Page 15 of Say It Isn't So

And I could tell she was attracted to me, too, by the way her eyes widened whenever my hand grazed hers as we walked side by side, or the way she played with her hair whenever we got close to each other. And I was talking really close, like neither of us knew the definition of personal space and were a hair’s breadth away from the other’s lips.

But neither of us acted on our mutual attraction for one another. Yet.

Plus, Bianca wasn’t the type you got inside, got what you needed, and got out. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to do the first part—over and over again—because I already knew it would be my favorite place to be, but she deserved to be taken out on a date first. If not lots of dates.

I didn’t want to be her next great lay. I wanted to be her boyfriend.

I was getting ahead of myself, though. We hadn’t even kissed—not even an accidentaloops, we tripped and our lips broke our fallif you knew what I meant. Zip. Nada.

I cleared my throat when I noticed her glaring at me. “Sorry, I can’t shake the image of that old lady—um, Granny, as you put it—wearing a sports bra and leggings.”

Bianca let out an uncontrolled laugh and switched the hand she was holding her coffee cup in. “That’s going to be me.”

“Oh, yeah?” I cocked a brow. “I don’t think so.”

“What makes you say that?” She frowned. “I’m serious. I give her kudos for that level of confidence. She doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her.” Then she shook her head. “I have a long ways to go, but I think, in time, I can get there.”

I didn’t think I’d ever understand why Bianca was so hard on herself. Frankly, I’d never met anyone as critical of themselves as she was.

“No, you’re misunderstanding. I don’t think that will be you because she wasn’t wearing sky-high heels.”

We both laughed as I opened the door to enter the building.

Bianca walked in first and looked back at me. “Next time I’m getting the chocolate chip muffin.”

In step again, I decided to mess with her. “Are you sure you don’t want the banana nut?”

Since Rina, Bianca had been my best friend in the city. She had really been there for me like no one else in my life ever had.

Did I know Rina was going to break up with me? No.

Did I notice our relationship had changed? Of course. I wasn’t an idiot, but I also thought that it just meant we’d grown and developed individually. I didn’t think it meant we were growing apart. That had caught me off guard.

So I did what anyone in my situation would have done—I buried myself in work. I was at theBellissimaoffice more than I cared to admit, and when I wasn’t there, I was working from home. I had saved enough money to get myself a decent-sized apartment that didn’t smell or remind me of Rina.

In all that time, Bianca and I had fallen into an easy routine, first as coworkers and then as friends. And that routine primarily consisted of meeting up at her favorite coffee shop, Bean.

So, yeah, we’d been doing this whole muffin thing long enough that I knew she was no longer sure she wanted chocolate chip.

“Ugh,” she groaned, proving my point. “Why’d you have to go and bring up the banana nut? I was so sure this time.”

See, that routine I was telling you about consisted in part of Bianca and I meeting at Bean where she would deliberate over whether she should get the chocolate chip or banana nut muffin. By the time we got to the front of the line, she’d have decided not to get anything, insisting that she wasn’t sure and didn’t want to make us late. It was a cute addition to our daily routine, if you asked me.

Stepping off the elevator on our floor, an unsettling voice interrupted us. “I’m glad I ran into you.”

Bianca and I both turned, and she immediately smiled at the sight of her father. I, on the other hand, didn’t think I needed to remind you about my insides. But yeah, they still shriveled up, and practically every time I heard his voice, I clenched my butt cheeks. What, don’t judge. You hadn’t met Angelo Morelli. He had a gravely terrifying presence—trust me.

“Good morning, Daddy.”

“Morning, Bianca.” Then he looked at me.Death by intense stare.“Knox.”

I gave him a head nod. “Mr. Morelli.” I was his employee, no longer a guest in his house, so I stuck to formalities whenever I saw him, which was as infrequently as possible.

“I can meet you in your office in five, if you want. I just want to put my purse down,” Bianca said.

But judging by Angelo’s expression, I knew it wasn’t her he wanted to see. He turned to me and I couldn’t help but straighten my back. “Actually, I was talking about Knox, baby girl.”

“Oh,” Bianca said.

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