Walking Red Flag (Ocean View #2)

by Morgan Elizabeth

“He liked your mind because you are your mind. He likes you, babe.” I grab the wine and drink straight from the bottle, ignoring the cup in her hand. Cassie laughs. “But Gabi?” She stops until I meet her eyes. “If he took what you said and ran with it, accepted that you’re over and nothing more than friends, that’s on him. You deserve someone who will break into your office and demand you listen to him. You deserve a Luke.” She pauses. “Not my Luke. You’d drive him nuts.” We laugh. It’s true. “But you deserve someone who takes the random shit you spew to try and protect yourself with, even if it’s leading him in the wrong direction, and fights for you. You deserve your raunchy romance book ending.” I think of the dozens of books on my shelves, of how my mind took a mental snapshot of Vic in my messy apartment flipping through pages and pointing out parts he thought were funny. I think about how everyone gets their happily ever after, how they fight through the red flags to find their white knight. Cassie’s right. I do. I deserve that. So what if I fell for a red flag. I guess it has to happen to everyone once, right? And shit, Cassie’s right. If he was it, if he felt what I feel, then when I said that we were done because we’d finished our arrangement together, he’d have fought me on it. It kills me to say it, but he didn’t. He didn’t fight. The realization has a choked sound coming from deep inside of me. “Oh, honey.” “I fell, Cass. I should have listened to you,” I say, ...