Page 31 of Where the Little Birds Are (Little Bird Duet 2)

Parker. How was I supposed to ask something like that? “I’m sorry, okay? It isn’t like I planned any of this to happen between us. But I’m not upset that it did.”

Her head turns to look at anything but me. She draws her legs onto the mattress and crosses them under her. “Didn’t you though?”

I wet my lips and give her that one. “I wanted the part, so maybe I did plan it in some ways. I just wanted to be in your life. We’ve been through this.”

She stares at her lap, her fingers fidgeting with one another. “I talked to Gavin. You told me to ask him about what happened in Lincoln, but I didn’t want anything to change.”

I walk over and sit beside her, pushing past the ex-fiancé tidbit for now. “Why not?”

Her head turns to me. “Because I’m sick of everything changing. I wanted to hate you. I wanted to keep you at a distance. If Gavin told me something that changed how I thought of you, then I’d have to admit I was wrong. When you insisted that you two knew something I didn’t, I thought we were finally heading in the right direction. Moving on from the past.”

I nod. “We were.”

She inhales slowly, blowing it out before flattening her palms against her leggings. “I’m sorry for what he did. You have to know something important, okay?”

I wait for her to say something.

“I was never with Zach.”

My lips part as I blink at her.

She stands up and shoves her hands into the large pocket of my old sweatshirt. “How many times did I tell you that him and I were friends? That never changed after you left. If anything, he became the kind of friend I needed. I was happy to have him be there for me, but it was never like … what Gavin made it out to be. He and I got into a fight over it.”

My throat hurts as I swallow. “You and Zach never…?”

She just shakes her head.

“Never?”

Her shoulders drop. “Do you want me to paint you a picture? No. Zach and I were friends. We still are, in case you’re wondering.”

“I know.”

Her brows arch.

I rub the back of my neck. “I was desperate to reach out to you when you didn’t use my number. I found him online and asked if he knew how I could get in touch with you.”

She laughs when I least expect it. “You thought he and I were a thing and you still reached out to him to get in touch with me?”

I stand. Part of me always knew what Gavin said was bullshit, but I didn’t want to question it. I’d always seen how they interacted in school. Zach liked her and she knew it. It wasn’t farfetched to believe he comforted her when she needed it.

“Your brother loves you.”

She hesitates. “I know.”

“He was protecting you.”

She kicks the carpet with her toe. “It doesn’t change anything. Don’t you get it? We would have been together. We could have had a chance. Right person, wrong time. Remember?”

“But look at us.” I gesture around. “We have done pretty good considering. You have an amazing house, a successful career. You’re doing what you always said you would. Could you say the same if we’d gotten that chance before?”

I can tell my words sink in because she blows out a breath and shakes her head. When she doesn’t say anything, I step closer and grab her hand. “Look at me, Little Bird. We have obstacles that won’t be easy to get past, but they’re not impossible. I don’t want either of us to walk away. We need each other.”

Her bottom lip trembles. “You have no idea,” she whispers, voice cracking as I pull her into me. My hand cradles the back of her head, brushing my fingers through her hair. Her hands lock on my sides, keeping some distance between us as I hush her like I used to when she was upset.

Tears soak my shoulder, causing my own emotions to rise up the back of my throat. “Please don’t cry, baby. I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. It will be different. I’m not going anywhere.”

She lets go of me and peels herself away, damp face and hollow eyes meeting mine. “I need you to remember that, Corbin.”

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