Page 18 of The I Do Over

ChapterFour

“Love means having the worst argument with someone and realizing you'd rather have that argument with them than not have them in your life.”

Unknown

Maddie had seriously questioned her sanity when she stepped outside to get her overnight bag, but the reality was that she wasn’t ready to walk away from Knox.

And it had nothing to do with the sex.

Although…that was a really good reason to want to stay.

Still, she knew things had gone a little too smoothly earlier with their discussion. He had agreed with her and accepted her apology much faster than she had expected and even though that should have been a relief, it also left her feeling more than a little confused.

Did I mean nothing to him?

Was I crazy for obsessing about this for so many years?

Yeah, the questions had been rapid firing at her in those few brief moments she was alone, but now that she was back in the house with a glass of wine in her hand, she figured she should stop making herself crazy and simply see how things progressed.

They got comfortable on the sofa in his living room and Knox asked her about her practice. Normally Maddie shied away from talking about herself, but he seemed genuinely interested.

“I started out working on staff at a community college in their sports department, but it was very limiting and I was pretty bored,” she told him. “Then I freelanced for a while before I decided to simply open my own office.” Taking a sip of her wine, she hummed with appreciation. “That is so good.” After giving him a smile, she went on. “I had made enough contacts with the local schools and coaches that I was getting referrals all the time. Now I have a decent-sized practice with two other therapists working for me.”

“That’s awesome, Maddie! Good for you.” He took a sip of his wine before placing the glass down on the coffee table. “What made you decide to focus on sports injuries?”

Putting her glass down beside his, she shifted slightly in her seat. “You know I always wanted to go into physical therapy.”

He nodded.

“When I was in college, I had a roommate who played lacrosse. She got banged up fairly regularly and never seemed to give herself time to heal before getting back on the field. After a season, she was always limping and was pretty much living with chronic pain, and it seemed like no one thought anything of it. She hadn’t broken anything, so most doctors were just telling her to take it easy and she’d be fine.” She shrugged. “It bothered me and I started talking to other athletes and found that no one was getting treatment beyond the basics of a couple of massages, heating pads, or ice packs. I can’t explain it, but I just felt like it was something I wanted to help with.”

With another nod, Knox stretched his arm out along the top of the sofa cushions. “There’s nothing wrong with that. When you know, you know.”

“What about you? How did you end up in the Navy?” As soon as the words were out, she wanted to take them back because it had the potential for them to jump feet first into the grittier part of their lives.

He gave a careless shrug. “Obviously it wasn’t something I ever thought about doing, but…at the time, it seemed like the best solution.” Reaching over, he picked up his glass and took another sip of wine. “Actually, it was an ultimatum from my dad—either the military or jail because that was the path I was heading in.”

Tears stung her eyes, but she didn’t know what to say.

“I thought it would be a good distraction and the perfect way to sort of guarantee that I didn’t get into trouble, but then I found that I actually was interested in what I was doing.” Another shrug. “I spent fifteen years doing it, so I guess I was more than interested, right? I was good at what I did and made some great friends, but we were all ready to retire a few years ago.”

“Do you keep in touch with some of them? The friends you made?”

“Two of them are my partners in the security firm,” he replied. “Xander and Daniel are the best friends I’ve ever had. They had my back more times than I can count and there isn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for them.”

His tone was fierce and it made her a little sad. Back when they were younger, they hung out with the same group of friends and at the time, she would have said they’d all have her back—their backs. But when everything happened between them, it seemed like most of their friends distanced themselves.

“I always thought our friends would do that for us,” she said, the words coming out before she could stop them. When she met Knox’s gaze, she saw the same sadness there.

“Me too.”

“Do you ever hear from…?”

“No one,” he said, effectively cutting her off. “After I went into the Navy, I didn’t keep in touch with anyone but my family.” Then he let out a mirthless laugh. “And even them I rarely do.”

“Oh.” Taking a sip of her own wine, she regretted even bringing up the subject.

“What about you?”

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