Page 80 of One Last Thing Before You Go

“Nuh-uh.”

“You know I can just Google them, right?” I raise a brow, making another reach for the camera and failing.

“You could. But you wouldn’t be able to appreciate them.” He shrugs, unperturbed. Like he knows that I’m not about to hop on my phone and give him a quick Google.

Dammit.

“At least let me see the ones you took of me. I’m entitled to that.”

“Are you insane? Absolutely not. Those are the ones you’re least prepared to see. You won’t be able to handle it.” He shakes his head vehemently.

“Knox… Come on,” I plead. “Aren’t the ones on your camera just pictures of the town? The remodel? What’s the big deal? It’s not like it’s some hidden gem ready for me to discover. Nothing I haven’t seen before; nothing special.”

His smile is blinding as he sits up and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me back down to the mattress with him. “That right there. That’s my point. You’re not ready. My job is to show you the beauty in what can be misconstrued as mundane. But only if you’re open to it. When you’re ready, I’ll show you.”

I huff, almost call him out on being hokey, but he manages to distract me with a kiss on the neck, followed by a soft nip of his teeth in the same place.

“Fine,” I capitulate. “But I think you’re being ridiculous.”

“You often do.” He kisses me on the neck once, twice. A third time that’s slower and has my skin heating.

But I’m sore and tired, just a few days before I get my period, bloated and feeling incredibly unsexy right now. Sleeping with a younger guy as hot and energetic as Knox has its advantages—a mile-long list, if you ask me. However, it definitely comes with its disadvantages. He’s insatiable, which I should be flattered by, but my inability to constantly be at the ready— whether it’s from pain or exhaustion or spotting—even when I do want it, is getting to me. I feel like shit when I softly push him off me, rolling away with a forced smile on my face that I know would never ever even be considered for an Oscar—more like a Razzie Award.

For a second, I reconsider. There’s an amazing twenty-seven-year-old man who looks like a tatted up male model naked in my bed staring at me with a heated look in his eyes. On the other, my gaze drops down to my swollen belly while I try to ignore the sudden onset of cramps.

It makes me wince, make me immediately feel the need to pull some clothes on.

“Breakfast?” I ask, pretending like everything is fine. “I have pancake mix.”

Knox quietly stares at me from the bed, his hair sticking out in every direction. His eyes are soft and something about the look in them tells me that he understands there’s something I’m not ready to talk about with him. Something about the way his eyes are on me tells me that he’s not only looking at me but seeing me.

I just hope he doesn’t see too much before he goes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

LOTTIE

Itrail my fingers over the rows of rope, feeling the difference in textures beneath my fingertips.

From the goofy smile on my face, you would think I find them fascinating or something.

Beautiful, even. Or that I’d equate trips like this to the hardware store to going to Disney World. But you’d never know all that’s running through my head right now is Knox. And the way he tied me to his bed last night. You’d never guess I’m trying to find a way to sneakily buy the blue rope in my hand without Jenn noticing or raising suspicion from Frank, the cashier.

I could come back later. I could come back when I’m alone and pretend like I need it for the reno and⁠—

“Girl, what are you doing here?” Jenn’s voice, so close to my ear, makes me jump.

“We’re supposed to be in the paint section picking out a color.”

“I—I was just… I got distracted. Sorry.”

Jenn follows looks at the items before us and raises a brow. “By rope?”

“I…Yes? I thought the color was pretty,” I say, trying to come up with a semblance of a believable lie. “For the walls. Of the store.”

Shit.

“I thought we were going for a neutral tone. Picking a color like that would make it harder for buyers to imagine themselves in the space, right?”