“Hey!” I picked up a handful of dirt and acorns and twigs at my side and tossed them at him, making sure they sprinkled over his pant legs and went nowhere near our niece. “It’s not something to be ashamed of. But, no, I haven’t.” I threw more fallen acorns at him. “Why would you automatically assume I’m mentally unstable?”
He ducked his face protectively and gave a soft laugh, even though the second round also only pelted him from the knees down. “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. And I never once thought anything was mentally wrong with you, except maybe your inability to tell a good joke.”
I rolled my eyes. “Hardy, har har.”
Knox snickered but just as quickly fell serious again. “I just...you know, sometimes people experience traumatic things when they’re young, and they need help dealing with them, which made me wonder if...you had.”
The way he watched me felt like a dissection, like he was prying his way into my brain, looking for my deepest darkest secrets...looking for trauma.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I said. “But I never experienced any traumatic events. I’ve led a very boring childhood.” A very boring, spoiled and elite, yet ignored-by-my-parents childhood.
His shoulders fell an inch. Then he nodded and gave a very serious murmur. “Good.”
An unexpected thrill raced through me. He’d been worried about me. I loved that, too.
Clearing my throat, I glanced away. “My aunt’s a child psychologist,” I explained.
He nodded and kept watching me but didn’t respond, so I felt compelled to talk more. “I adore her. She’s just...she’s so awesome. And she’s never tried to psychoanalyze me, or whatever, but there have been things she’s said here and there over the years that’s always made me feel better. It’s just like she...gets my predicament, or something.”
“Your predicament?” he started, only for his gaze to clear with understanding. “Oh, you mean the misfit thing?”
My face heated as I glanced away, uncomfortable with this track. “Yeah. I guess.”
But Knox only nodded, no censure or judgment in his gaze. “I take it she’s not a snob like the rest of the Bainbridge clan.” When I sent him a scowl, he shrugged. “What? You still haven’t convinced me to like anyone else in your family, except maybe Aunt...”
“Cynthia,” I provided. “Except she’s not a Bainbridge. She’s my mom’s older sister on the Worthington side.”
“Holy shit,” he squawked, his mouth falling open. “Your mom’s a Worthington? And your dad’s a Bainbridge. Jesus, I don’t stand a chance, do I?”
Heat flooded my belly. I didn’t mean to ask, but my mouth formed the words, anyway. “Stand a chance at what?”
He froze, looking caught, before glancing away and muttering, “Measuring up.”
All the air inside me vacated my lungs in a rush. I was so bamboozled by his answer I just gaped at him for a good minute.
But, seriously...what?
Why would he in any way feel the need to measure up to me? He was the super-hot, super-sweet, super-amazing older boy who took my breath away with a mere glance. I was the one who felt all insignificant, inexperienced, and...cheesy.
But there was this flicker of uncertainty in his eyes as he checked on Bentley, swallowing so hard the muscles in his throat seemed to trip over a bundle of nerves.
Needing him to know immediately that he had nothing whatsoever to worry about in that department, I cleared my bone-dry throat. “I think the worth of a person comes more from who you are and less from what you are.”
Knox glanced at me. His brown eyes were hooded and dark before he shook his head. “Yeah,” he said, smiling softly. “You’ll do just fine as a child psychologist.”
There was never anything so impossible as trying to pee when someone stepped into the bathroom stall next to yours.
I probably should’ve waited until I got home to do this instead of dashing into the store’s bathroom for immediate answers as soon as I made my purchase. But then I remembered, oh right, going home currently wasn’t an option. Damn.
Biting my lip, I closed my eyes and tipped my face toward the ceiling. Come on. Come on. Niagara Falls. Atlantic Ocean. Rushing streams. Water parks and flooding canals.