Page 48 of Hello Tease

He handed it to me, still standing close, and I could feel the heat rolling from him, the fresh cologne. I forced myself to swallow, but my voice was still breathy as I said, “Thank you.”

With a nod, he stepped away, reaching for the microwave door to stop the beeping I hadn’t even noticed until this moment.

He took the bowls with the brownies out then used the ice cream scoop to dish us both a serving. We worked together silently, a charge humming between us. Once we were at my table, our bowls in front of us, I took a deep breath.

He looked at me, then took a bite. His eyes closed. “So good.”

I smiled. My mom would have liked Knox, would have loved knowing that her brownies were bringing us together. I took a small spoonful of my brownie and ice cream and took a bite. Then I set my spoon down, knowing I couldn’t eat anymore without knowing where we stood, what was coming next.

“About earlier,” I said.

He looked up, searching my expression.

“I...” I glanced down at my lap, fiddling with my nails. “I like you.” It was three words. Simple. But powerful enough to change everything.

When I met his gaze again, he didn’t look as if he pitied me or was uncomfortable like I half expected. Instead, a slight smile ghosted along his lips. “I like you too.”

Butterflies danced inside my stomach. “But Emily likes you too.”

Now his eyebrows drew together. “That’s good, right?”

I nodded. “But she can’t lose another man in her life because of me.” My lips trembled as I held back tears. I hated what my daughter was going through right now. Hated that I had a part in creating this terrible situation.

Knox reached across the table, extending his hand for mine. When I accepted the offer, he covered my hand with his. “Larkin, I don’t know what will happen for us. But I want to figure it out with you resting in the fact that I’m not going anywhere when it comes to your kids. I’ll be here for them no matter what happens to us.”

“You say that now, but...” I had to swallow the stinging lump in my throat. “I’ve seen how people can change.”

He shook his head, resolute. “I lost an adult when I was young, and it wrecked me. I’d never put a kid through that, not if I had a choice.”

Every intonation in his voice, every feature on his face confirmed he meant what he was saying. And it made me wonder about what Seth had mentioned earlier. “Seth said...”

“What?” Knox asked, eyes narrowed like he was already poised to defend me.

“He said you got into a lot of trouble. That you were a criminal.”

Knox leaned back, taking a long sip of tea. The movement of his throat was hypnotizing. His large hand on the plastic cup, the chunk of ice against the cup as he set it down. Finally, Knox uttered, “He’s not wrong.”

I raised my eyebrows. That statement was so at odds with the man I knew. “You? In trouble?” There was only one way I could see this kindhearted man ever doing anything wrong. “A prank went a little too far, right, not anything serious?”

His expression was grim as he shook his head. “It was serious. So serious I got sent to juvenile detention. I was lucky not to be tried as an adult and sent to jail.”

Shock parted my lips. “What?”

An invisible heaviness settled over him. “After my mom died, I wasmad. An angry kid. My dad did his best to be there for us, but he had five kids to care for on top of grief from losing his wife. Fletcher was the perfect one, always getting good grades. Ford threw himself into sports, spending every spare second training or practicing. Hayes just fought all the time, butted heads with Dad, and Bryce was too young to really understand. But me? I wantedeveryoneto feel as badly as I did.”

I covered the ache in my chest with my hand. I knew what it felt like to lose a parent, and it was hard as an adult. Inconceivable to go through as a child.

“I fought my dad, fought my brothers, fought my classmates. I tore shit up for the sake of seeing it break. And one day, when I’d had enough, I got behind the wheel of my truck.”

I held my breath, already knowing what was coming next.

“There was this teacher who couldn’t handle me and my behavior. He said something shitty about my mom getting off lucky and my dad having the short end of the deal for having to stick around and deal with me. So I went to his place, put a brick on the gas pedal, and drove it into his shop.”

“Knox...” I breathed, imagining how horrible he must have felt. How bad the fallout must have been for him.

“The engine exploded, and he had gas cans, stain, flammable stuff stored inside. The whole thing went up in flames. No one got hurt; I made sure not to do it when he was home,” he said. “But the teacher told the cops I’d threatened to hurt him because I told him he’d regret what he said to me. So they suggested I go to juvenile detention. And my dad couldn’t fight it. He didn’t know what to do with me anymore. He just let me go. I was there for six months, and I saw two things: I saw the kids on the same path as me. And I saw the cops doing what they could to help us. One of them especially invested in me. Said I reminded him of his younger self, and he told me once I did the work to clear my record, there was a future for me being on the right side of the law. For once, I wasn’t angry at the past. I was thinking of the future.”

He watched me like he was waiting for me to run away. But I didn’t want to. I wanted to hug angry teenage Knox because I knew better than anyone that what he needed most of all back then was for someone to love him and never leave. I promised myself again that I would be there for my kids, no matter what challenges we came across.

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