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Dim light from the living room cast shadows across his face when I turned away from the door. Parker didn’t move closer, didn’t try to take control or insert himself into my issues. He waited to see what I’d do.
I could escape to my apartment, but that would get Eva’s attention. I could try to suck up the helpless anger coursing through me, go back and fake my way through the rest of the movie. Or I could stop fighting so hard.
The choice was easy. I didn’t actually want solitude. I wanted him.
“Show me.”
Parker took my hand, linking our fingers together as he led me to the door at the end of the hall. His room was bigger than mine, and cleaner, dominated by a giant bed on the far wall. The lock clicked behind me, almost drowned out by the rain spattering against his window.
I wondered if he was keeping the others out or keeping us in. I didn’t bother to turn, but Parker answered my silent question.
“Mac doesn’t respect closed doors. You can leave whenever you want.”
The room smelled like fresh linens, which was weird because I’d never associated that smell with actual linens before. I took a couple of steps, examining Parker’s inner sanctum without actually seeing anything, but my momentary distraction didn’t alleviate the knot in my chest.
When I stopped, my bravado crumbled. I sucked in a shuddering breath, unsure of what I wanted now that I was here.
Parker squeezed my fingers, then circled me. He didn’t push, only slid his hand around the back of my neck and into my hair to pull me close.
I buried my face in his chest and held on tight. We both took a deep breath, and everything relaxed. This was home.Hewas home for me—the safe space I’d lost all those years ago. I didn’t know how it had happened, but I was done denying the truth.
After the last few weeks, I wanted nothing more than to pull him down onto the convenient bed and take advantage of the locked door until we had to go back to school. I clutched Parker’s shirt as he trailed his fingers up and down my back.
“Talk or sleep?”
It was the question he always asked at the end of our study sessions. Until I’d stopped letting him in.
“Both?”
He chuckled. “Okay, you decide which you want to do first.”
I nodded, but neither of us moved. This time was different than all the other ones before. I wasn’t trying to fool myself into thinking we were indulging in a harmless nap. If—when—I crawled into bed with him, it would be because I wanted Parker, not sleep.
14
“My dad had a lot of money…” I trailed off, unsure if that was the right place to start.
Parker drew away enough to lift my chin until I met his eyes. “You don’t have to tell me.”
I wanted to. The urge bubbled up inside me with all the words I couldn’t say—the secrets I wasn’t willing to share with most people. But Parker wasn’t most people.
He searched my face, then led me to his bed, flipping back the covers. “Don’t worry. The sheets are clean. I wash them every Sunday. My mom would murder me if I brought someone in here with a mess.”
A giggle slipped out, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. “I believe that. Your mom is awesome and terrifying.”
“She is.” He smiled and pulled me down with him onto the mattress. We settled into our usual position with Parker on his back and me curled against his side. I tucked my feet under the blanket and let him take some of the weight I’d been carrying.
“I’m the beneficiary of his estate, but all the assets are held in a trust for me until I turn twenty-five.”
“Who was on the phone?”
“My dad’s stepbrother, George. He showed up less than a year after Dad died, claiming he should have been included in the will. I was a freshman at SWU at the time, living in our old house and trying to ignore all the ghosts haunting me around every corner.”
“And playing football.”
A smile slipped out despite the depressing topic. “Yes, and playing football. George sued the estate, and a sympathetic judge ruled in his favor. He was awarded part of the house, and a monthly support payment. I didn’t care by that point. I was going to sell the house as soon as I turned twenty-five anyway, and there was more than enough money in the estate. Except I couldn’t change the terms of the trust.”
Parker tensed. “What happened?”
