Page 86 of Say It Isn't So

He finally finished zipping me up and I turned around, dropping my hold on the dress and letting him get the full effect of it. “I was actually thinking of buying this one.” Correction: I wasn’t really, but as I watched him wet his lips and take in the sight of me again, I thought I might.

He nodded and, with a huskiness in his voice, responded, “I think you’re making the right call.”

“You know,” I said, splaying my hands on his chest as I looked up at him, “I wouldn’t mind if we skipped our first date and went straight to the fun part. Bonus points if this dress doesn’t make it out unscathed.” Because with the way I felt, I wanted him to tear it off me using his teeth.

“As much as I’d like that, we agreed not to rush this and I think if we skipped right to the good stuff, we wouldn’t know the full potential of this”—he motioned between us—“and we owe that to ourselves.”

What I owed myself was a hot night with this man or an award for having kept my hands to myself for as long as I had. For those of you who weren’t sure, this man was meant to be enjoyed and worshipped. He looked. . . delicious.

Clearing his throat, he backed up and ran a hand through his hair. “So we should probably get going.” He looked around and I did the same, noticing what he already picked up on—that everyone was starting to leave. “I think our time is up.”

I smacked my lips together and nodded. “Well, it was fun while it lasted. I’ve always thought these things were so cool when I saw content creators posting about their experiences. I’m glad I got a chance to do it.” I found his hand and laced our fingers together. “Thank you for coming with me.”

Knox was always supportive of me. That was worth something. I had never experienced that with anyone else I’d been with. Usually I supported them and their passions and dreams, but never the other way around. I had to admit, it was nice for him to encourage me and be there for me.

He smiled. “Where else would I be, other than right by your side?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Bianca

Exiting the taxi,Knox held my hand—a definite necessity because he’d insisted on blindfolding me, wanting our destination to be a surprise.

“Where are we?” I asked, hearing a lot of noise, but unable to make out any of it. One hand instinctively went to the strip of fabric covering my eyes.

He tapped my hand and tsked. “Not yet. You keep that thing on. We’re almost there.”

If this were the bedroom, I’d be perfectly fine with keeping it on—there was nothing wrong with having a little fun—but this was Paris, for crying out loud. I was dying here. But I didn’t want to ruin his surprise, so I decided to succumb and be guided.

He led me half a dozen steps and then stopped. “Okay,” he announced and his hands went behind my head to untie the blindfold. “Look up,” he commanded as it slipped from my eyes.

I gasped, my heart beating so fast, I feared it might beat right out of my chest. “Knox, this is the Eiffel-frigging-Tower. We’re eating at the Eiffel Tower?” This was bucket list kind of stuff, people! I’d always wanted to eat in the tower, especially when it was all lit up, but for all the times I’d come to Paris, I never had. Honestly, it always felt like something I wanted to share with someone special. It was like Knox knew. Man, he really was perfect, wasn’t he? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I knew we were going somewhere special when he showed up in a dark gray suit, but this was more than that.

Laughing at my reaction, he nodded. “Second floor. It’s the best I could do on short notice, but the reviews are excellent.”

Turning to eye him, I couldn’t stop shaking my head. “It’ll definitely do for a first date. How did you know I’ve never been here before?”

He stuffed the blindfold in his jacket pocket and took my hand. “I might’ve texted a sister or two,” he said, visibly cringing at the confession.

But I melted. I was a puddle right there on the ground outside the Eiffel Tower. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” I gushed. The urge to pull him down by his lapels so I could kiss him passionately was strong, but things were still so very new, so I resisted.

That aside, my mind was racing; I only hoped my sisters didn’t slip up on accident and tell Dad. He still thought Knox and I were squarely in the friend zone. That was definitely changing, but I really didn’t want him to find out until I was ready to tell him. It needed to come from me.

“It’s not weird?” he asked, obviously still nervous about texting my sisters.

Shaking my head, I insisted, “Not at all. I just hope Dad doesn’t find out.”

He groaned. “Don’t bring up Angelo.”

And that was the perfectly right response. Just what I needed to hear. In fact, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, I just worry.” Meanwhile, was that a man over there taking our photograph? I peered around to see who else was nearby. Maybe he was photographing a celebrity or some other couple and I hadn’t realized it. Okay, it was official—I was being neurotic. “You don’t think he’ll find out, though, do you? Look at the guy over there with the camera.”

Following my gaze, he stared for a second before turning back to me, placing a kiss on my cheek. He fixed the strap of my blue dress, the back of his knuckles grazing the skin of my exposed shoulder and warmth spread throughout my body. “If he’s photographing you, it’s because you’re beautiful, not because he knows your father. Let’s go up. Dinner awaits.”

* * *

Knox

I was going to try to forget about the whole Angelo thing and hope Bianca could do the same.

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