Page 7 of The I Do Over

ChapterTwo

“The best thing you can do for someone is give them a chance.”

Unknown

Oh, God…what am I doing?

That was the question that played on Maddie’s mind for most of the ten-minute drive to Knox’s place.

Twice she was tempted to simply turn around and go home. Every time she envisioned how this meeting would go, they were in his office or a coffee shop and it was all very cordial and over quickly. So far nothing had been cordial; it had been intimate and awkward and going to his house meant it wasn’t going to be quick either.

“I should have sent a letter,” she muttered. “I could have sent it with one of those signatures required things to be sure he got it. But did I? No. Of course not. I had to go and be bold and do this in person.”

Actually, shehadwanted to go the letter route, but Dr. Marcia said that wasn’t going to cut it with a situation like this. History had proven that. Even though Maddie had apologized in all those letters she sent him years ago, it hadn’t been enough to assuage her guilt. The only way to make that happen was a face-to-face apology.

“Having a conscience sucks.”

They turned into a gated community and she was a little surprised. It wasn’t that she often thought about where Knox might live at this point in his life, but for some reason, she just figured he’d live in an apartment or some big complex. This was…nice. Really nice. It felt like a family-oriented community. They were all townhouses, and…they looked big. Too big for one person.

Oh no…

That’s when she realized they’d never even gotten to the point of her asking if he was married or even involved with someone.

Groaning, the urge to flee was even stronger now. The last thing she wanted to do was have to confront his wife or girlfriend.

“Don’t be an idiot. He wouldn’t have invited you here for a private conversation if he had either of those things,” she murmured. Still, as she pulled into the driveway beside him, she couldn’t help but wonder and she definitely wouldn’t be able to relax until she knew. So, after letting out a long breath, she climbed from her car and asked, “Should I have parked on the street? I don’t want to be taking someone’s spot.”

There. That was a simple and polite question, right?

But Knox walked over with a knowing grin. “If you wanted to know if I lived with anyone, you could have just asked.”

Damn him. Was she that transparent?

“Fine,” she said with a hint of defensiveness. “It just occurred to me that this could be even more awkward if we had this conversation with your wife or girlfriend around. Happy?”

All he did was shrug and give her another smile. “If I were married, I would have mentioned that already, and I certainly wouldn’t have invited you here. We could have just stayed at my office.”

“And we didn’t…why then?” They were walking up to the front door and he stopped so suddenly that she banged into him.“Oof!”

Knox turned and steadied her. He’d gotten so tall that she had to really look up at him. His sunglasses were dark so she couldn’t see his eyes, but everything about him seemed to tense up. “I thought it would be better if we could talk without interruptions. We covered that already. But if you’re not comfortable with this…”

“No! No,” she said, realizing she was being ridiculous. She had shown up unannounced after far too long, so really, she should just be thankful he was willing to speak with her at all. “Sorry. I’m just…I’m nervous.”

He didn’t respond. He simply gave her a curt nod and turned to open the door. Maddie followed and was immediately struck by how un-Knox-like it all was.

At least…the Knox she remembered.

“Wow,” she said with a small smile. “This is all really, um…nice.”

Chuckling, he tossed his keys on the entryway table as he kept walking. “Thanks. I just moved in about a month ago and bought it fully furnished.”

Now that made more sense. The place was beautifully decorated, but not particularly masculine.

She followed him into the kitchen where he offered her a bottle of water. “Thank you,” she said as she accepted it. Looking around, she tried to figure out why…

“So you know Daniel—the guy you met on our way out?”

She nodded.

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