Chapter 3
Knox walked out of his bedroom ready to head to practice.
It was week nine of the season and things were getting serious as they were in a race for the conference lead.
The air was cooler and there was something about it being November that made Kentucky smell different.
Fallen leaves, cool breezes, and air that just seemed more invigorating.
“You have a busy day today,” Maeve Ritter, Knox’s personal assistant, said as she came into the kitchen from her office pulling down her headphones.
Maeve was in her late twenties. She was a small thing, both in height and build.
It was by chance that Knox had hired her.
Her father was a military veteran and knew Miles Davies.
Her father told Miles that Maeve was having trouble finding a job due to some of her neurodivergent tendencies.
Miles had suggested she contact Knox about his open assistant job.
The way her mind worked at solving problems fit perfectly with Knox’s needs.
Maeve wasn’t one for small talk and definitely didn’t like crowds, but she ran his foundation with ease, scheduled his appointments so he was never late to anything, and knew what he needed sometimes before he did because she saw everything as a puzzle and instantly knew how everything fit together and when something was missing.
Her memory and attention to detail were better than anyone Knox knew.
In return, he understood and respected her need for routine.
Her office had soft lighting and was set up to make her feel comfortable.
Most importantly, they worked incredibly well together and had developed a friendship over the past year she’d worked for him.
“What’s on the schedule?” Knox asked as he grabbed his breakfast.
“You have that podcast in ten minutes. I have your computer all set up. It will last exactly thirteen minutes from log-on to log-off. Then you have a telephone call at 9:15 with your agent who is pitching you for that modeling job.”
“Did you just roll your eyes?” Knox asked with a smirk.
“You’re not a model. You’re a football player,” Maeve told him straight up.
“Then you need to leave the house by ten to make practice. You have meetings with your father, the offensive coordinator, and the QB coach in that order. You have also scheduled dinner at the Blossom Café for seven tonight. I’ve emailed Zinnia and she has your in-season dietary restrictions.
” Maeve blinked at him and that indicated she was done.
“You had to email Zinnia. I really wanted some pecan pie tonight,” Knox said on a sigh. In-season nutrition was all about willpower. Maeve made it her mission to make sure that if Knox’s willpower slipped, he had no other options except to keep on eating healthy.
“Not if you want to be a supermodel. Now, if you don’t need anything further, I’m heading to handle your email. I’ll forward anything you need to know.”
“Thanks, Maeve.”
It was podcast time. Knox fulfilled his duties.
He answered questions, got annoyed that once again interviewers seemed more concerned with his off-the-field numbers than on-field numbers.
But he was polite, funny, and kept bringing them back to his play on the field.
Easy to do since the moment he had seen Quinn that all desire for any other woman came to a screeching halt.
Finding a way to get Quinn back into his life and not miss out on this second chance was all Knox could think about.
Knox entered the practice facility next door to the stadium. Before he even set foot in practice, he had meetings to attend. First was with his father. They went over the last game and what he wanted to see from this upcoming game.
“I heard the podcast this morning,” his father said after ending the meeting.
“What did you think?” Knox asked.
“That having a girlfriend would help you out a lot to keep the interviewers focused on your job and not your love life.”
“I’m sorry,” Knox said, blinking at his father. “I thought I had a meeting with my dad today, not my mom.”
His father grinned at that. “Look how well Holt and Annaleigh are doing. I’m telling you, from experience, the love of a good woman backing you up during the season takes your game to a whole new level.”
“Oh, so my head coach thinks we should all marry to improve our game? Have you given Jaylen the same advice?” Knox asked about their playboy running back.
“Jaylen doesn’t need the talk. He has a new love every week. Why do you think he rushes for a hundred yards per game?”
Knox rolled his eyes at his father before picking up his playbook and notebook and leaving his dad’s office.
Holt had just gotten married. His parents should be celebrating that and not trying to get Knox hooked up with someone.
Besides, they didn’t know Quinn and that was the only person he cared about being hooked up with.
“Okay, okay. Are you ready to go over the defense for this week?” Coach Samson, the offensive coordinator, asked.
“Yes, sir. I have ideas for some plays too,” Knox said, taking a seat at the table and getting to work.
Two meetings down and one more to go. Knox walked farther down the hall to Kate Davies’s office.
She was married to Knox’s lifelong friend and chef, Landon Davies.
Coach Kate, the name she preferred to be called, was Knox’s quarterback coach and the passing game coordinator.
Coach Samson and Knox had agreed that Coach Kate would be calling a lot of the plays this upcoming game since the defense wasn’t good against the passing game.
Knox knocked on Kate’s door, but it wasn’t Kate who called out to him. The playful bark of her Vizsla, Rip, told him to come in. The red, short-haired dog wiggled in excitement with a large plush football in his mouth as Knox entered.
“Hey, bud,” Knox talked to him as Rip showed off the toy football.
Knox took a seat and Rip invaded his personal space by placing his front feet on Knox’s thighs and shoving the toy into Knox’s face.
“Okay, we’ll play,” Knox said with a laugh, taking the toy and tossing it across the room for Rip to chase.
“You know you’re going to be stuck doing that for the next hour, right?
” Kate said, standing up to grab a remote.
She was in team joggers and a long-sleeved team athletic shirt that exposed the beginning bump of her pregnancy.
