“I like Nathan,” I finally say. “Like, I like him for real.” Parker eyes me curiously. “Okay. But…wouldn’t this be a good thing? A way to get to know him better?” “Only if he were also interested in me,” I say, “and he’s not. Believe me. We’ve talked about it, and he’s made that perfectly clear.” Her face falls. “So you’d be pretending, knowing that—” “It will only ever be pretend.”
