Infinity & Always (4 page)

“Sure,
I think he’d like to see you.”

I
haven’t actually set eyes on Knox since that day and I really
want to share this with him. I leave my dad’s office before I
change my mind and tap my foot the whole way down the elevator.
Stepping out, I rush into the dungeon and Meagan stands up when I
approach, but I blow past her, not giving her a minute to kill my
buzz. I spot Knox and Max down the back of the room bending over
Max’s desk and take off running. The sound of my heels tapping
on the floor has heads turning.

Reaching
them, Knox looks up, and frowns but I don’t care, he is not
killing my buzz either. I launch myself into his arms and he stumbles
back a little.

“Are
you okay, Bailey?” he asks.

“Yes,”
I breathe, taking a step back. Max taps my shoulder and pouts at me.
Laughing, I grab him too, hugging him tight.

“Well,
it’s nice to see you, sis, it’s been a while,” he
says to me.

“I
know, I’m sorry. I just have had so many things to get through
lately.”

“What’s
with the whole jumping into his arms?” he flips his thumb
towards Knox. Looking around, I notice a few people watching us and
straighten myself away from them. I wave my envelope and smile.

“Can
you come up to my office in a bit?” I ask Knox.

“I’m
kind of busy,” he answers, wiping the smile from my face.

“Oh
okay, sorry I never thought of that.”

Turning,
I walk out of the room with my head lowered feeling like a tool for
even thinking he would want to share this with me.

“Hold
up darlin’.”

Turning,
I find both of them standing waiting for me to speak. “Well?”
he asks, nodding to the envelope in my hand. My mood is slightly less
jovial now.

“Come
on sis, spill the goods.”

Smiling,
I pull out the paperwork and hand them over to Knox, biting my lip as
he reads over them. Once he is finished, he looks up at me, and my
heart pounds waiting for any sign of life from his handsome face. Max
grabs the papers from him and begins to read them.

“Congratulations,”
Knox says, his voice is neutral as he turns to leave. I watch him
walk away and feel the sting of tears. Max hands the papers back to
me with a hug.

“Congrats
sis.”

I
just nod and clutch them to my chest, pressing the button on the
elevator. A lone tear slips from my eye and Max brushes it away. When
the door opens I step inside, keeping my back to him. I press the
button and wait until I’m moving before I allow the rest of my
tears to fall.

Once
in my office I lock the door and get to work, drying my face and
giving myself a pep talk. Reasoning that this is why I closed myself
off again because the people you love the most are the ones that hurt
you the most.

Max

“Wow,
bro.”

He
looks up at me and sighs then continues to draw out his plans.
“Aren’t you going to say anything to her?” I ask.

“No,
why would I? Clearly she is fine being alone.”

“Clearly
you still haven’t got a fucking clue. I thought you knew how to
read your girl.”

“Max,
shut the fuck up and get back to work,” he says, turning away
from me.

I
love my brother, but I want to slap his dumbass right now. I take a
stroll over to my desk and sit down. I can’t concentrate
anymore, so I grab my stuff and head up to Frank. I knock on the door
and let myself in.

“Hey,
Frank.”

“Max,”
he frowns, taking off his glasses.

“I
saw Bailey’s deeds,” I smile, taking a seat opposite him.

A
big grin splits his face and he nods, “Yeah, I’m proud of
her. It was a quick sale and last minute so she was lucky to have
gotten it.”

I
can tell by the way he talks about Bailey how proud he is of her. I
just wish my brother would grow up and get with the program.

“You
should have seen her,” he continues chuckling, “I haven’t
seen that smile for a long time and the dancing,” he shakes his
head laughing this time.

“Yeah
she looked happy,” I answer.

“She
is, so tell me, how did Knox take it?”

Rolling
my eyes, I snort. “He’s an ass. He thinks she is moving
on without him.”

“Oh,
those two need to be locked in a room together for a few days,”
he sighs.

“I’m
game if you are,” I grin at him.

“Don’t
tempt me, Max, don’t tempt me,” he says, shaking his head
at the situation. I say goodbye and head to the bar to open up.

