Page 38 of Say It Isn't So

“Bianca, I—”

She brushed her hair back and exhaled. “How stupid do people think I am? Do you think I’m stupid? Because clearly my father does.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think you’re stupid, far from it, actually.” Then I sighed. “But earlier it didn’t feel right telling you why your father did what he did, that he thought I’d use you and you’d be gullible enough to fall for it.” I hated every word that was coming out of my mouth. But I wasn’t the one that had caused this, and as much as I didn’t want Bianca to be hurt, it seemed she already was, so there was no longer a good reason to hold back. “I couldn’t be the one to say those things to you. Honestly, I was hoping you’d never find out exactly what he said.”

Her eyes thin slits, she shot back, “Real nice, Knox. You wanted to keep me in the dark, too, like my dad.” She was speaking with her hands now, which she always did whenever she was fired up about something. “Why do the men in my life think they need to make decisions for me?”

This was spiraling out of control. I grabbed the back of my neck and hoped the words would come out right. “You have to understand, things were different back then. Two years ago I feared he might be right,” I told her, but it lingered in the air between us, almost as if it was a question instead of a statement. “What if I could’ve been that horrible?”

She shook her head as she kept moving, wearing out the carpet in my room. “I don’t think you have that in you. But you said you didn’t want me to know what he said to you. Why?”

“You and your dad have always been close, and you already lost your mom.” I paused to search for the best way to say it. “I didn’t want you to argue with your dad. That’s not you, Bianca. Remember, forgive and forget?”

She widened her eyes and pointed a finger at my chest, looking like she was ready for an all-out war. “This is different. I can forgive and forget a lot. But this, this. . . I mean, he doesn’t trust my judgment. That’s what this is all about.”

“He worries about you. You were right before—it came from a good place. He was trying to protect you. If I was in his shoes, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

Her facial expression softened, and she licked her lips, turning vulnerable for the first time through this whole exchange. “I hate that I’m always seen as the flighty one, the one who’s irresponsible with bad judgment.”

I put my hands on her shoulders to stop her from pacing. She relaxed almost immediately under my touch and I felt like a champion, like I just won big, knowing I could do that for her. My eyes met hers and for the first time since we connected again, it was like we were actuallyconnecting, actually seeing each other. “I don’t see you that way. I see you as bold and passionate and smart.”

She rolled her eyes. “Try telling my dad that. He still sees me as this little girl who needs saving because she can’t help herself.”

I hated that. I hated that he couldn’t see the strong, tough as nails woman she had always been. My jaw felt so tense, it felt like it was made of stone. “Don’t let what people think, your father included, hold so much weight. You’re you and you shouldn’t want to be anyone else. I’ve always liked you for exactly who you are. And I’ve never thought you needed saving. If anything, you’d be the one to save everyone around you.”

Her eyes flashed and I knew she felt understood, like someone was taking the time to reallyseeher. She should only know I had always seen her. It just wasn’t our time.

Bianca spoke up, saying, “Well, I see you as strong and determined and fierce for turning your whole life around. You’re an inspiration, Knox, not a villain.”

I zeroed in on her and dropped my hands from her, running a hand down my face, a humorless chuckle escaping me. “I left you. Walked away from you because of your father. That makes me the very definition of a villain.”

She blinked. “I disagree strongly.” She sighed and sat down on the bed, kicking her heels off before dropping her feet down to the plush carpet and standing again.

She had fire in her eyes, but this fire was aflame for something else. I begged this wasn’t just in my head and that she really wanted something else. Because, man, that was all I wanted. As she took a step closer, I knew we wanted the same thing.

I couldn’t deny it. Not anymore.

I mean, I felt like a ticking time bomb when I was around her. I couldn’t stop this wild need to be wrapped up in her.

I stepped closer, unable to escape the magnetism between us.

Closing the gap, she brought her hand to my cheek and stared into my eyes.

I turned my gaze to the floor and shook my head. This couldn’t happen. It didn’t matter how badly we wanted it. Angelo would never get over it and it would only hurt Bianca. And I’d rather slit my own wrist than see Bianca hurt in any way.

“Bianca,” I started, ready to make sure she really wanted to do this, but she shushed me with a finger on my lips like she knew what I was about to say and didn’t want to hear it. Well, guess what, I didn’t want to say it and my self-control when it came to Bianca was like a rubber band—bound to snap—so to hell with the consequences. To hell with it all. What Angelo didn’t know wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?

“Knox,” she breathed softly.

Her hot breath on me sent all the blood in my body south. I dropped my head and brought my hands to her face as my eyes traced her lips greedily, hungrily. I angled her head. I needed a taste of her, just one taste. I couldn’t keep resisting her. It was too hard.

Without those shoes of hers, she was short, and I found it impossibly cute. I could have stood here with her like this forever. My lips, a hair’s breadth away from hers, I could smell her sweetness. I moved to press my lips down on hers carefully, intending on taking it slow at first, driving her crazy with a brush of my lips over hers before taking her with more intensity. A rapping distracted me, though, and I froze.

Shaking it off, I blamed Angelo. It had to have been him—he was in my head.

Then Bianca’s hands found my shoulders and she pushed me back. Under a thick set of lashes, she looked up at me and said, “The door.”

“What?” I shook my head, not sure I was following her.

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