Page 46 of Say It Isn't So

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.”