Bailey

Getting
through work is hard, all I can think about is the fact that I own my
own house now. Ben and his attempt at getting my money failed
miserably. So I’m happy to say at twenty-three years old, I’m
a home-owner, and he can go fuck himself.

Then
there’s my moody, handsome fiancé if he is even that
anymore. I honestly don’t know. Going through my work emails
bore’s me, so I turn to the security program I’m
developing and get some hours done on that. By the time I look up
from the screen, the world has gone dark. Checking my watch, I sigh
when I see it is nine thirty on a Friday night. Gathering my bag and
jacket, I make my way home.

Driving
through the strip, I frown at all the college students out having
fun, while I’m headed home to sit alone. Passing the bar, I see
a line outside the door and decide to pull in and check it out.
Walking around to the front I smile at Junior, the weekend doorman,
and he smiles back and opens the door for me. Inside is full and I
now realize why; Knox and Max are on stage.

They
only play one gig a month now and the crowd apparently likes it. “Hi
Amber,” I call out, as I round the bar to take a seat. When she
sees me, she walks over to give me a hug.

“Hey,
I miss you around here Bailey. What’s going on with you and the
boss?”

“I
have no idea, Amber,” I answer honestly.

She
looks a little pissed, but smiles anyway then brings me a drink. I
watch Knox sing. The memories I have of being in here with him make
me smile. I miss hanging out with both of them and Paige. Pulling out
my phone I video chat her, and when she answers she frowns pointing
to her ear to indicate she can’t hear me. I mouth ‘I
know’ then flip the camera so she can see the stage.

Neither
of us bothers trying to talk. We just sit and listen, when they stop
for a break, I flip her back to me.

“Shit,
now you just ruined my weekend,” she says, wiping her eyes.

“Sorry,
I just haven’t seen them play for a few months,” I answer
her.

“Yeah
I know that feeling.”

We
both stare at each other before she waves and hangs up. I know how
she is feeling so I understand, and I’ll call her tomorrow
anyway.

“What
is this?” Max shouts when he sees me sitting at the end of the
bar.

“I
felt like a drink. I didn’t know you were playing tonight.”

“Yeah
we decided to do a surprise gig,” he smiles at me. “Coming
in for some food?” he nods to the kitchen and I follow him.

Knox
didn’t notice me when he walked by me a few minutes ago, he was
too busy texting. I take a seat at the table while they get their
dinner ready.

“Did
you see Meagan out there?” Max asks.

“Yeah,
how could you not? Did you see the shirt she is wearing?” Knox
answers, shaking his head. Max’s eyes bug out, and slaps Knox
across the back of the head and points to me. Knox turns, seeing me
for the first time, and crosses his arms.

“So
Meagan, huh?” I ask.

He
turns away without answering me and grabs his food from the
microwave. He chooses to stand by the sink to eat while Max takes the
seat beside me.

“Are
you going to ignore me?” I ask, looking at him.

Again
he looks at me then bends his head down to eat. “Are you
fucking serious?” I shout at him, getting his full attention.

“Sis,”
Max sighs.

“No
Max, he does not get to kick me out of my home and then beg me to
come back, but then decides to date the damn secretary!”

My
anger escalates quickly and I stand up sending the chair crashing to
the floor. “You know I’m trying. I came to you today to
share something important, but I guess we have different definitions
of forever, Knox!”

Grabbing
my purse, I walk out of the kitchen and through the side door of the
bar. I am quickly yanked back inside by Knox, who looks just as
pissed as me.

“I
am not fucking dating Meagan!” he shouts at me. “How many
times do we have to do this?”

I
take a step back away from him and shake my head. “You tell me,
Knox, you’re the one who started this, not me.”

“Fuck!
When the fuck are you going to realize that all I want is us?”

“When
you start acting like it,” I whisper.

“You
make me so damn mad, darlin’,” he sighs.

We
stand facing each other for a few minutes before we both smile, and
start to laugh. He pulls me into a hug and holds me. “Baby, I
love you.”

“You’ve
been pulling out the baby card a lot lately,” I whisper to him.

“Because,
I need too, I need too…” he sighs.

