Page 113 of Hold Me Tight

We stay like that for a long, quiet beat. Just soaking each other in and steadying ourselves in the stillness.

And for now, that’s enough.

It has to be.

41

Callie

The room is dark and quiet, save for the gentle rhythm of River’s breathing beside me. He’s fast asleep, one arm flung over his face, his chest rising and falling in a slow, steady pattern that should be comforting.

And normally, it is.

Tonight, though, the stillness does nothing to soothe me.

It only makes everything louder.

My thoughts won’t stop spinning.

The game.

The locker room.

Zane.

The loan.

The way River looked at me like I was his whole world, even after I told him everything.

I roll onto my side and watch him in the faint silver wash of moonlight that leaks in through the curtains. His lashes are feathered against his cheek, his jaw dark with stubble, and one hand curls loosely against his bare stomach.

Physically speaking, the man is beautiful.

But he’s so much more than that.

He’s kind.

Generous.

Reliable.

And he’s still here after everything I confessed. He didn’t walk away or tell me to pack up and get out.

Zane might’ve said all the right things earlier tonight, but River’s been showing them from the moment he opened his door and let me and Nora in.

Every breakfast he made.

Every book he read at bedtime.

Every small moment he didn’t have to offer but gave anyway.

He’s loved Nora without hesitation, like it’s woven into his DNA.

And she’s fallen for him, completely and without question.

If I’m being honest, so have I.

The ache inside me expands so quickly, it nearly swallows me whole.