Page 60 of The I Do Over

“Unfortunately,” Josie confirmed. “The baby’s sick.” Then she giggled. “And I mean the actual baby. Not my brother.”

Maddie was mildly confused, but kept that to herself. “Can I get you something to drink? Obviously you’re not having wine, but I know we’ve got water and seltzer and iced tea.”

“Ooh…iced tea please!”

“You got it.”

Within minutes, everyone had drinks, and Lea and Brody had shown up with dessert. Introductions were made and Knox took the guys out to the deck to show them the new grill he bought. It was the perfect time for Maddie to sit and get to know all the girls better.

They were sitting around the kitchen table with all the appetizers spread out between them and it didn’t take long for her to figure out that Josie was sort of the bossy and in-charge one, Lea was sweet and very laid-back, and Daisy was everyone’s best friend. Apparently they all worked together with the wedding planning business and she felt a little out of the loop because she knew nothing about anything like that.

“So, wedding planning,” she said when there was a slight lull. “What’s that like?”

“It’s exhausting,” Josie replied, her hands resting on her belly. “Or maybe it only feels that way now because of the baby.”

“No, it’s always exhausting,” Lea said. “But it’s also exciting helping people plan their big day. There’s so much involved that no one realizes and I love knowing that we’re easing their burdens a little.”

“It’s a lot more work than I realized,” Daisy chimed in. “But it’s amazing, and it’s been so helpful now that Xander and I are planning our wedding. I never would have imagined all the things there were to consider before going to work for Meet Me at the Altar.”

“I love that name!” Maddie said. “And it’s very cool how you all work together.”

“What about you?” Josie asked. “You’re in physical therapy, right?”

She nodded. “Yup. I specialize in sports injuries, but it’s not all we treat. I have a small clinic that I opened five years ago and I love it.”

“Did you always want to go into physical therapy?” Lea asked.

“Pretty much. There was a time I thought about going into nursing, but…” She shrugged. “PT is where my passion is and after I started college, I really got into it more. Especially the sports aspect of it.”

“And now you’re back with Knox,” Daisy commented. “How did that all happen?”

“Daisy!” Lea hissed. “That’s kind of personal!”

“No, it’s okay,” Maddie assured her. “It’s not really a big secret. I’m sure Knox has already told the guys.” She paused and took a sip of her wine. “I always knew I wanted to look him up, but…I was really kind of a chicken about it. Back when everything happened between us, I had written him dozens of letters and he never responded.”

“Seriously?” Josie asked, her eyes wide. “Did you call him out on that?”

Nodding, Maddie explained, “He said he never got them and…well…I can’t really prove that I sent them just like he can’t prove that he never got them…” She shrugged. “Anyway, my mom has Alzheimer’s and one day she was like, ‘When are you bringing your husband for a visit?’ or something like that and it sort of freaked me out. I go and talk to a therapist once a week…” She gasped when she realized what she’d just admitted.

“It’s okay,” Lea said as she reached over and patted Maddie’s hand. “There’s no shame in seeing a therapist. If it’s helping you, then that’s awesome.”

Nodding, she paused and took another sip of wine. “Anyway, I talked to my therapist about it and she encouraged me to seek Knox out and finally talk to him face to face. I was leery of even trying since he didn’t respond the last time I reached out and then the weirdest thing happened.” She laughed softly, still unable to believe it happened the way it did. “I got a promotional flyer or postcard thing for SEAL Security and there was Knox right there on it. It was like the universe was giving me that final kick in the ass to go and see him. So…I did.”

Josie, Lea, and Daisy all looked at one another before smiling at her. Josie spoke first. “Okay, I realize you don’t know us very well and what I’m about to tell you might come as a shock.”

Slowly putting her glass down, all Maddie could do was blink.

“So, um…Knox only recently mentioned that he was married,” she went on, “and he didn’t go into any specifics. I mean…he gave the really shortened version. But one night he was out with Daniel and Xander and mentioned your name.” Looking over at Daisy, she motioned for her to continue with the story.

“Well, once we had your name, we kind of…looked you up,” Daisy said shyly. “I’m a hopeless romantic and I felt like maybe there was more to your story than just a quickie marriage. Plus, I was curious as heck to see what would happen if the two of you ever saw each other again.”

When Daisy looked at her expectantly, a lightbulb went on in her head. “Wait a minute…are you telling me that…thatyousent me the postcard?”

The three of them nodded, but Lea looked the most upset. “Please tell us you aren’t mad! It was very heavy-handed and presumptuous of us, but…our hearts were in the right place. We all adore Knox and it just seemed like…”

“He said he would still be married if it were up to him,” Josie blurted out. “That told me that he still thought about you and we had to do something to nudge it along!”

She needed a minute to process all of this, but with all of them staring at her, it didn’t seem like she was going to get that time.

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