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Julie squared her shoulders. “Four years of college isn’t as stressful as ten years or more. Being responsible for someone’s life isn’t the same as snapping pictures. I treatpatients with heart conditions. That’s a life and death situation.”

David cleared his throat and drank his Martini, while trying to avoid the women’s strife.

“People—even doctors—who are narrow-minded need a kind heart first before they can treat others. Just saying. It’s common sense if you ask me.” Kiera shrugged. “But what do I know? I just zoom in and out with my camera. It’s not a life and death situation, but I enjoy it.”

“You capture the life and death of moments,” I said.

Where the fuck did that come from?

Julie sneered, looking like she wanted to strangle me. Looking back, I didn’t understand why I’d dated her. It had been a short-lived relationship that had kept my mind off of things back then. Sex was a great distraction.

But these days, I wanted more than just sex. I wanted someone who could touch me from the inside.

Looking uncomfortable, David pointed to Kiera’s shirt. “Isn’t that Forrest’s baby?”

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

KIERA

“It is.” I glanced down at my T-shirt.

Julie shot Forrest an irritated look. I squeezed his hand, appreciating his poetic line. I’d never heard him speak in that way.This was a new side to him that I loved.

“What do you mean it’s Forrest’sbaby?” Julie asked David.

Interesting that she didn’t ask me since I was the one wearing the shirt. I should’ve just gone back to my cabin. Sitting at the same table with his ex-girlfriend didn’t soothe my anxiety. It added to it.

“It’s his humanitarian project that produces holistic medicine for needy areas around the world,” said David. “I’ve donated to the BaMBu Project.”

“Oh, that thing.” Julie made a face and a disgusted sound that made me want to dump the salad right on her head. “You’re still working on that? Alternative medicine isn’t effective. It’s been proven time and time again. It’s a waste of money.”

“I am, and I love it.” Forrest offered her a smile that earned him an eye roll.

“I disagree, Julie.” David held up a hand. “The world is changing. New ideas are popping up left and right. Before we know it, we’ll have forgotten the basics—back to nature. Soon, robots will be examining patients. Look at all the artificial intelligence that are performing human tasks. Our jobs could be replaced in our lifetime.” He placed a hand on Julie’s shoulder. “Alternative medicine isn’t bad at all. It’s another way of treating patients. I welcome it.”

“Good for you, but I’ll pass.” She poked a fork into her salad.

I wished I had magical powers that could turn the fork into a snake to bite her.

“Aren’t doctors supposed to be open-minded to new ways of healing? New diseases emerge every day, and most of them don’t have cures. Some of the current medications cost an arm and a leg. If you can give your patients the care they need with something noninvasive and affordable, isn’t that your duty to do so?” I didn’t realize my voice had gotten louder.

I couldn’t help it. My mom’s condition had been stressing me out. I was sitting across from a narrow-minded doctor who was stuck in her idiotic ways. Maybe she was secretly on the board of some health insurance company who voted to jack up the fees for everyone so she could benefit from the kickback. That would make more sense to me because I didn’t understand why health care was so expensive.

“Don’t keep the mind too open, otherwise stuff will fall out,” Forrest said, probably trying to defuse the situation but failing.

I pinched his thigh, and he winced. He tried to grab my hand, but I didn’t let him.

Julie smirked at his comment. “Very perceptive, Forrest. You’ve always had a knack for seeing the truth.”

“But if you don’t stretch your mind to new ideas, then you’ll never see its potential, right?”

Julie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. Forrest wasn’t getting any brownie points from me. The comment came five seconds too late.

I reached for a piece of bread, added butter, and bitinto it. Did he regret inviting me to dinner? I wished I hadn’t agreed, but I’d been too curious about his ex-girlfriend, and now I was paying for it. She was as shallow as the muddy puddles kids stomped in.

Forrest and David were probably thinking this dispute was just women being catty. They had no idea of the real reason. Julie was still hooked on Forrest, and I was a threat.

I didn’t blame her. He was a fabulous catch. If I were honest with myself, I was jealous when I first saw her. She was pretty and had a voluptuous body. I assumed her intelligence was somewhere up there too, but I was so wrong.