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"What did he want?"

"To make sure I was good enough for you."

"That's not his business," she growls, making me smile a little. Yeah, she's still mad as hell at him. I don't hate it.

"He's in love with you."

She goes rigid, blinking at me. "What?"

"Didn't think you knew," I mutter. "He didn't think you did, either."

"But…" Her mouth works, but no sound comes out. She's shell-shocked, trying to figure out how the fuck she missed it. I know, though. She missed it because she wasn't looking for it. Because she's Callie and she took him at his word. He told her they were friends, and she believed that. She trusted that. It's what she does, not because she's naïve or stupid but simply because that's the world she wants to live in—one where people can be trusted.

"He lied about a lot of shit, Callie," I warn her, my tone gentle. "In his mind, I think he convinced himself he was doing it for the right reasons, but you're going to be pissed about it anyway."

"What'd he lie about?"

I quickly fill her in on the conversation, refusing to keep secrets from her. Hopefully, he'll do the right thing and come clean. But should he choose not to do that, I'm not going to cover for him. I'm not going to keep the truth from her in the hopes that he eventually grows a fucking conscience. She deserves to know. She always deserved to know.

"Why didn't he just tell me?" she asks when I've finally laid it all out there for her, her voice as sad as her expression. "I would have understood."

"I think he wanted to be the hero," I murmur, rubbing her back. "He wanted to be the one who helped make your dreams come true. And when he couldn't do that, he decided going behind your back and not telling you the details was the best way to get the job done. I don't know what he was thinking, but you deserved the truth."

"Yeah," she whispers. And then she sighs. "I would have understood had he just been honest. But all the lying? The hiding? Stealing to pay people back? I don't know how to forgive that. It's like everything he's said to me for the last year has been a lie. How do you even begin to forgive that?"

"No one said you have to forgive it, songbird," I remind her. "You don't owe him forgiveness for the mess he made. Even if he told himself he was doing it to help you, he had his own reasons, and they had nothing to do with you. That's not on you, and it's not up to you to fix it for him. He had a year to make it right or tell the truth. He chose not to do that. You're allowed to walk away."

"It just sucks," she mutters, scowling. "He was my friend. And the whole time he was…what? Trying to make me fall in love with him? It just feels gross."

"It is gross."

"I don't forgive him."

"I warned him that you probably wouldn't."

"You did?" She seems surprised.

"I know you, baby. Honesty matters to you." I take a breath, then exhale it. "That's why I have one more thing to say."

"What now?" she groans.

"I think we need to start using condoms."

Her gaze flies to mine, her eyes wide.

"Your career is just starting," I murmur. "And as much as I'd love to get you pregnant, I don't want you in the same position my mom was in, saddled with a kid you weren't ready for. She loved me as much as she could, but I wasn't what she wanted."

"Bishop." Callie's face falls.

"It's okay, songbird. I knew a long time ago. I guess maybe that's why I've always been so fucking bitter. She kept me because my pops wanted me, but I wasn't ever part of her plans. I was the sacrifice she made for my pops."

"I'm sorry," Callie whispers.

"It's not your fault. Hell, I'm not even sure it was hers. She did what she thought would make him happy, even when it wasn't what she wanted. She wasn't a monster. She loved me the best she could. She just…wanted her career more than she wanted me. I can't fault her for that." I blow out a breath, holding Callie's gaze. "But I won't put you in the same position by getting you pregnant before you're ready. We need to protect you."

She stares at me for a moment. "We can do that if it's what you want," she says slowly. "But you should know that if I were to get pregnant with your baby, that'd be the best day of my life, Bishop. I'd never regret it."

Fuck. She's killing me here.