Page 4 of Craving You

Before Hailey could respond, Sloane stormed from the room. The townhouse was small, so it wasn’t like she was going to go far, and Hailey found her flopping down on the living room sofa.

“Honestly? I wasn’t sure if I was going to say anything,” she admitted as she sat down beside her. “I mean…I literally just took the test right before you called earlier and I’m still processing it.”

That got Sloane’s attention. She sat up with a dramatic sigh. “Was it the groom’s brother? Billie’s new brother-in-law?”

Hailey nodded.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m probably going to eat my weight in ice cream tonight, and then take a few more pregnancy tests before I see Dr. Wheeler next week.” Her shoulders sagged. “Believe it or not, I’m trying really hard not to freak out.”

The next thing she knew, her sister grabbed her in a fierce hug. “I am here for you. Always. No matter what you want to do, I will support you one hundred percent.”

Her arms went around her as tears rolled down her face. “Thank you.” They stayed like that for several long moments before Hailey pulled back and wiped her tears. “This is obviously a bit of a shock. If I really am…you know…pregnant, I have to figure out how I’m going to tell Mom and Dad.”

Groaning, Sloane fell back against the cushions. “That’s not going to be fun.”

“Exactly. And then I have to figure out how I’m going to tell Max. We didn’t even exchange phone numbers, so I don’t have any idea how I’m going to get in touch with him. Plus, we barely know each other!”

“Well, maybe a little more than barely. You kind of spent almost the entire weekend naked with him. I think that qualifies as knowing him.”

“Sloane…”

“Okay, okay, but you know what I’m saying. It’s going to be awkward, but you said that Max was a great guy. Maybe that means he won’t completely freak out.”

“Maybe.”

They sat in companionable silence again for a few minutes until the doorbell rang.

“You get the drinks,” Hailey said, “and I’ll grab the food.” And within minutes, they were back in the living room with their dinner on the coffee table. They were making their plates when Sloane said her name.

“I know you’re freaking out, so the last thing I want to do is put any pressure on you to talk about this. Just know that when you’re ready, I’m here to listen.”

Tears stung her eyes again as she whispered, “Thank you.”

Right now, it was nice to focus on dumplings and wontons and whatever British rom-com her sister announced they were going to watch.

And for the next few hours, she was able to push the real world aside. Lord knew it was going to come crashing back in soon enough.

“And that’s the last of it.”

Max Calloway looked at all the boxes around him and groaned. Moving into the guest space above his brother’s garage seemed like a good idea, but maybe he should have left more of his things in storage.

Scratching his head, he murmured, “What the hell was I thinking?”

But he knew. He had been living with his father in his childhood home and was desperate to have a space of his own again. Life had been pure chaos for the last two months, but now he felt like he was finally settled back in Sweetbriar Ridge. His original plan to move back had been based on his father’s health and needing to live closer to him. Then Marcus moved back and married Billie Donovan. So really, the timing was perfect for him to be here too.

“Let’s just hope the whole living above a garage thing doesn’t last too long.”

Honestly, he was beyond thankful that Marcus and Billie offered him the space. He didn’t consider himself to be an overly picky person, but finding a place that he liked was proving to be impossible. So, for the time being, he had this studio apartment that he could call his own.

While secretly telling himself he was a fully grown man who wasn’t living in a room over a garage.

“Yeah, I’m going to have to work on that.”

“Knock, knock!” Billie called out from the bottom of the stairs. “Is it okay to come up?”

Grinning, he replied, “That depends. Do you have cake?”

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