Page 59 of The I Do Over

“Clothes that stay on the floor and yet you still wear?” he mused.

“Exactly. They’re clean or…semi-clean but never seem to make it onto a hanger.” She shrugged. “Sometimes I’m ambitious and actually get all the laundry put away and sometimes I get halfway through and just give up.”

He chuckled. “And yet another addition to the learning things about Maddie file. You’re adorable.”

“Somehow I don’t think that was a compliment…” But she didn’t get to say more because the doorbell rang. Her hands shook as she straightened the platter of food, and then she forced herself to take a few steadying breaths before Knox’s friends walked in.

He stopped in front of her and gave her an incredibly deep and scorching kiss—completely taking her breath away. When he lifted his head, he grinned. “It’s going to be fun. Trust me.”

Maddie watched him walk away and smiled. Things were definitely better between them and she felt like yesterday’s welcome seduction had done wonders for them. She still didn’t like the idea of using sex as some sort of crutch, but in this particular situation, it worked, so…

The sound of voices pulled her out of her reverie, and before she knew it, the kitchen was full of people. She knew she was smiling, but hoped it looked natural and not forced. Knox came to stand beside her as he introduced her to everyone.

“Maddie, these are my partners at SEAL, Daniel and Xander,” he began as two giant men stepped forward and shook her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said and then realized she had actually met Daniel already. Smiling at him, she added, “I think you and I briefly met the day I first came to town, right?”

He nodded. “I didn’t get to say more than a quick hello because Knox was rushing you out the door.” He paused and motioned for one of the women to come over to them. She was pregnant and smiling from ear to ear, and Maddie already figured out this was his wife, which Daniel confirmed. “Maddie, this is my wife, Josie.”

It didn’t seem possible, but Josie’s smile grew even brighter. “I am so excited to finally meet you! We’ve heard a lot about you and we were so bummed that you had to cancel the last time, so thank you for being willing to try again!”

“I felt really bad about canceling, but…”

“It’s okay,” Josie assured her, reaching out and squeezing her hand. “We’re just thrilled to be here.” Then she smiled at Knox before giving Maddie her attention again. “I don’t know if Knox has shared this with you, but this used to be my house. Well…mine and Daniel’s. We sold it to him a few months ago when we found a bigger place since we’re growing.” She rubbed her pregnant belly and grinned up at her husband.

“Oh, I remember Knox mentioning that to me!” Maddie said. “I hope your new place is just as fabulous as this one!”

“It really is. We lucked out and found the perfect house and…”

“Hey! Stop hogging the hostess!” Another woman said as she walked over and stood next to Xander. “Hi! I’m Daisy!” she said and shook Maddie’s hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you! Did you make that charcuterie board?”

Maddie nodded.

“They are a passion of mine,” Daisy explained. “If there’s an occasion, I’m making a board.”

“And yet you didn’t make one today,” Josie said with a sly grin.

“Only because Knox said that Maddie was making one,” Daisy countered before smiling at Maddie. “And I have to tell you, it was torture to find something else to make.”

“Oh my goodness! I’m sorry! If Knox would have mentioned it…”

Daisy laughed. “It's okay! I swear! I was just teasing!”

“Way to go, Daisy,” Josie murmured. “She’s probably regretting rescheduling with us.”

Right then and there, Maddie knew she was going to enjoy hanging out with these women. “I’m probably not as creative as you with them,” she said to Daisy, “but I do enjoy them. Even when they’re not particularly pretty. A few weeks ago, Knox and I went fishing, and I put a bunch of snacks and noshy stuff in these plastic cases that were supposed to be used for bait and tackle stuff. Instead, I used them for food and called them snackle boxes.” Then she laughed. “Not particularly creative or artistic, but…”

“I love that idea!” Daisy said with a laugh. “Oh my goodness, did you take any pictures of them?”

“No, but…they were super easy. And the little compartments meant you didn’t have to worry about any of the flavors mixing if you didn’t want them to.”

“So clever,” Josie said. “And now I really need to go and see what’s on your board because I’m starving.”

Daisy leaned closer to Maddie. “She’s always hungry lately. Wait until dessert gets here. She will bite your hand off if you try to take her cake away from her.”

“I can hear you,” Josie sang as she walked over and snagged a cube of cheese. Then she glanced around. “But I do hope Lea and Brody get here soon.”

“Did I hear that Skye and Elliott weren’t going to be able to make it?”

---