Chapter Fourteen

Knox

Every time Bianca walked into a room she silently stole focus. All eyes would go to her as she moved, swaying her hips from side to side, her perfect peach-shaped ass accentuated in most clothes, and don’t even get me started on her curves. She was a heck of a woman, and I doubted she knew just how incredibly sexy she was.

But I was certain everyone else did. Just look at all the heads that turned as she made her bold entrance into the restaurant.

Today she captivated in a pleated plaid mini skirt and suit jacket. Man, that hot schoolgirl outfit was going to be the death of me. Why did I insist on having her join me? Oh, that was right, because I’d wanted to see her.

My throat went dry with every step she took, her heels beating on the floor as she walked because how could they not? She was a heavy walker, and I could hear her footsteps miles away. Just another thing I couldn’t get enough of—those heels.

When she lifted her sunglasses to her head and finally spotted me, I waved as she approached.

Her eyes practically sparkled. She had such big eyes that I could never seem to look away. Honestly, I’d stare into them all day if I could.

Her hair was pulled back in some half up, half down thing, but I still wanted to get my hands caught up in the beautiful mess.

Suffice it to say, I wanted her.

Bad.

That was no secret.

Maybe if we could just have one night together, it’d be enough.

One taste.

One touch.

That was what I kept telling myself, but would that do?

“Hey,” Bianca said as she got to the table. “Thanks for inviting me.” She looked around and rolled her lips. They were sparkling with some sort of glossy shit and all I wanted was for her to wrap those lips around my cock. “This place is incredible. But how’d you get a reservation on such short notice?”

I cleared my throat and swallowed hard, feeling much too much like a horny teenage boy for my liking. Even when I had been a teenage boy, I hadn’t acted like this, so why now? Oh, that was right, one word: Bianca. Ignoring all that, I answered her question—“I had a meeting with a press person for a designer, but it fell through.”

She gasped, her eyes wider than usual as she took a seat and placed her purse in her lap. “They’re not showing up?” She placed an arm on the table and extended it, as though wanting me to meet her halfway and touch her hand with mine.

Oh, geez, it was official. I was back in middle school.

Pull yourself together, Knox, I thought to myself.

Instead of thinking about what signal she was giving me, I reached for my glass and took a sip of my drink. “No, but they did call when I got here, so that’s something.”

“I’m sorry, Knox.” She frowned and stretched her arm more to meet me, so this time I placed my arm there and took her hand in mine, appreciating her soft, small hands and delicate fingers.

“Thanks, but it’s really not a big deal. It was a long shot, to be honest. They were a big designer, so it’s little wonder someone else snatched them up and took all their marketing dollars with them.”

She frowned. “Some people are so foolish. They should only know no one will ever work as hard for them as you will. You go above and beyond for your advertisers. I’ve seen it firsthand.”

I looked at her and watched the corners of her full lips start to curve upward into a smile. That smile was something else. “You go above and beyond yourself. You have one of the biggest hearts.”

She laughed and retreated her hand, smirking. “Knox, I’d say flattery will get you nowhere, but we both know that’s wrong. It’ll get you everywhere with me,” she finally said and burst out laughing again.

This time I joined her. “So how was it seeing Karoline again?”

She’d told me she was going to Karoline’s show, and that she was nervous about attending because her mother and Karoline were so close. She thought she’d be flooded with memories of her mother. If you looked at Bianca you wouldn’t have known that she was still grieving. She did a great job of putting on a brave face for the world to see. For her family to see. But she didn’t need to be strong for my benefit. I’d take Bianca in any form. Even if that meant talking about her mother and wiping away her tears as she did.

We’d been good friends once and I wanted us to get to that place again.

I’d missed her. More than I realized.

Bianca’s eyes looked everywhere but at me, something she did when she didn’t want to talk about something. Finally, she settled her gaze on the table and grinned. “It was nice, actually.” She shrugged. “Like I told you, I haven’t seen Karoline since the funeral, and I thought it would be hard. But I needed that. I needed to see her and that show.” She shook her head and placed a hand on the table again. “Knox, I mean, that show was everything. Her entire collection is made to inspire people to embrace who they really are.”

Her eyes always lit up when she talked about fashion. It was cute.

“I’m telling you,” she went on, “it inspires me.”

I smiled, angling my head. “Come on,” I said, standing up. “I have an idea.” It wasn’t like we’d ordered yet or anything.

She looked around, clearly confused. “But we didn’t eat.”

“We will, just not here.”

I couldn’t think long-term right now because there was just too much going on, between fearing her father’s wrath and figuring out what to do about Rina. But I wanted to make the most of the time we did have. No regrets. Besides, once we left London, who knew what the future held for us?

Did I really want one of our memories to be sitting in a stuffy restaurant?

She got up, put her purse under her arm, and adjusted her skirt, pulling it down since it was starting to ride up. With a skirt that short, I had other ideas, but I was going to keep those to myself for now. “You’re being mysterious, but I’m down for an adventure. Lead the way.”

I started walking and heard Bianca a step behind me until we got to the door and I opened it for her.

“Why, thank you,” she gushed, turning when she was outside and looking back at me until I came up beside her and we began walking again.

Our hands were a fraction away from one another at our sides, and it would’ve been so easy to brush my fingers against hers.

She looked down and asked the million-dollar question—“So what happened with Rina last night?”

Was she prepared to hear the truth? But, could I lie to her? What would she think? I squared my shoulders and looked forward as I answered the only way I knew how—earnestly. “She wants to fight for me.”

It was bound to come up again, and I had never lied to Bianca yet—okay, except for that time when I did about the real reason I’d ended all communication with her, but then I’d been honest about it. I wasn’t going to start doling out lies like they were candy now.

