Page 97 of The I Do Over

“Knox!” she said in awe. “Look at you! You’re even more handsome than I remember!” She hugged him tightly before looking up at him with a smile. “Thank you for giving my girl another chance and please accept my apology for the role I played in everything. Had I known…”

Knox didn’t want to waste time rehashing the past.

Not now and not ever again.

“We’re good, Mrs. C,” he told her, using the nickname he used to call her by.

“I remember that!” she said, taking him by the hand and leading him over to the sofa to sit. “I’m so glad the two of you came for a visit! You look positively in love.”

Maddie was seated beside him and she rested her head on his shoulder. “We are, Mom. We really are.”

“You always were,” she said with a hint of sadness. “It makes my heart happy to see the two of you back together.” Looking between the two of them, she asked, “So what brings you here today? Can you stay for lunch?”

Nora knew they were coming and had already told them that she’d make sure there was food for them all to eat together, so they nodded.

“We can,” Maddie said. “But we’re actually here to talk to you about something very important.”

“Oh?”

They both nodded, but Knox wanted Maddie to be the one to present their plan to her.

“I sold my practice,” she began, “and I’m moving to Raleigh to be with Knox.”

Her mother smiled serenely at her. “Well I would hope so. It’s one thing to have a long-distance relationship while you’re dating. It’s downright impractical when you’re married.”

“Um…”

“Madalyn, please. I can’t believe the two of you haven’t run off to a courthouse already! What are you waiting for?”

“Um…”

Mrs. Christopher looked at him and shook her head. “Knox, I see the ring on her finger. Please tell me you’re getting married soon. I want to be a grandmother while I might still remember it.”

And damn. That statement just about broke his heart.

They had talked about maybe not mentioning the pregnancy yet, but after that…

“Then I guess today is a good day,” he commented and then motioned to Maddie’s purse. Luckily, she knew exactly what he meant and she quickly pulled out the pictures and handed them to her mother.

Who immediately burst into tears.

Like mother, like daughter…

“Oh my goodness! Look at this! Look at this little sprout!” she said happily.

“Little Sprout!” Maddie repeated as she looked up at him. “That’s it!”

And yeah, he had to agree. It totally fit.

“Okay, so…there’s a ring and a baby…did I miss the wedding? Please tell me I didn’t miss the wedding.”

“You didn’t miss the wedding,” Maddie assured her. “There’s just been so much happening so fast and…” She paused. “Okay, so I sold the clinic to Babette and sold my house.”

Her mother nodded and then looked at the ultrasound photos again.

“Knox and I are looking at houses up in Raleigh,” she went on. “He has a fabulous place now, but we wanted someplace that we picked out together.”

“Naturally. I think that’s very wise.”

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