At least I’ve finally stopped crying. He’s not a fan of emotions, so dealing with me like this must be hard for him. “I’m sorry,” I tell him as he helps me get undressed.

“What in the world for?” he asks.

I gesture uselessly at myself. “For me. This. You didn’t sign up for taking care of me.”

He gives me an odd look and steps closer, one hand curling around the back of my neck and gently bringing my forehead to his. “I think I did. In case you haven’t realized it yet, there’s not a single part of you I don’t like. You bring so much sunshine into my life, but don’t think I can’t handle the rain too. I’ll be here no matter what.”

“I... um...”

What could he possibly mean by that? I was saying that him having to take care of me wasn’t part of the fake dating or fun hookups deal. But it sounds like he’s talking about something more than that.

Not a single part of me he doesn’t like?

There’s no way he means that the way I want him to, right? I’ve tried to pretend I haven’t been falling for him these last few weeks, because I never imagined he could fall for me too. Except now we’re alone, no one to put on a show for, and I’m a terribly unsexy, tear-stained mess. And he’s looking at me like he’d move mountains just to be in this room with me.

So I don’t question it. I watch him take off his own clothes, then I get into bed when he pulls down the covers for me. Instead of going around to the other side, he gets in right behind me, nudging me forward enough to make room for himself.

But he doesn’t let me go far. He’s the perfect big spoon, molding his slightly larger body around me, one arm slung over my waist and securing me tightly against him.

“You’ve been holding all that stuff in for a long time, haven’t you?” he asks, his lips tickling the back of my neck.

“What stuff?”

“About April.”

My body tenses. He’s not wrong though. And with the way I completely fell apart, trying to deny it would be stupid. “I don’t talk about her, but I think about her every day. I just never wanted May to find out how sad I am inside. I mean, I’m happy too, don’t get me wrong. I love my life, but I’ll always miss the people I’ve lost.”