“Use it all you want. Marry him. He’ll never really be yours, and you’ll never know it.Or maybe you will.”

“Never let a boy know you’re crazy about him. He’ll lose interest, and then you’ll be a loser.”

“But what I can do is paint you a picture of what you’ll never see when you’re with a guy who’s really into you: You’ll never see you staring maniacally at your phone, willing it to ring. You’ll never see you ruining an evening with friends because you’re calling for your messages every fifteen seconds. You’ll never see you hating yourself for calling him when you know you shouldn’t have. What you will see is you being treated so well that no phone antics will be necessary. You’ll be too busy being adored.”

“No. You said so yourself: a bet’s a bet. After the month’s up, you’ll be off with Parker, he’ll become a doctor, you’ll get married and have your two-point-five children and I’ll never see you again.” He grimaced at his own words. “I still have three weeks. I’m not giving that up for lunch room gossip.”

“I know you’ll never love me but maybe you’ll stay for awhile.”

“You can pretend that your life is going on when really, all along, you’re trapped in a moment you’ll never be able to change.”