Page 46 of Hold Me Tight

And that’s the real danger, isn’t it?

There’ll come a point when River decides he’s done playing house and walks away after worming his way into both of our hearts.

It won’t just break me.

It’ll break Nora too.

And I don’t know if either of us could survive it.

20

River

“As soon as the season is over, we’re gonna start filming. You can’t believe how much money the network is dumping into this. It’s like we’re gonna be printing cash.”

Zane slides one palm against the other, like he’s handing out Benjamins at a strip club.

I stare at him for what feels like the hundredth time, and wonder how the hell we were ever friends in the first place.

Was it him who changed?

Or me?

Maybe it was both of us.

We came in together as rookies. We were green, hungry, and ready to take the league by storm. We clicked right away. Same line. Same grind. Same goals.

But now?

Every damn word out of his mouth is laced with bullshit.

It’s tiring.

He’s sprawled across the bench in front of his locker, towel barely hanging around his hips, yapping loud enough for the entire room to hear. I pull my sweatshirt over my head, jamming my arms through the sleeves like the motion will keep me from losing it.

Even though no one is asking questions, he keeps yammering about his reality star dreams.

“The producers want to feature Nora in a few of the episodes. You know, give it a wholesome, family vibe. Viewers eat that shit up.”

My head snaps toward him as I scowl. “Your daughter isn’t a prop.”

He barks out a laugh and claps a hand on my shoulder like we’re still bros. “Relax, man. It’ll be good exposure. I’m sure Callie will be fine with it. And who knows? Maybe this little setup can be lucrative for all of us. Callie can play the part of jealous ex who just wants her man back.”

The muscles in my jaw go tight and my hand curls into a fist at my side. For a second, I can actually picture my knuckles crashing into his face.

Just once.

Hard enough to knock some goddamn sense into him.

Like he hasn’t hurt Callie enough?

Now he wants her publicly humiliated on national TV?

And to bring Nora into it?

Neither of them should be used as pawns in Zane’s next publicity stunt.

They deserve better.