Ace pushed a button and lifted the phone to his ear. In a moment, he heard a woman say, “Hello?”
6
Then Just Give Us a Hint and Beat Us Up a Little
The doorbell rang, and Knox said, “Hey, would you please get that? I’ve ordered pizza and I don’t want anyone to know Daniel is here.”
Amy looked over at him disdainfully. She wasn’t in the mood for his games.
Daniel pushed to an upright position, sweat glistening on his brow. “Does this mean therapy is over for today?”
“You wish,” she said, but nodded. “Sure. You’ve done really well.”
The doorbell rang again, and this time the person camped on it.
“All right, already,” Amy said, and pushed her way past the big guy, bumping his arm.
“Hey,” Knox said, as if she’d actually hurt him.
“Wimp,” she called back over her shoulder, hiding her smile.
Daniel snickered and followed behind her.
“Stand back,” Knox said, “so the pizza guy doesn’t see us.”
Amy unlocked the door and swung it open — and stood still, surprised.
This was no pizza guy. This was a pretty woman, maybe in her late twenties or early thirties, with brunette curls with blonde highlights curling about her face — and a frown and angry brown eyes. “Where is he?”
“He?” Amy said, stupidly. Which “he” did she mean? Was this the ex-girlfriend reporter that Knox had warned her about? She’d better play dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The woman stepped up into the house and face to face with her.
Amy stepped back. “What’s with you, anyway?”
“I just wanted to see the other woman. I thought you’d be prettier.”
Amy’s eyes widened. Witch.
The woman took another step. “Where is he? He’s a dead man.”
She had to get this reporter out of the house. She stepped in her path.
The woman stopped and smirked at her. “Do you really think you can come between me and my husband?”
“What the heck are you talking about?” This didn’t sound like a reporter. This sounded like a ... wife!
Was this woman Daniel’s wife?
Or was Knox married?
Why did that thought send jealousy spiraling through her? She didn’t care if the Big Jerk was married.
“Okay, gentlemen,” Amy called out. “I can’t handle this one on my own.”
* * *
Knox caught Daniel’s eye. “It’s your wife, dude. How’d she find you here?”
Daniel’s eyes widened and he shrugged. “Someone must have told her I was here.”
Together, they said, “Dad.”
Jessie said, “Let me at him.”
“Come on, let’s go save Amy,” Daniel said, and led the way.
“Speak for yourself,” Knox said. He kind of enjoyed the thought of Jessie taking Amy down.
As they turned the corner, Knox saw Jessie advancing on Amy, who was stepping back. He hung back to watch without being seen, ready to intervene if Jessie got out of hand.
Jessie’s eyes narrowed as she caught sight of her husband. “Did you really think you could just bring your whore up here to your parents’ cabin?”
“Now, honey.” Daniel put up his hands. “That’s not how it is at all.”
“Whore?” Amy sounded stunned. “I’m no whore.”
“Shut up,” Jessie said. “I’m fixing to let my husband have it, but if you don’t get out of here, I’ll let you have it, too.”
That was just what Knox had wanted, right? For Amy to go packing? But not like this.
He saw the expression on Amy’s face as she stepped back out of the way, and he softened a little. She didn’t deserve this. Or maybe she did if she’d really been after Daniel. It was hard to tell. She was encouraging to Daniel, and that could be interpreted as just encouragement or as flirting. It depended on her intent, and he didn’t know that for sure.
Jessie stomped over to Daniel and shoved him. He took a step back. “What are you thinking, Daniel Reid?” she hissed.
“It’s not like that.”
“What is it like?”
Jessie whirled around and spotted Knox. “What are you doing here? A threesome? That’s just sick.”
Suddenly, Amy’s face flared red. “You’ve got the wrong idea, lady. I’m not dating your husband.”
Daniel shook his head. “She’s not. I’m not dating anyone because we’re still married.”
Jessie turned around slowly to stare at Amy. “Then why are you here?”
And in that moment, he realized that he could save Daniel from Amy’s advances and Jessie’s accusations. All he had to do was to romance Amy and take her attention away from Daniel. After all, if they introduced Amy as Daniel’s therapist, Jessie could still think something was going on between them, just as Knox had. But if he claimed to be dating her, that would take the heat off Daniel and help Jessie work things out with him.
He looked between an angry Jessie and a just-as-angry Daniel, and at an obviously upset Amy.
“She’s not dating Daniel, Jessie.”
Jessie spun on him. “And how do you know that?”
“Because,” he said, hoping he could convince Amy to go along, “she’s dating me.”
Suddenly, everyone in the room was staring at him.
Amy’s eyes widened and she started to open her mouth. Quickly, he stepped to her side and put an arm around her waist.
Amy frowned up at him.
He looked meaningfully into her eyes and leaned close to her ear as if whispering sweet nothings into her ear. “Please go along with it. I’ll explain later.”
Jessie turned to Amy, doubt and hope warring on her features. “Is that true? Are you dating Knox?”
Amy looked Knox up and down and he waited. Would she reveal his lie or go along?
