My Best Friend's Boyfriend

“Yeah, I’d say you did. Why did you lie about going to work then? Why did you stand him up going shopping?”

“I needed space and time to think. The shopping was a complete slip of the mind on my part. I told him where to be and what time, and then I fell asleep taking a quick nap and slept right through it. I had to be at work that night with new clothes and ended up getting in trouble with my boss. We got into a fight and I stormed out of work, which was why I wasn’t there.”

“Then Logan confronted you about not being at work,” I said.

“Yeah. And it spiraled from there. I made mistakes. I’m not trying to make excuses for them. But I lost control of the situation before I could try to rectify it.”

Nodding my head, I tried to process all she had just told me.

“The truth is, Logan and I were never meant to be. But the two of you? You guys are great for one another.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah. The two of you line up like two peas in a pod. I mean, there were moments when I was with Logan and I’d be with you and I’d wonder who the hell had replaced my best friend with my boyfriend.”

We shared a tentative laugh before my eyes dropped. And when they did, I took in the massive diamond ring on her left hand.

“What is that?” I asked.

I watched Camilla blush for the first time in my life as my jaw dropped.

“What is that!?” I squealed.

“He proposed,” she said.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so happy for you.”

I threw my arms around her neck without a second thought and held her close.

“I’m so happy with him, I can’t see straight,” Camilla said breathlessly.

“Congratulations,” I said.

“He proposed last night. We had a long heart-to-heart about everything that happened. About the overlap between him and Logan and how I didn’t go about things the best way and how I didn’t want my relationship with him to ruin my job at the club. And after we fought and made up, we laid there in his bed and he proposed to me, right there, with the two of us tangled up in his sheets.”

“Sounds like your kind of proposal.” I pulled back and wiped at the tears in her eyes. “Oh, Cam. I’m so happy for you,” I said.

“I really do love him, Ava. He’s the most incredible man I’ve ever known. He fits me like a glove. There isn’t a part of him I would change. Not for a second.”

I was happy for her. I really was. But part of me didn’t know how to feel about it. After all the things Camilla had said and done—after all the things she had admitted to—she was the one who got the happy ending? She was the one who got the man?

It didn’t make sense. Even though it was a selfish thought, it still didn’t make sense to me.

“Really, congratulations. Have you guys set a date?” I asked.

“Not yet. We’re giving it a few weeks before we talk about any of that. He’s taking me to London next weekend to celebrate our engagement,” she said, smiling.

“Then I hope you have the time of your life.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“How did you and Logan wind up together?” she asked.

I drew in a deep breath as my eyes fluttered closed. “Uh, well, it’s kind of weird,” I said.

“Weirder than everything I just told you?”

“In a way, yes.”

I opened my eyes and found Cam fully entranced by my words.

“Will you tell me about it?” she asked.

“Do you want to hear it?”

She reached for my hand and took it before a tear ran down her cheek.

“I know it’ll take us some time to repair things, but I’d really like to try. So yes, I’d like to hear your story.”

I drew in a deep breath and launched into my story. I told her about Save the Date and the initial meeting, how I spent that Sunday getting hair yanked out of my body and choosing the perfect outfit. I told her about the hotel and how I got my rose petals and my comfortable bed, that I got to have complete and total control over how I lost my virginity. Then I told her about how Logan was the one who entered the hotel room as I sat on the bed and contemplated whether or not I should go through with it. How we talked about what this could do to us—to me and Camilla—and how we originally agreed to keep it as a business transaction.

I told her about how the company lost the paperwork and how we had to do the night all over again. Except that time, it had been more passionate, more loving, more outstanding than the first time. I told her about how nervous I had been and how I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I kept feeling this pull toward him. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. So, when he asked me to dinner at his place, I couldn’t refuse.