“Some people have sacrificed more for so much less. Marriage isn’t only about sex. I get where you’re coming from.” I needed to leave this house. I was sliding down the slippery slope of my past and I needed to regroup.

“Sutton, I know I hurt you and I know things are really strange right now, but I never stopped thinking about you.” Parker carefully placed her hand on my knee. The look she gave me was raw and intense. Everything was happening too quickly. I leaned back. My body tingled from her nearness. She was entirely too close and on purpose.

“What are you doing, Parker?” My voice was low. I cleared my throat.

“Do you ever think about us?”

I folded my arms in front of me to add a barrier. “I do. I did. You really broke my heart, but we both have moved on.” Truth would be a splash of cold water and maybe she would take a step back. I wanted her, but I didn’t want the scandal that came with the indiscretion. “I know you are vulnerable right now, but this isn’t real.” I pointed at her and then me several times back and forth to emphasize what wasn’t real. Us. There wasn’t an us. I didn’t want to be an old pattern she fell back into.

She put her hands on my forearm. “I know I hurt you, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I never did. It was like that before we even moved here. When Grayson said the Cheetahs reached out, I panicked. He didn’t know you were coaching here, but I did.”

I stepped away from her. “This can’t happen, Parker. You’re still married and I’m coaching your husband. I honored the secret when we were kids, but I’m an adult now and I’m not going back into the closet for anyone. Not even you.” But fuck, it was hard not to fall for her all over again. But life was scary and hers was quicksand. One bad decision and I would be neck deep.

She took a step back. “So, what happens when I’m divorced?”

I threw my hands up. “Then you’re free to date whomever you want.”

“Anybody?”

“Anybody available. Look, we can’t have this conversation. It doesn’t make sense. We’ve grown so much and we’re probably not even compatible anymore.”

She smirked and I realized I gave away too much. “I doubt that.” She walked over to me and put her fingers on the soft spot above my breast where my heart fluttered like hummingbird wings. “We’ve always had chemistry, even now, but it’s more than that. A part of me is still in here.”