I lick my lips, picturing her in a sultry nurse’s costume that is two sizes too small. “Don’t get me wrong,” I say, clearing my throat. “I do. But in my head I’m picturing something a lot less antiseptic and a lot more naked.”
She rolls her eyes and gently dabs the cut. I bite my lip, trying not to squeal from the pain. And then she uses an alcohol wipe, and it’s a whole new wave of agony. I can’t stop the high-pitched whine even if I want to. “Oof,” I breathe out.
“That’s what you get for being a perv,” she says, trying to hide the laugh she’s attempting to cover up. “I just need to bandage it, and you’ll be as good as new.”
I nod and watch her small hands delicately place a Band-aid on the cut. Her eyes stay glued to her work, and it gives me time to soak up every last freckle on her cheeks. God, she’s so beautiful it hurts sometimes. Well, in this case, it actually does hurt…a lot.
“Okay, you’re all—” Emery starts to say, but stops when she looks up, and her eyes connect with mine. Her big doe eyes stare up at me as she realizes how close we are. I can feel the warmth of her breath caress my cheek, and her lips are so close that it makes me want to do something reckless.
And I’m completely prepared to throw all of my logical plans out the window for one more taste until she stops me. “Knox, I came here to talk to you about something.”
A cement block bottoms out in my stomach. An endless slew of possibilities flashes through my mind. “What is it, Bambi?”
She swallows hard and takes a small step back. The space is so tight, her back is nearly pressed against the opposite wall. “Can we talk out in the shop? I’m finding it difficult to focus in here.”
I ignore the need to make a smart comment. “Yeah, sure. Lead the way.”
Once we’re out in the wide-open space of my garage, my head feels clearer. “Are you fake breaking up with me, Bambi?” I joke, even though I’m praying the answer is no.
“No, that’s not it,” she answers, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. I’m not proud of how relieved I am to hear that. “I want to talk about the affair.”
CHAPTER 22
EMERY
Knox’s eyes go wide, and he shifts uncomfortably from side-to-side. Maybe this is a bad idea.
“I didn’t ask before because it didn’t feel like something I needed to know, but now…well, it still isn’t any of my business, but I keep hearing things from other people, and I wanted to give you a chance to tell your side of the story.”
“Other people?” he asks, innocently, but I know better than that. Knox might feel like he’s good at hiding his reaction to the whispers and snide comments, but I notice the way his shoulders stiffen every time he tries convincing himself it’s nothing.
“I ran into a man at Marie’s coffee shop the other day, and it was the woman’s husband who you had an affair with.”
Knox goes rigid as his lips sink into a deep frown. “Charlie.”
“I didn’t catch his name, but yeah, it was him.”
“I’m sorry, Bambi,” he sighs, slumping onto one of the barstools sitting near his workbench. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this mess. I figured you could handle the gossip, but I never expected you’d have to deal with Charlie.”
“It’s fine,” I reassure him, leaning against one of his tables. “Don’t get me wrong, it was uncomfortable as hell, but I’m not blaming you. I just want to clear the air and hear about what happened from you.”
He nods as his stare goes blank. His shoulders hunch forward and his jaw clenches together tightly. At first, I don’t think he’s going to say anything. I’m about to tell him it’s okay and we can talk another time, but then he opens his mouth.
“June was my teacher in high school. She was always the hot young one that all the guys in my grade fantasized about. And I did too. I even tried to flirt with her a few times, but she always shut me down. Then last year, I ran into her at a brewery a few miles outside town. Emma, Henry, and I used to go there for trivia all the time.”
“I was polite at first and made friendly conversation. I even offered to buy her a drink, and she accepted. She seemed upset, so I wanted to cheer her up, and after a while, she was laughing at everything I said. She even started to nudge my shoulder and touch my thigh. Eventually, I got up the courage to ask her about her husband, and that’s when she broke down. She said she and her husband were separated and complained about how he didn’t appreciate her.”
Knox pauses, taking in a deep breath and dragging a hand through his hair. “At that point, I was getting excited. I figured it was my shot at sleeping with the hot teacher everyone wanted. Looking back, I should’ve walked away. Hell, I should’ve asked more questions. I knew better, too, but then she leaned into me and—” He exhales hard, closing his eyes. “I went for it.”
He won’t meet my eyes, and his fingers are twisted into endless knots on his lap. I want to reach out and offer a supportive hand, but I remain still.
“It only happened once,” he admits, his voice low. “After we hooked up in my truck, it felt wrong. I stupidly gave hermy number, but then she wouldn’t stop calling and texting me. I tried to ghost her like a fucking coward, but her husband must’ve gone through her phone and seen my name. A few weeks later, he came into the shop to confront me and even got a punch in.”
“Between yelling and screaming, I learned that she lied to me about being separated. June told me that they were practically ready to sign the papers. But the way he came at me—well, it was clear that he didn’t feel the same way. I was the idiot who fed into the lie because I wanted to.” Knox bites his lip and stares coldly at the floor.
“I should’ve told him the truth, but I could see the hurt in his eyes. Part of me figured keeping my mouth shut was the quickest way to make it disappear. Except that Charlie’s outburst in Sal’s might as well have made the front page of the paper. Rumors spread quickly, and people filled in the blanks where they wanted.”
“Not long after that, June split town and never looked back. I was blamed for breaking up a perfectly happy marriage, and no one ever looked at me the same. Now I’m the kid who couldn’t keep it in his pants.”
