Page 24 of Craving You

He held up a hand to stop her. “It’s okay, and you don’t have to apologize. My brother kind of joked about how he thought Billie was going to find out why you were here while she was showing you the house, but I didn’t think it would actually happen.” He motioned for her to sit down on his small sofa. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Thanks, but I’m good.” Then she let out a weary sigh. “I’m really messing this whole thing up. I had no idea this was going to be…so much!”

“Does anyone else in your family know?”

Nodding, she explained about the dinner with her mother and sister. “Originally, I just planned on keeping it a secret until I talked to you. Sloane knew, but she’s like a vault. I never have to worry about her sharing any secrets. But after everyone saw the picture of us and my mother just kept harping on it, I just blurted it out. Sort of like I just did with Billie.” She groaned. “What is wrong with me?”

Luckily, he didn’t say anything and just genuinely seemed to listen without judgment.

She felt her shoulders sag. “So…let’s talk.”

She watched him pace for a minute before he sat down beside her. “I’m not sure where to even begin. Would you consider moving here, or would you like me to move to Florida?”

“I would never ask you to give up your life here. You just moved back.” Shaking her head, she repeated. “Plus, you have your business here.”

“I want to be involved in my child’s life, Hailey. And if that means I need to move to Fort Lauderdale to do it, then I will.”

Her heart started to race. Was he serious?

“That won’t be necessary,” she began slowly. “If anything, I would prefer to move here. I just didn’t want you to think I’m trying to trap you or take over your life or anything like that.”

His head fell back against the cushions, and she could tell he was frustrated. But when he lifted his head and looked at her, his expression was completely neutral. “I realize we don’t know each other that well, but I can already tell that you are a people pleaser who is afraid of upsetting anyone, and that’s not going to work. We’re in this together. No one’s accusing you of trapping anyone. Hell, if I thought you’d say yes, I’d take you to the courthouse first thing tomorrow morning and marry you!”

“What?!” she said in a near screech.

“I’m serious, Hailey. Marry me. Marry me and we’ll raise this baby and…”

“Are you insane? We can’t get married! You just said we don’t even know each other!” She felt herself shaking on top of the heart racing, and now she felt like she was going to throw up. Glancing around frantically, she spotted the bathroom and made a run for it. Naturally, Max was hot on her heels.

Ugh…how embarrassing. Kill me now…

When she was done, he gently helped her to her feet, gave her a cool cloth and a glass of water. “I’ve got an unopened toothbrush if you’d like to use it.”

“I would. Thanks.” As soon as she was done brushing her teeth, he led her back over to the couch.

“Sorry.”

He sat down beside her. “I’m not gonna lie…your reaction to my proposal was kind of a huge blow to my ego.”

She knew he was teasing, and it was exactly what she needed to help her relax. “Oh, Max…how did everything get so crazy?”

Moving in closer, he placed his arm around her and guided her head to his shoulder. His hands gently combed through her hair, and it just felt so nice. “I don’t know, but we’re going to get through this together. I’m not going anywhere.”

It felt so good to be close to him and be in his arms again, even if it wasn’t exactly the way she’d been fantasizing about it for the last month.

I’m serious, Hailey. Marry me. Marry me and we’ll raise this baby.

The hopeless romantic in her would love to just say yes. It was crazy and more than a little unorthodox—and they didn’t need to be married to have a baby—but there was a tiny part of her that wanted to marry him.

Marry me. Marry me and we’ll raise this baby.

There was a very real chance he was just saying what he thought he needed to say, and it wasn’t at all what he actually wanted, but how would she ever really know? And was that what she wanted? A marriage of convenience for the sake of their baby?

Marry me and we’ll raise this baby.

Marry me.

Marry me.

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