Page 114 of Say It Isn't So

She cringed. Visibly cringed. “Ew. That carousel is something my nightmares are made of.”

My eyes went wide. “What do you mean? You used to love that thing. We went on it a lot if you recall.”

“Yeah, but that was a long time ago and things are different now. That was part of my past. That was something Rina Blum enjoyed.”

I rolled my eyes and led us straight toward it. “Well, maybe it’s time you see if Rina Levana would enjoy it, too. I know the new you doesn’t do things like this and you’ve changed, but pacify me, would you?”

She looked hesitant as her eyes flicked from the carousel to me and then back again to the fake horses. “Fine,” she gave in, but pointed a finger at me, growing serious. “But this is a one time only thing and we don’t ever speak of it again.”

I raised my brows. “Unless you have fun.”

“I doubt I will.”

What was she so afraid of?

I took care of getting our tickets and guided her to the landing where I extended a hand. “Lady’s choice.”

She looked around and gave me a silly smile. “Knox, this is weird. We’re not kids anymore. Adults don’t do this.”

I shook my head. “Yes, they do. Come on. No one’s taking pictures. No one even knows we’re here. It’ll stay between us.”

She raised a brow and her eyes looked into mine, searching them.

“Hey.” I held up my hands in surrender. “Who am I going to tell?”

“All right, if you insist.” She pointed to a black horse. “I guess I pick that one. Will you stand beside me?” she asked suddenly.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d have said a nervous tone hit her voice. I had no idea where that had come from, but it was the first time I saw a small glimmer of the Rina I used to know. Maybe Rina Blum wasn’t as dead and buried inside Rina Levana as I’d thought she was.

The question was, where did the Knox that knew that girl go? Because something was still definitely off between us.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Bianca

When you didn’twork, every day was Sunday. So I decided I’d do what I usually did on a Sunday—sketch.

Now, especially, it gave me purpose.

So choosing to pull back the curtains in the living room, I sat down on the floor in front of the couch with my sketchbook and pencils.

I was considering a colored wedding dress today, noticing that had been a trend lately. Blue seemed to be increasingly popular, but I was drawn to red, so I tried a few looks, but didn’t like them and ended up tearing the pages out and crinkling them up.

The colored idea was out, I decided, clearing my head.

Reaching for my phone, I turned music on, hoping that would help. After a few more failed attempts, my pencil was flying across the page. So pleased with what I’d created, I picked up my book and held it to my chest, dancing in circles with it to the music that played in the background.

Just as I pushed it away from me to look at it once more from this new angle, Knox, of course, walked in and started laughing at me.

“What are you doing?” he asked, pressing his lips together as he fought a smile, but it was clear he was amused by my actions.

Acting coy, my lips turned downward and I shook my head slightly, immediately pulling the sketchbook back to my chest and slumping down on the couch. “Nothing.”

Walking up to me, he raised an eyebrow. “Come on, tell me. That’s like the third time I’ve seen you with that thing. What are you doing over there?”

I closed the cover and stuffed it under a pillow. I wished this was one of those out of sight, out of mind moments, but something told me he wouldn’t forget it just because a pillow was resting on top of it. “Don’t you have work to do?”Ha!That was a valid question. The fashion business never slept, so why should he be able to take a break? How could he afford to, really?

A mischievous look crossed his face and he smirked. “No. Come on,” he said and slipped his arms around me in the direction of the pillow. “Please,” he tried, his hands behind me, now laying down on top of the pillow, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes.

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