Page 26 of One Last Thing Before You Go

“If the next words out of your mouth are Lizzie McCalister, I swear to god…”

He laughs. “No, it wasn’t her. Ale was the other person I spoke to. In case you were wondering, our brother doesn’t like the guy at all.”

My skin heats in irritation, muscles braced as if ready to defend Knox. “He doesn’t even know him. He barely said two words to the guy.”

“I know. I’m guessing the only chance he’s had to meet him was at the bar, and that was… Well. That was that night, wasn’t it?” He smirks, and I want to murder him.

I throw my hands up in the air. “How is it that everyone in the entire world knows about my goddamn sex life? This is insanity.”

“I wouldn’t say everyone in the world—that’s being a bit self-centered if you ask me— but⁠—”

“And then you wonder why I want to leave this place again and never come back.”

Daniel’s smile drops, the entire mood in the office shifting to a more serious one. With pressed lips, he gently sets his coffee on the desk and gets up. “And on that note…”

“No, wait⁠—”

“It’s fine. I have to go anyways. Logan and I are supposed to pick the twins up together, and my husband is not a fan of tardiness.”

I come around the desk, desperate to fix things. “Daniel⁠—”

“Hey, it’s okay.” He kisses my cheek and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Good luck tonight, okay?”

“Well, you weren’t kidding about your love for Post-Its.” I lift my head up from the computer screen to find a gorgeous Knox standing in the office doorway.

“Told you it was the way to my heart.” I smile and lean back in my chair, watching as his eyes pore over the sticky notes.

“Are these color-coded?” he asks, his voice tinged with awe.

“Yup. Hot pink is for all of Jenn’s tasks, yours are the blue ones, mine are the orange, and then the green are just general ones.”

His smile is broad as he rounds the desk to read each piece of paper. He runs his fingers over one of the notes, tracing the letters. “Your handwriting is so neat and perfect. It’s very you.” Knox’s voice is laced with a fondness that surprises me.

I snort. “I’m far from perfect, Knox.”

He laughs once. “You need to learn how to take a compliment.”

“A compliment or a line?” I smirk, getting to my feet to stand beside him as he continues to take in my master plan.

“Compliment.” He stares me head-on, eyes serious.

I smile and nod. “Thank you, then.”

“You’re welcome, then.” His lopsided smile makes another appearance, making my heart expand in my chest.

“So how can I help you?” I ask, wanting to get him out of the office as quickly as possible.

Despite having respected the boundaries I set after our conversation in his apartment last week, it’s been impossible to keep him at much of a distance given our situation. I had hoped some of the tension would’ve dissipated by putting a stop to all the flirting, but I hadn’t expected to be so captivated by him in general. By the sweet way he’s started making me coffee every morning; the way he speaks so passionately about his work over team lunches; the adorable manner in which he has to carry his camera with him at all times, even if it’s just around the corner or to run an errand, like a security blanket to a toddler. Knox is cute and smart and funny and spending all this time with him has been problematic since I sometimes forget that I shouldn’t like him. I forget that I should probably not laugh at his stupid dad jokes, even if I find them funny. It’s been a bit of an uphill battle. Which is why I need to make more of an effort to put some space between us.

“I’m just here to get you for the party. We’re ready, and Jenn said people should be arriving soon.”

I feel the blood drain from my face, feel myself shrink a little. We’ve known about the store’s going away party for a while—we sent out the invites over a week ago—but it’s only now hitting me how real this whole thing is.

“Wait, what? Already?” For some reason, my breathing speeds and I can’t get it to stop.

“Yeah, I—Hey, are you okay?”

I nod absentmindedly, but he leads me back into the chair.