Her lips brush against my finger when she shakes her head. “I was wrong to cross that line with you before I knew everything, Fitz. You’re in too deep. And I⁠—”

“You could love me back.” The words take a lot to get out, like they’ve lodged themselves from the depths my aching heart. My hand falls to my side. “And save me from drowning.”

She steps back, squeezing her eyes shut.

Noise echoes down the hall, taking Parker’s attention. “We should go before people realize we’ve been gone for too long.”

My head drops, along with my heart. That’s how it is. It’s always about how it looks.

“Fitz,” she begins. “I’m sorry, I just⁠—”

“You only care about how it looks.”

She lets out a frustrated breath. “You just conveniently forget that we both entered this arrangement because we needed something.”

I raise and drop my arms in defeat. “I didn’t need a girlfriend, okay? Does it help? Sure. But that was Nick. He wanted me to do everything I could to separate myself from Foller publicly. But what I needed was a shot with you, Parker. I know you’ve lived your life thinking people only care about you when they want something, but that’s not me. I’ve never been that way.”

Parker’s eyes widen.

“That’s how real it is for me,” I say, continuing. “Your smile. Your happiness. You feeling safe. Those things are what matter because you matter.”

The way Parker steps away from me when I reach out to her, is like a knife to my chest.

“I wanted to show you how easy it is to love you without wanting or needing anything in return. And if you never love me back but believe that, I’ll be happy.” Slowly, I step forward because I can’t not be near her. “My greatest win won’t ever be on the field. It’ll be knowing I made you understand you could be loved exactly as you are with no strings attached.”

A soft cry escapes Parker’s mouth. I dip my head to hers when she reaches out, steadying her shaking hands on my waist.

“It’s easy to make it all about you, Parker. Because for me, it’s always—and only—been you.”

Chapter 33

It’s always been you.

Fitz feeds the words into my mouth. He buries them into the skin of my neck. His hips rolling against me try to nudge them deep. All at once tries to get me to believe them, and he does so by trying to steal my senses, sending them into overdrive. I can’t seem to feel, to taste, to think of anything but him at this moment.

“I love you,” he pants. “I’ve always loved you.”

And still, I fight it. Because never in my life has love come unconditionally. It’s only come with a noose.