Chapter Twenty-Six

Knox

new york

After being in Europe, coming back to the office felt like going back to school after summer vacation. Don’t get me wrong, my job wasn’t all fun and games, and fashion weeks were anything but a vacation, but there was definitely that distinct difference that hung in the air.

So after recovering from jet lag, I was finally back, walking the hallowed halls. And by hallowed halls, I meant the posh high-rise we called Blog HQ.

Stepping off the elevator, I looked around and inhaled the familiar scent of orange that the cleaning crew used to polish the common areas. It felt good to be back.

One pull of the door and I saw the back of a redhead sitting in a black leather chair in our lobby. Groaning inwardly, I feared what that could mean, because it could only be one woman—Rina. Only Rina would show up at my office in New York after running into each other overseas.

As far as I knew, she hadn’t been back to New York since that day she’d left me, so it begged the question, why now?

I walked into the lobby and around the chair she sat in. “Rina, what are you doing here?” I asked, but what I really wanted to know was: wasn’t Europe enough?

Uncrossing her leg, she stood up and placed her hands on my shoulders, bringing me close to her. Close enough that she could kiss both my cheeks. That was certainly something she’d picked up in Europe.

“Knox, I called your office and they said you’d be back today,” she explained, which unfortunately didn’t explain much.

I nodded, still not making a move to go into my office or walk away from her, which I was strongly considering, if I was being honest. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it for some reason. “And?”

“I wanted to see you, silly.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and looked at me expectantly.

Not that I knew what she wanted me to say. So I went with a safe bet—“Okay,” hoping she’d give me something to work with in return.

Looping an arm through mine, she smiled. “Show me your office?”

I patted her hand that was around my arm. “Rina, I have work to do. Why don’t you just tell me why you’re here?” I really didn’t have time for all this coy back and forth, besides the fact that I really wasn’t interested in playing games with her.

“I want to discuss my advertising.”

“But you don’t advertise with us,” I pointed out.

She sighed and angled her head as if speaking to a child. “I know that, but I’d like to.”

“You flew out to New York to discuss advertising? With our blog?” I had a hard time buying that. Picking up the phone and calling would have made more sense.

She nodded, though, steadfast in whatever her mission was. “Yes. So, where’s your office?”

* * *

Rina

I’m back!

Why was he always acting shocked to see me? What didn’t he understand when I’d told him I was going to fight for him? I couldn’t very well fight for him from Europe while he was in New York.

That meant that I’d needed to buckle in for the ride of my life and call New York my home for a while, or at least until we headed back to Europe for fashion weeks again.

There was no way I could ignore the powers that be—whatever had brought us together again—not when it was just the right time in our lives.

This was our moment, and I wasn’t going to let it slip away.

“Have a seat,” Knox instructed as we walked into his office finally. He shut the door behind him.

I smoothed down the front of my dress and sat. “Thank you. So how have you been?” I asked in a sing-song voice, trying my best to make this seem as casual as possible. Really, it was anything but. He didn’t know it yet, but I was staring into the eyes of the man I was meant to be with.

“Since you broke up with me or since I left Europe?” he deadpanned.

I sensed he wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t letting it get to me. “You always were funny,” I said, chuckling. “And how have I been? Oh, well, thanks for asking. My flight was long, far too long, but it gave me a lot of time to think.” About Knox. About us. About me and Knox. Okay, so now I sound like a broken record and you probably get the picture—I’ve been thinking about him a lot.

Sitting down at his desk, he fisted his hands on the top of it and asked, “You were thinking about advertising, I take it?”

Ugh, apparently he was going to make this hard, so I’d have to go with it. “Sure. I want everyone to know my name, so why don’t you brainstorm a few options, and while you’re thinking, maybe we can talk.”

“What about?”

“Us,” I said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I want to talk about us.”

He exhaled. “There is no us.”

I spun the gold cuff bracelet on my wrist and thought carefully about my next words. The thing was, I knew there was no us, but there could be. He just had to let himself see that. “Is this because of Bianca? Did something happen between you two?” Never mind, I didn’t want to think about that. I shook my head and smiled. “It doesn’t matter. Even if you did sleep with her, I don’t care. I meant it when I said, you do what you have to so you can get her out of your system.”

* * *

Knox

Did I sleep with Bianca? Yes.

Did we have sex? No.

Did I want to have sex with her? Yes.

Did any of this change the fact that I was sitting across from a woman who I didn’t want to talk about any of this with? Nope.

Sitting back, I raked a hand through my hair. “We didn’t sleep together.”

Her shoulders relaxed as she sighed. “So you’re having second thoughts?”

“Rina, I know why you think it’s a good idea to get back together, but we can’t very well pick up where we left off.”

“See, but that’s the thing. I don’t want to. Not really anyway. Let’s forget all that icky stuff about our pasts and embark on a future together.”

“You’ve changed,” I observed.

“Yes, but then again, haven’t you?”

I nodded. “True, but that doesn’t change the fact that there’s no chemistry between us anymore. At least, I don’t feel anything.” That sounds bad, but it needed to be said.

“Now,” she said, pointing at me, “but you will. We just need to spend more time together. You’ll see.”

“I thought you wanted to discuss advertising, so maybe we should just stick to that.”

* * *

Rina

So maybe this wasn’t a home run, but you knew what they said— when you don’t succeed, try, try again .

That was my whole motto.

So I was prepared to do just that. That was why I’d hit pause on my whole life and business in Spain and flew out here. I just needed a few days with him and everything could change.

And that was really what I’d thought. But the more I sat here, it became very obvious very quickly that my motto might not apply in this situation.

Let me paint you a little picture: Me sitting here. Knox, across from me, talking about the different advertising packages his company offered. Talking and talking and talking. Never once did he show interest or emotion. Never once did he act like he used to around me. So, it dawned on me that maybe I had been kidding myself.

Could it be possible that he really didn’t feel anything for me anymore?

Would time together actually help us? Could it be the answer I was hoping for, or could it just mean heartbreak for me? Because let’s face it, there was only so much rejection a person could take.