Page 30 of The I Do Over

“Dude, it’s three days. Stop it. No one’s playing house or pretending they’re married. That’s just ridiculous. All we’re going to do is…”

The sound of the sliding glass doors opening stopped him and Knox turned to see Maddie standing there looking like she was fresh out of the shower.

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but…I’m starving and wondering if you have the ingredients for pancakes,” she asked.

“Uh…I think I do in the pantry,” he told her. “Let me just finish up this call and I’ll get them for you. And if you want coffee, the pods are right on the counter.”

“Perfect! Thanks!”

He watched her go back inside before saying anything to Daniel. “As I was saying…”

“Did she just ask if she could make pancakes?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“No reason,” Daniel said, and there wasn’t a doubt in Knox’s mind that he was trying not to laugh. “Go and have a good couple of days and we’ll just plan on seeing you on Thursday.”

“If there are any problems and you need me…”

“I think Xander and I can handle it. Take it easy and good luck.”

“I don’t need luck. This is just…”

“I’m hanging up now!” Daniel said right before the line went dead.

“Asshole,” he murmured before taking a sip of his coffee and heading into the house. Maddie was standing in front of the Keurig waiting for her coffee and he didn’t even hesitate to move in close behind her and kiss her cheek. She smelled fantastic and felt all warm and…

You two kids go and play house for a few days and see what your lives would have been like…

It wasn’t like that. He was simply appreciating the beautiful woman in his kitchen.

“So, pancakes?” he asked, stepping away from her. “We could go out for breakfast. We don’t have to make them ourselves.”

Waving him off, Maddie turned and leaned against the counter. “It’s really not a big deal. I’m guessing you don’t make them from scratch so you’ve got a mix that will take less than five minutes to whip up.” She took a sip of her coffee and hummed with approval. “You have excellent taste in coffee. I couldn’t believe the variety you had in that rack.”

That made him laugh. “Thanks, but don’t tell anyone about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I kind of tease the guys when they stop for some kind of overpriced coffee that takes over a minute to order. We keep your average coffee pods at the office and they think that’s all I drink. If word got out that I’m really indulging in some gourmet shit, they will never let me live it down.”

The smile on her face and the sound of her laughter lit up the entire room. Knox realized his home had been fairly void of this sort of thing—mainly because he didn’t invite anyone over.

Particularly the women he dated.

Having Maddie here gave him a glimpse of the possibilities available to him if he maybe relaxed a little on his trust issues and three date rule.

Just…not with Maddie.

Pushing that thought aside, he walked over to the pantry and pulled out the box of pancake mix and a bottle of syrup. “I don’t have any breakfast sausage or bacon or even any fruit like blueberries,” he told her as he put the items down on the counter. You sure you still want to make them? We can go grocery shopping and do them the right way tomorrow…”

“Is there a reason why you’re so against me making breakfast for us? I’ll have you know that I am more than capable of making pancakes. I warm the syrup and everything.”

“Well…if you warm up the syrup…”

“Nuh-uh. Out with it. Why don’t you want me doing this?”

The loud sigh was out before he could stop it. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to, okay? I invited you to stay so…you’re my guest.”

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