Page 11 of The I Do Over

Placing a soft kiss on the top of her head, Knox went to let her go, but she held on. “Not yet,” she whispered. “Just…not yet.”

His arms slowly went around her again as he nodded. He understood because…holding her was so much better than not holding her.

I am so screwed…

They stayed like that for several minutes and Knox didn’t loosen his hold until he felt her pull back. She looked up at him with a watery smile. “Sorry.” Then she laughed softly. “That seems to be my word of the day.” Another laugh. “Hell, it’s the word of my life. I can’t seem to get anything right.”

Knox let her go and then listened as she gave a little insight into the woman she’d become.

“I spent years apologizing for that weekend—to my family, my friends, and myself. I had to apologize to countless boyfriends because it wasn’t them, it was me,” she went on. “I’ve apologized for not being happy, for not being the person everyone wanted me to be.” Then she faced him. “I came here today not only because it was the right thing to finally do, but because I feel like maybe now karma will get off my back and my life will finally be better.”

That was a powerful statement, he realized.

“Mads,” he said cautiously. “It can’t all be that bad.”

“Believe me, I love my job. I have a great house, and on the surface, everything’s fine. It’s just that…” She let out a tiny growl and paced away from him. “I seriously messed up everything, Knox! Nothing has been right since that day. Nothing! I feel like everything is just…off. Like something’s missing and I swear it’s karma.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

With her arms crossed over her chest, she gave him a sardonic look. “Do you have any other explanation as to why my life is the way that it is?”

There was no way he could back out of the conversation now, so…

“I don’t know anything about your life,” he reasoned. “Maybe you’re just…I don’t know…you’re punishing yourself and refusing to let yourself be happy.” With a sigh of his own, he knew what he had to do. “So…I forgive you.”

Her eyes went wide. “Um…what?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I forgive you. We were young and stupid and…it just wasn’t meant to be. And if you say you sent me letters, then…you sent me letters.” His arms dropped to his side. “No more apologizing. No more bad karma. You made a mistake and, to be honest, we were both wrong. We never should have lied on the license, so…we’re both to blame, okay? Stop punishing yourself.”

They were just words, he told himself. He might not exactly believe them, but he couldn’t stand here and watch Maddie beat herself up over it. In the beginning when it had all just happened, he wanted her to suffer.

He just didn’t think she’d still be suffering all these years later.

“Knox, I…I don’t know what to say. I mean…I was hoping you’d accept my apology, but…wow. This is…it’s incredibly generous of you. Thank you.”

The look of relief on her face came first and then she smiled—a real and genuine smile—and that’s what sealed his fate.

Yeah, I am totally screwed…

That smile took years off her face and as he stood there looking at her, all he could see was the girl he’d married and he knew if she stayed much longer, they’d be wading into dangerous territory. Past and present were blurring together and maybe it was just him, but he certainly wasn’t going to tempt fate twice.

He saw her, they got some closure, and…they could move on.

Only…

She was moving toward him. “Thank you for being so gracious and kind and…everything,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Knox slowly did the same, embracing her loosely. “I hate that it took so long for this to happen, but…I’m glad we did this.”

They moved at the same time, and as Maddie looked up at him, Knox found himself gazing down at her. They froze, and the moment went from friendly and cordial to something more.

It felt like the temperature had gone up and suddenly they weren’t in a loose embrace, but…closer. He was aware of every curve and could feel her breath on his face and he was completely helpless to what would happen next.

With a mild groan, he whispered her name before closing the distance between them and claiming her lips with his.

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