Finally, she smiled sweetly. “Oh, yes. It’s been a whirlwind romance. Unexpected. I totally did not expect to be swept off my feet. Is unexpected the right word, honey?”
He stared at her.
“You’re dating him.” Jessie sounded relieved as she turned back to Daniel.
Knox whispered down to Amy, “Please go along with this or I’ll make sure my brother doesn’t do any more therapy. Ever.”
She looked up at him and smiled super sweetly, whispering back, “And if I do go along with it, you’ll make sure he does do the therapy? To completion? Every last bit?”
He hesitated. Had she just caught him in his own trap? Why, yes. Yes, she had. Reluctantly, and a bit admiringly, he agreed. “Yes.”
Amy did a victory pump of her arm. “Oh, yeah. This is gonna be fun.”
Unexpected was definitely the right word.
* * *
“Why don’t we sit down, and Amy can explain the therapy to you.” Knox said.
As Daniel walked toward the living room, Jessie gasped. “You’re walking better!”
Daniel nodded with a smile. “It’s working already.”
The four of them sat, Knox sitting close to Amy, his arm around her shoulders. She dug her sharp elbow into his side, and he pulled his arm back, looking down at her.
She smiled. “Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to bump you. Accidentally.”
“That’s okay, sweetheart. Why don’t you explain to Jessie what’s going on.”
“I’m Amy Kingsley, the therapist Cerebration Works assigned to help Daniel. We use cutting-edge technology — specialized MRIs to find out exactly where a particular brain isn’t functioning well — and develop special individualized exercises that help build that area up. We have a huge success rate.”
Jessie asked a lot of questions, with an edge of antagonism, and Amy answered them gently, seeming to know exactly what to say to defuse the situation.
“I told you she was great, didn’t I?” Knox took Amy’s hand. She dug her nails in. Freaking ouch. But he held on.
She le
aned in close, a seemingly intimate move until she hissed, “You faker.”
Jessie moved closer to Daniel on the other couch, and Knox felt hope and exhilaration. Yes! He leaned back in close to Amy. “We need to leave them alone.”
She nodded, surprising him.
“Come on, honey,” he said, standing and helping her up. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“All right, dear.”
He led her from the room to the family room in the back with the French doors off to a patio.
Outside, she tugged her hand, trying to free it, but he held it tight. “Jessie can still see us if she comes around the corner.”
He led her to a wooden swing, and they sat down.
Then she yanked her hand from his.
* * *
She sat on the edge of the swing, her hands under her legs, wanting to just run away. That was probably not the most professional choice she could make — but how was pretending to be dating Knox Reid any better?
He tugged on her shoulders and she resisted.
“Come on, Amy. At least sit back as though you’re relaxing with me. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
With a sigh, she leaned back and tucked her feet up, putting her arms around her knees.
“Can I talk honestly?”
“I doubt you can.”
“Okay, then.” He chuckled. “May I?”
She shrugged, keeping her gaze out toward the lake.
It was cooling down and she actually wouldn’t mind having his arm around her now. Or sitting in his lap. Stop those thoughts immediately! “Give it a try. Let’s see what happens.”
“I’m starting to see that your therapy might have value—”
“Kind of you to admit that.”
“But — if you ruin his marriage, you’re not helping him.”
She turned her face to him. “Why on earth would I want to ruin Daniel’s marriage?”
“He’s in a vulnerable place right now.”
“Do you think I regularly seduce all of my male clients?”
“Only the wealthy ones.”
“Wow. Thanks for that. So you think I’m a gold-digger, do you?”
“Not that, exactly.” He seemed to trail off.
“I’m not after your brother,” she said. “I don’t care how much money he has. I’m interested in helping him heal. That’s all.” She turned her gaze ahead again. “Big Jerk.”
“I had that one coming.”
“Yes, you did.”
She turned back. “I suppose you have lots of money, too. Aren’t you afraid I’ll come after you next?”
“I’m not in a vulnerable position.”
She snuggled up against him. “You don’t think I could do it?”
He froze — and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.
What was she doing? This was ridiculous.
And then the most ridiculous thing of all happened — Knox Reid lowered his face to hers — and she kissed the big lunk!
His lips brushed against hers lightly, sending tingles everywhere. She melted into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He pulled her around until she was sitting on his lap, and deepened the kiss.
And she let him! She even kissed him back! What was she thinking?
She wasn’t. She was too busy kissing.
Finally, she pulled back, out of breath.
He grinned down at her. “Maybe you could, at that.”
Embarrassed, she slid off his lap and stood by the swing. What had just happened?
Trying to use humor to hide her embarrassment, she said, “I’ll still respect you in the morning.”
He laughed, and the corner of her lips crept up.
“How long have we been out here?”
He glanced at his phone. “Thirty minutes.”
“I’m freezing and starving. Let’s go in and eat those pizzas. They’ve got to be here by now.”
* * *
By the time they went back inside, the pizza was cold. Papa John’s had probably delivered it hot, but it had been sitting on the counter while Knox and Amy were smooching outside.
