoned end table bleached nearly to white either by age or the sun coming in through the huge, floor-to-ceiling windows. As she glanced up at the wall of glass, she caught a glimpse of her reflection. Normally Kayla wasn’t vain, but her morning had been all about introspection, so she indulged in a moment of external reflection.
Despite a monumentally challenging year for her mental health, she could admit one thing. When it came to her looks, she still had it. No one wandering through this lobby would guess that she had turned thirty-seven just a few weeks ago. She had a youthful face only marked by her love of the sun and her easy smile. A lifelong tan and a few smile lines looked good on just about everyone, Kayla included.
People also underestimated her age because she had not been blessed with height. Checking in at just a couple inches over five feet, her body was built for speed, and she’d taken full advantage during her abbreviated soccer career. But she wasn’t a pushover. She had a stocky build, plenty of lean muscle, and a pretty great pair of tits, so all in all, she could turn a few heads.
Nature had cursed her with lackluster, dirty blonde hair, but chemistry fixed that for her just fine. So what that her eyebrows were several shades darker than her colored hair, who cared? It worked with her deep brown eyes and round cheeks. Of course, most of the time her hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head like it was now, but there was enough curl to make it style well when she wore it down.
