Page 56 of Be My Baby

Her insides twisted in pain. They were friends, even if the intimate side of their relationship was no more, she’d have thought their friendship would’ve been enough for him to confide in her, to let her help.

He couldn’t have been more obvious if he’d drawn a literal line in the sand.

She wasn’t welcome in there, had no right to be, and Max hadn’t asked her to come in to hear what was going on.

Blinking back the sting of tears, she moved her mouse and focused on the home screen of her laptop. She opened her to-do list for the day and bit her bottom lip to stop the wobble. A wetsplathit the trackpad.

Millie wiped at the rogue tear that had dripped off her chin, erasing its existence, and concentrated on her coming day, hiding her breaking heart behind the resurrected wall of steel that she’d thought she’d left behind for good.

*

Max sat withhis head resting in his cupped hands, his elbows resting on his knees, while Trey read through the insurance document.

He screwed his eyes shut, but images of Millie’s face assailed him. Her shocked, alarmed face.

Her beautiful face.

He’d hurt her. He knew that. She’d covered well, but he knew her and knew that pained look in her eyes.

Then she’d shut down on him.

His gut somersaulted. If he hadn’t wanted to puke already, due to the email he’d received, he certainly wanted to now. How had he thought pushing her away could possibly be the right thing to do? Was he really that messed up?

“Fuck,” he muttered, the word barely audible even to himself, but somehow Trey heard.

“It helps to get it out, Max, but I wouldn’t go that far. Not yet.”

Max forced a tilt to his mouth. It wasn’t a smile, but it was the best he could do. If only Trey knew the reason he was swearing.

Sure, the insurance problem was massive. Life destroying, if truth be known.

But compared to the fact he’d just deliberately hurt the one person who soothed his weary soul?

It meant nothing. That’s what thefuckwas for. He couldn’t even go back out there and beg her to disregard his stupid words. She wouldn’t want to hear it. And he couldn’t. He had no right wanting a child that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to take care of. The money he’d been going to set aside in a trust was going to have to be used to help pay his employees. He wouldn’t have anything left. And he refused to not honour his commitments to his staff. They depended on him, on those wages. No longer having a job would be bad enough.

He had no right squirreling money away for a child that might never eventuate, no matter how much he wanted one.

No matter how much he wanted one withMillie.

He couldn’t even tell her how much he cared about her. That he loved her. If this turned out how he expected, because in all seriousness, fighting against a large insurance firm was bound to end in disaster—for him—he would have nothing to offer.

Nothing at all.

He’d even have to pay for the clean-up of the site himself.

That alone could cost him hundreds of thousands, especially if they found dangerous materials amongst the debris. And that was money he didn’t have. He’d funnelled everything he had into the business and had paid off his loan early, and while he now owned it, it left him with a severe lack of that magnitude of capital. A chill ran down his spine and he forced his mind away from that subject.

He picked at his thumbnail and fought the pervading numbness that threatened to overwhelm him. If he stopped thinking altogether, he might stand a chance at not panicking about the terrible decision he’d made.

His mind ran in never-ending circles. How could henottell her that he loved her? Sure, she might raise that sexy, sculpted eyebrow and cut him down, but after how they’d been together, the way theyfelt, he had a strong feeling that she just might not.

You love her, you bloody fool. Tell the woman!

He nodded to himself. Yes. Yes, he would do just that. If she wasn’t interested, if she didn’t want to hear it, he would go from there. At least he wouldn’t be the idiot who didn’t tell the woman he loved, that he did.

He’d do it now. Before he could chicken out. Before the damage was too much to reverse.

He tightened his muscles to stand.

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