Bianca arched a brow and cleared her throat.

I wished I could read her mind.

“And what do you want?” Clarifying, she questioned, “Is that what you want, for her to fight for you?”

I raked a hand through my hair and blew outward. “I want this nightmare to be over.” And there really was no other way to put it, it was a nightmare—after all this time, to reconnect with Bianca and Rina in the same week—what other word was there? It was quite literally my past and present—and dare I say future—colliding.

She bumped into me as we walked, and smiled. “If that were true, you would’ve turned her down the moment she said that. But something tells me you didn’t.”

My eyes darted to hers and I could see the kindness in them. Even though there was obviously something between us—whatever that was exactly, I wasn’t certain at the moment—she wanted me to be happy.

“Just know this,” she told me, as if reading my mind, “if there’s any hope for us, like I sensed there might’ve been before she showed up, I’m not walking away, either. Not unless you tell me to.”

A smile played at the corner of my lips. “Glad to hear it because I don’t want you to go anywhere.”

She nodded, as though content with my answer and a little relieved I didn’t say something else. What else would I have said, though? “Good because you still owe me a kiss.” She looked at me pointedly and pursed her lips.

“That’s a debt I’m okay with.”

She licked her lips. “Are you sure? I’m as bad as banks. I charge interest.”

“Oh, yeah? What sort of interest?”

She looked ahead and laughed. “At this point, you’re going to owe me three kisses,” she said, so sure of herself.

“Oof,” I joked, “pretty bad interest rate. I don’t know if I can keep up.”

“Something tells me you can.” She winked at me. I didn’t want this to end, I wanted us to stay like this, in our little London bubble forever. Because once we left London who knew what was going to happen.

“So where are you taking me anyway? I thought you wanted me to eat and I am pretty hungry, if I’m being honest.”

I nodded. “I am, too, but you can’t come to London and not have fish and chips. And something tells me you’ve never had that.”

She shook her head, confirming my suspicions. “And that restaurant didn’t have fish and chips?”

“No, but don’t worry, we’re almost there. This place makes it the best.”

“You know this for a fact?”

I nodded. “Every time I visit, I try a new one and this place ranks, trust me.”

* * *

“I’ll be honest, I thought you were being ridiculous about this whole fish and chips thing,” Bianca confessed between bites, “but this is the best fried food I’ve ever had.” She patted her mouth with a napkin and I couldn’t believe I was thinking this, but I was jealous of that napkin. I wanted to be that napkin. “I think it’s the authentic way they serve it that makes all the difference,” she said, crumpling up her old newspaper and setting it on the tray.

I swallowed my own bite and chuckled. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the ink,” I jested.

She playfully leaned across the two-person table we were sitting at and swatted my arm. “How’d you learn about this place?”

I looked around and grinned at its worldly charm. “Last time I was here, I made friends with a local and he suggested it.”

Her water in between her hands now, she leaned forward. Don’t look down at her cleavage. Whatever you do, don’t peer down. “Thanks for sharing it with me.” Too late. I never considered myself much of a boob man, but when it came to Bianca Morelli, I was an every-body-part man.

After taking a sip, she drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “Maybe when we’re in Milan, I can take you to a place I really love.”

Neither one of us brought up Milan yet, so I was surprised when she did. We’d made no promises, but then again it made sense if we continued hanging out. It seemed like we both knew what we wanted—to be around each other—and we were going to the same places for the next few weeks anyway.

Until an image of Angelo popped into my head.

He’d have a conniption if he knew.

Shaking away the thought, I allowed my gaze to be drawn to her mouth, like a moth to a flame.

Stop staring at her lips.

But I couldn’t stop imagining what it’d be like to kiss her.

Okay, so now two things are off-limits in my head: Angelo and her full lips. More specifically the way they could—

My thoughts were interrupted when Bianca’s foot made contact with my leg, the side of it moving up my shin. “Bianca,” I drew out her name through gritted teeth.

She leaned forward and parted her lips slightly before breathing, “Knox.” She said it in a soft, deep, throaty voice, like a cat’s purr, like she did in my hotel room and I had to clench my hand into a fist to try to control my body’s reaction to that sound.

What I wanted to do was get up, walk over there, pull her into my arms, and kiss her breathless. Kiss her until we’d both forgotten we were in public.

But then another should-be-off-limits topic popped into my head—that stupid conversation with Rina.

She wasn’t even here and she was ruining this moment.

Let’s be clear on something, I didn’t have feelings for Rina. Not anymore. But I’d be lying if I said it wouldn’t be easier with her.

I cleared my throat and tilted my head toward the door. Maybe some fresh air would do me some good. “We should get going.” Or I may just lose my mind. “We wouldn’t want to be late for Stefan’s catwalk.”

Her foot dropped and she retreated, leaning back and grabbing her purse from her lap. “Yeah, right.” I thought I saw the sparkle in her eye disappear. But that was only because it was replaced by a fire. That same fire I’d seen before. She added, “But just so we’re clear, what Rina wants changes nothing for me. I’ve never been too good with not getting what I want, and I think it’s pretty clear what that is.”

As I got up from my seat, I pulled at the back of my neck and groaned.

Great. Was there some sort of guidebook on what to do when two headstrong women didn’t like not getting their way? Because someone please mail me the book, okay? Something told me I was going to need all the help I could get.

What was that saying about being wrapped helically around an axis? Yeah, that was me.

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I seek the drama.

The unsolicited advice.

Desire to know what is right.

But do the wrong.

Bring on the chaos.

I implore you to be forceful.

To leave disaster in your wake.

Pain and suffering.

Love can break you,

But fashion will fulfill you.

The calm from the storm.

To leave room for the new you to be born.