Okay, sure, she’d seen him that way before.She’d been swimming with him in Ford’s pool next door, and often when she was hanging out with Knox and his group of friends, all the guys lost their shirts.
Still, this was the first time she was alone with him, in her home, and in a kitchen that seemed to shrink in size with the two of them occupying the same space.Where did all the oxygen go?
The heat remained in his eyes as he pulled out a chair from the table and straddled it.Then he lifted a tube of ointment.“Do you mind?There are a few scratches I can’t reach.”
Oh.Oh.“I can do that,” she said, but she sounded croaky.Laylee took a bracing breath and stepped behind him.It would be easier if she wasn’t looking him in the eyes.Get hold of yourself.She was the fun twin, after all.The one who played without ever getting serious.
Guys did not rattle her, not ever.
She’d had more than her fair share of male interest, and she’d never had trouble brushing it off.She was not an overly serious person—except that she did have a pregnancy test to take.
Getting herself in gear, she removed the cap on the tube of ointment and squeezed a small amount on her finger.When she looked at his back, her heart almost stopped.
“Knox!”
Keeping his gaze averted, he asked, “What?”
“You’re covered in scratches … and damn it, bruises, too!”His back looked painful, whether he acted hurt or not.“You should have gone home and iced … everything.”
He actually laughed.“It’s a few bruises, honey.Nothing serious.”
Her eyes widened, both at the endearment and the dismissal of his injuries.“Listen up, honey,” she quipped right back.“Itisserious.”
“The bruising will be gone in a day or two.Nothing is broken, and it doesn’t even hurt.”
“Liar,” she returned.Then she oh-so-gently dabbed the ointment on the worst of his scratches, wincing the entire time.
Knox turned his head to watch her for a moment or two, smiled, and faced forward again.“When you’re done, you should do that test so you can get it over with, and then we’ll figure out dinner.I was thinking maybe a pizza.”
Her hand shook a little.“And if I’m pregnant?”
“We still have to eat.I don’t know about you, but challenges always make me hungry.”
“I think a pregnancy would be a little more than a challenge for me.”She finished treating his back and moved on to the marks on his neck and arms.
“I’m just saying—I’m here with you.Whatever the test says, that won’t change.”
What did that mean, though?That he’d remain her friend?That he’d help her figure out the difficulties?That he’d stand beside her, no matter her choice?
However he meant it, his statement struck Laylee’s heart in a way she hadn’t experienced before.She didn’t mean to, but an overload of emotion had her leaning forward, embracing him from behind in a very gentle hug.“Thank you, Knox.You really are the very best.”
CHAPTER3
Standing in the bathroom—with Knox, thank God—Laylee looked at the test results and her jaw dropped open.“A faint line, in the wrong place.”She looked up at Knox.“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know.”He put one arm around her and drew her in close, then picked up the little paper pamphlet that had come with the test and concentrated on reading the details.
“A dark line with a faint line means you’re pregnant,” she said a little hysterically.“A single line means not pregnant.It says nothing about a barely there line on the wrong damn side of the test!”
“Shh.”Absently, he kissed her temple and continued reading.
Laylee was shocked into silence.Panicked silence, but still—Knox had just kissed her.It sucked that it was a platonic, sympathetic kiss.Still, she’d felt his lips, and that was what mattered.
Then he said, “Here.”He laid the paper flat and pointed with a finger.“The test failed.”
“Failed?Failed!Why would it do that?”She’d expended so much energy just taking the blasted thing, convincing herself thatno matter, it’d be fine.She’d be fine.Everything was freaking fine.“Knox, I don’t have another test!”
He wrapped both arms around her and pressed her head to his chest.“We’ll get another test.”
