Page 29 of Craving You

Max took a moment to mentally count to ten before responding, because he didn’t want to come off sounding too accusatory.

“Can I ask you something?” he began, and when she nodded, he went on. “Did you even want to come here and tell me you were pregnant? Or maybe you thought you’d tell me and I would be a total ass and say something like ‘this isn’t my problem’ and send you on your way? Because I want us to both be very clear on this—I am one hundred percent in.”

“I wasn’t…”

“I get that this isn’t ideal; we barely know each other. But that doesn’t matter to me because I want to get to know you! I’ve regretted not doing more to make that happen over the last month. You need to know that you are not going to do this alone. We have a lot to figure out, but we’re going to figure it out together, okay?”

There were tears in her eyes as she nodded.

Unable to help himself, he reached across the table and caressed her cheek. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he whispered.

The soft smile told him she was okay. “Everything seems to make me cry lately. And…thank you for everything you just said. This is all so crazy and I’m not used to having this much chaos in my life. I’m a fairly regimented person and suddenly everything’s upside down. The last ten days have been an emotional rollercoaster, and I swear I just wish I could hit pause on everything and not have to think about all of…you know…this.”

“I’m sure.”

Then he realized that as much as he figured today was supposed to be about talking about all the things that needed to be discussed, maybe they needed to pivot.

“How about this,” he said, finally pulling his hand away from her soft skin and straightening in his chair. “We forget about everything for the day.”

“Max…”

Holding up his hand, he said, “Hear me out. Today we go on a real first date. We’ll go up to Summit Ridge and explore the resort, ride the rides, and have some lunch. Tonight, we’ll go out to dinner—again, just the two of us—and pretend that it’s right after Marcus and Billie’s wedding and we’re doing the things we should have done if logistics were on our side. What do you say?”

She studied him for a moment. “And you don’t think that we’re both not going to mention the whole pregnancy thing at some point?” Her little bark of laughter was kind of funny. “I know I say I want to hit pause on it all, but I’m not sure I can completely forget it.”

Leaning in close, he grinned. “Stick with me, beautiful. I’ll keep you completely occupied.”

Preferably in bed, he thought, but Max knew he shouldn’t be thinking about that right now.

The soft gasp Hailey let out and the way her eyes went wide told him maybe he wasn’t the only one thinking naughty thoughts.

She nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment before she nodded. “I’m not sure we’re going to pull this off, but…I’m in!”

“Yes!” He practically high-fived himself. “Any chance you’re feeling a little…reckless?”

“Um…”

“We can pack overnight bags and just spend the entire day and night up at the lodge. No interruptions, no family hovering, just the two of us.”

“I think we both know if we do that, we’re not going to discuss anything.”

Taking her hand again, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “And that’s the point, Hales. We’re not supposed to be discussing those things. Today and tonight were for us to get to know each other.”

“And I get that, but…we already know…you know…”

He totally knew what she was getting at. “I know last night I said that we shouldn’t, but…”

“I know,” she quickly interjected. “I feel the same way, but…you were right.”

Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed it. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” Pushing away from the table, Max picked up his plate and stood. “How about we meet down here in, say…two hours?”

“Two hours? It won’t take me that long to get ready,” she joked as she got to her feet too.

Chuckling, he shook his head. “That wasn’t what I was implying. I’m the one who needs the time. I need to take care of some business since we’ll be out all day. Once I clean up…”

Hailey held up a hand to stop him. “I’ll take care of the breakfast cleanup. You go and do what you need to, and we’ll meet back here in two hours.”

“Are you sure?”

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