That was some smooch, too. She’d surprised the heck out of him. Here he’d been wanting to kiss her for days, and she’d kissed him first? What was that about? He didn’t know but definitely wanted to find out more.
Did this mean that his plan to romance her away from Daniel was working? She didn’t seem like the kind of girl to kiss every guy around. But he really didn’t know her very well.
He studied her across the counter as the four of them sat on stools. She looked at him, blushed, and looked away.
He guessed he hadn’t lost his touch. Maybe.
Daniel and Jessie were seated next to each other, but not together, if that made sense. They were talking, but not touching or cuddling, and they were still awkward with each other. But at least they were talking. Which meant he still needed to romance Little Miss Therapist until the marriage was solid again.
Jessie turned to Knox. “Why aren’t you in Italy on your trip romancing some sweet little signorina? Eating hot pizza at Pizzarium instead of cold pizza outside Waco, Texas?” She took a bite of the meat lovers’ special and stared him down.
“I don’t want to romance anyone but Amy.” Knox shrugged. “And I just didn’t feel like Italian food.”
Amy snorted a laugh, pointing to the pizza. “We can tell.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Real Italian food, not this cheap imitation.”
“Not so cheap,” Daniel said.
“Not so cheap,” Knox repeated, lifting a slice of pizza with his large hand and taking a bite. “But good. Hot pizza, lukewarm pizza, cold pizza. It’s all good.”
Jessie shook her head. “I’ll never understand men. Especially Reid men.”
“Nothing to understand,” Knox said, glancing at Amy, who pulled her gaze from him. “We’re easy to read.”
“Like picture books?” Amy asked innocently. “Did Dr. Seuss write any football books?”
Daniel laughed. Jessie smiled.
“Yeah. Something like that.” Knox tipped his head. “Horton Plays for the Wranglers.”
“Who do you think will be the Wranglers next top draft?” Daniel asked.
“Could be anyone,” Knox said. “Maybe even our little brother.”
Amy looked between the brothers. “I know that Daniel was the Waco Wrangler’s quarterback, but what position do you play, Knox?”
Knox said, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Amy said, “Then just give me a hint and rough me up a little.”
Everyone laughed, including Knox. He said, “Left tackle.”
“Is that the position that protects the quarterback’s blind side, like in the movie?”
“Exactly,” Daniel said. “Knox has protected his quarterback plenty of times. It’s why he’s known as Ft. Knox.”
The evening settled into easy, friendly banter. It couldn’t have gone better — except that at the end of it, Amy excused herself to go to her room, and Daniel and Jessie went to separate bedrooms.
Sooner than he thought, Knox found himself in his bedroom, restless. He looked out the French doors and saw a slim figure at the railing. It was Amy. He reached out a hand to slide open the door but paused.
He wanted to romance her, not overwhelm her and send her running from him back to Daniel. He needed to be subtle.
But her kiss earlier hadn’t been subtle. Not at all.
His conflicting emotions warred within him.
Finally, he let his hand fall and he closed the blinds.
7
A Gift?
The next morning, after a restless sleep, Amy awoke early, showered, and dressed. At five-thirty, she slipped from her room and into the kitchen, expecting to be the only one up. But the smell of bacon cooking alerted her that someone else was already up.
It was Jessie, who turned and gave her a wary smile. “Good morning.”
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“Morning,” Amy said, nodding. “What can I do to help?”
“It’s pretty much ready. My killer quiche is almost done, and I’m just cooking a few pieces of bacon because I love bacon. There’s enough for both of us, though.” Jessie motioned her to the island counter, and Amy took a stool. “You can help me most by answering some questions.”
Her muscles tensing, Amy forced herself to relax. “Shoot.”
“You’re Daniel’s therapist.”
Amy nodded.
“It seems to be working. He’s walking better and talking more clearly.”
“He’s making excellent progress, though it would be better if we could get him back in to the clinic.”
“Will he continue to improve?”
“Yes. He’ll get better as long as he continues with the follow-up exercises we’ll give him.”
“All the way better?”
“Probably not 100 percent,” Amy admitted. “But much better than he was at the beginning.”
“Will he ever play football again?”
“Highly unlikely.”
Jessie nodded. “I can live with that. I just don’t know if he can. He still thinks he’s going back onto the field. The self-delusion is breaking my heart.”
“I can understand that.”
Jessie looked at her. “Can you?”
“Yes. My parents—” She looked up and saw Knox standing in the kitchen, studying her. He didn’t say anything, and she felt her face warm in a blush. She wasn’t about to share this personal story with him, so she plastered a smile on her face, and said, “Good morning.”
Jessie looked up, too. “Morning, Knox. Come on in. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“You’re an early riser, Amy.”
Knox walked toward Amy and placed his hands on the counter on either side of her, leaning his huge frame over her. What on earth was he doing? Her heart pounded like crazy at his closeness.
Then he smiled and his face lit up. “Good morning, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of her head.
Oh, yeah. They were pretending to be dating. She’d forgotten. She managed to choke out the words, “Morning, babe.”
KNOX: An Enemies-to-Lovers Sweet Romantic Comedy Page 5