She was still three months from her due date, but Knox saw her glow and it was real.
So were the hormones. He and the team had become well acquainted with them.
The fathers on the team had led a private meeting to give the single men a heads-up.
Kate didn’t cry or have outbursts of any kind.
Instead, she ate the most disgusting combinations of food and became stubborn and more competitive than normal.
One practice, his father had suggested Kate bring a chair and she’d crossed her arms and told him that pregnant women worked all the time without sitting down.
If the team started to win, she’d sit down.
Poor Zack, their center, almost vomited at the smell of her pickle juice and caramel milkshake.
And Deon, their main receiver who was married with kids, almost quit when Kate tried to shove him on a passing route to prove her point.
A point that was very fair, but Deon couldn’t help but treat Kate differently since she was pregnant, the last thing Kate wanted.
She wanted to be treated as if nothing had changed.
Knox sniffed the air and tried to repress his gag reflex. “What did you have for lunch?”
“Sauerkraut stuffed peppers. Want some?” Kate asked with such excitement that he felt bad for complaining about the smell.
“No thanks. I’m good. So, what’s the plan for Sunday?” Knox asked as he breathed through his mouth.
“You’re going to throw the crap out of the ball. Now, let’s look at these plays I wrote up.”
Knox nodded and they went to work before he even touched the field to practice.
“This is gonna be a fun game!” Deon said with a whoop as they showered after practice.
“Fun for you,” Jaylen pouted. “I get laid three times as much if I have over a hundred rushing yards. I’ll be lucky to get twenty this week.”
Deon laughed, but Zack and the rest of the offensive linemen agreed with Jaylen. Not because of rushing yards, but because they were going to have to keep the defense off Knox long enough to make his throws.
“To pay me back,” Jaylen said, toweling off, “you can be my wingman. This hottie has a best friend that’s dying to meet you.”
The reaction to being with someone who was not Quinn was so strong that it shook Knox. It was almost a physical reaction and he’d not even talked to Quinn for the past two weeks. “Sorry, can’t.”
Knox pulled on his sweatpants and long-sleeved T-shirt as Jaylen turned to Austin Russell, the new backup QB they’d picked up during the offseason, to get him to help convince Knox to be his wingman.
Austin had a serious attitude problem. He didn’t like being number two.
And his reality show like wife, Hayley, didn’t either.
She wanted to be the queen WAG. She’d already rubbed Knox’s mother the wrong way and certainly rubbed Deon’s wife the wrong way.
Deon had been complaining about it from the first practice.
“Aw, come on man,” Jaylen called out as Knox grabbed his bag and began to walk out of the locker room. “Where are you going?”
“To work on my house,” Knox called out. They all knew he was fixing up the house he’d bought on his own. Some of them had been over to help him with a few things he couldn’t do alone.
Knox pushed open the doors of the practice arena and stopped when he saw his car.
Quinn was leaning against the car parked next to Knox’s.
“Quinn?” Quinn blushed and while she was no longer in the baggy sweats she’d worn in college, she still had that fresh-faced look he loved.
“This is a nice surprise after a long day.”
“It is?” Quinn asked hesitantly.
“It’s a very nice surprise. I was going to reach out to you after seeing you at the hospital, but I don’t have your number,” Knox admitted to her. He wasn’t going to hide anything, especially his desire to see more of her.
“Well, that just happens to be the reason I’m here.
I thought after things calm down at work that maybe I could take you up on that offer to show me around.
” Knox saw the way her fingers twisted nervously together and forced himself not to smile.
She was being brave, and it also meant she wasn’t as unaffected as she’d appeared by seeing him again.
Did that mean she’d maybe also held feelings for him in college? Knox didn’t know, but he hoped so.
“I’d like that. Give me your phone and I’ll give you my number.” Quinn handed over her phone and he entered his number before texting himself so that he had her number as well. “What’s going on with work?” Quinn frowned and Knox hated that he’d asked. He wanted to keep that shy smile on her face.
“Just having some trouble with a program I helped write. My boss is coming into town and I may have to work with my old team to try to correct it.”
“If anyone can fix it, it’s you. You’re the smartest person I know.
” There was that shy smile again that he loved.
Knox moved closer to his door so that they were now standing close together, only they were each leaning against their own cars.
“Do you want to grab dinner?” Knox asked, holding his breath in anticipation of her answer.
Her smile faded and she shook her head. “Sadly, I have to get back to work. It’s going to be a lot of late nights until I figure this out.”
Knox reached out and took her hand in his. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she stared at his large hand holding hers with surprise. “Text me if you need anything. I know Lexington is pretty safe, but even if you only need someone to walk you to your car or bring you some coffee, call me.”
“Thank you, Knox. But I don’t want to upset your girlfriend,” she said, pulling her hand slowly from his. “An old buddy from college isn’t worth that fight.”
“One,” Knox said, trying to stay calm as he feared his second chance might be in jeopardy, “I’m single.
No girlfriend for a while now. Two, you were never just a buddy.
You were always so much more.” Knox reached back out and gave her hand a squeeze, willing her to believe him.
“Call me if you need anything, and I’ll check in on you later tonight. ”
Knox walked away. It was so hard to do, but he needed to give her space to analyze and process what he’d told her. Knox hoped she saw the truth in what he told her.