I
move back from him and reach for the door. “Are you leaving?”
he asks, and I nod. He reaches for me again and pulls me close. “I’m
sorry about today darlin’, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.”
It doesn’t even matter anymore; the joy faded when I left his
office earlier today. “I better go, I have a meeting with an
architect I know in the morning,” I smile.

“Dad?
He never said he was in town.”

“He
gets back later. I emailed him and caught him at the airport.”

“Oh
okay. How about you stay for a while and have a drink?”

I
don’t know what to do. I want to stay, but I also don’t
want to get my heart stomped on again. Knox smiles his beautiful
smile at me and pulls me back into the bar. Before returning to the
stage, he makes me a drink and kisses my head. I watch him sing and
play the guitar effortlessly. His biceps are much bigger than they
used to be and I’m sure that the t-shirt he is wearing is about
to burst at the seams.

I
can’t help but smile at him, which he catches and smiles back.
He strums the guitar and starts to sing ‘If you ever come back’
by the Script. He hasn’t sung this song for a long time and it
hits me square in the chest. Knox keeps his eyes on me while he
sings. Max looks over at me and sticks out his tongue. I sing along
to the chorus and watch Knox smile. If only things were as simple as
they used to be.

“Aw,
see that’s what I like to see, my boss and his girl making
goo-goo eyes at each other,” Amber announces, stopping beside
me.

“What?
We were not making anything with each other.”

“That’s
the problem!” she laughs and I push her away.

When
they finish singing, Knox takes a seat beside me and has a beer.

“Thanks
for staying.”

“I
had fun. I miss seeing you guys play,” I answer.

“Yeah
it’s been too long, maybe I could get my father-in-law to let
me have a few days off,” he says, rubbing his face.

“You
can always ask, there is no harm in that.”

He
chuckles at me while nodding his head, finishing his drink I watch
him. He looks tired and he has a permanent frown causing lines on his
forehead. Reaching over I smooth my thumb across his forehead to his
temple, he sighs and leans into my hand.

“You
getting a headache?” I ask, noticing the bloodshot eyes.

“I’ve
had a headache.”

Max
starts to clear the bar with Chase while Knox stands to close up the
cash register. He gives my shoulder a squeeze as he passes and kisses
the top of my head. Once the bar is empty Max takes the seat beside
me.

“So,
when I do get to see this new house of ours?”

“Ours?”

He
laughs at me. “Hell yeah sis, you really think you’re
going to get rid of me?”

“I
don’t want to get rid of you, Max,” I smile and lean on
his shoulder. Both Knox and Max pull out their phones and announce at
the same time.

“Dad’s
home.”

I
laugh at them and Knox winks at me. “Text him back that I
expect him bright and early,” I tease.

“Oh
I get it,” Max says. “You invite my dad to our new house
but not us,” he points between himself and Knox.

“I
never said you weren’t invited; you can come by with your dad
tomorrow if you like.”

Max
agrees and gets off the stool to clean up. Grabbing my purse, I yawn.

“Well,
I’m out folks since I have an early morning.”

Knox
walks over to me taking my hand in his. “Are you okay to drive?
You look tired.”

“I’m
fine, you look tired.”

He
nods and yawns. “I’m beat,” he sighs, rubbing his
face again.

“Hurry
up and I’ll drive you over.”

I
watch him finish up with the cash drawer and call out to Max that he
is leaving. I drive around to the apartment and pull into my spot
beside his Harley. Knox takes my hand in his and looks over at me.

“Are
you coming up?”

“No,
it’s not really a good idea,” I answer.

He
nods and climbs out of the car, walking around the back he opens my
door and holds out his hand. “Come on darlin’.”

“Knox,
I don’t want to fight with you, so it’s better if I go
now.”

Bending
down he reaches over to release my seatbelt and tugs my hand until I
get out of the car. We walk into the apartment and the familiar smell
makes me smile.

“You
made lasagna?”

“Yeah
for tomorrow,” he takes my hand and leads me into our room,
opening my shirt as he goes.

“Knox.”

“No
darlin’, you’re staying tonight.”

After
he successfully gets my shirt off, he falls back onto the bed
yawning. Kicking his leg gently, I smile at him then go to wash my
face. When I come back, he is asleep where he fell. Bending down, I
take his boots off.