Page 41 of Craving You

For a moment, Max had no idea how to respond to that.

“But I told her it wasn’t her decision and that it was between me and you,” she quickly clarified. “I don’t expect her or my dad to just be…you know…cool with all of this. You’re going to get a lot of side-eye and I’m going to get a lot of how they’re disappointed. I’m already prepared for it.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” he murmured.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…I get that this isn’t exactly traditional, and you said that your mother told you she’d be there for you, so why would they be disappointed?”

“It’s just…” Letting out a long breath, Hailey twisted slightly in her seat to look at him. “I have three older brothers, then there’s me, and Sloane is the baby. My mom has always talked about how she couldn’t wait for me to get married so she can have a big wedding and do all the girlie things. Let’s be honest, that can all still happen, but she’s always dramatic and will act like it’s no longer possible. There will be a lot of talk of how I can’t wear a white dress…trust me, it’s going to be a thing.”

Here was his opening.

“So then we’ll get married.”

“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! It’s too soon! We barely know each other!”

“That’s what the last few days have been about! And—if you think about it—that was a lot of genuine, quality time! No interruptions, just being with each other twenty-four hours a day for three days! I’d bet good money that we know more about each other than couples who have been dating for months!”

“But that’s not…we just…” Groaning, her head fell back against the headrest. “Oh, Max…how did everything get so crazy?”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to get through this together. I told you; I’m not going anywhere. Whether we’re co-parenting, living together, or married, I’m all in no matter what.”

“It’s all so much to think about. The only thing saving my sanity today is that my cousins aren’t going to be all pushy and demand answers from us.” Then she seemed to relax. “I love seeing all of them and it’s really kind of cool that we’re all having babies. It will be a great support network once I move here.”

“That’s very true.” They turned onto Marcus and Billie’s block. “So let’s just take things as they come today. If anyone asks us anything that we haven’t figured out yet…”

“That would be everything,” she joked with a small laugh.

Laughing, he had to agree. “If they ask us anything that we haven’t figured out yet, that’s what we’ll tell them. This is all new and we’re just starting to work it all out. For all we know, they’ll have some great suggestions to help us.”

“Maybe.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence until they pulled into the driveway.

“Wow, people are here already?” Hailey asked as she straightened. “I thought they weren’t supposed to be here until later this afternoon.”

Max parked and nodded. “That’s what I thought. It was supposed to be sometime around three. But…I don’t recognize the car, so maybe it’s a friend or someone work related.”

“That makes sense.” Glancing around, she asked, “Should we bring everything in now?”

“Probably. One less thing to do later after everyone leaves.”

Together, they collected their bags and as they walked toward the house, Max took Hailey’s free hand in his. “Remember, we’ve got this.”

Smiling, she agreed. “Yes, we do.”

Pulling open the side door that led to the kitchen, he stepped back and let her go in first. “I wonder what…” His words died in his throat as he nearly plowed right into her. “Hailey? What’s…?”

She froze in front of him and gasped. “Oh my God…Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

“Hailey Shae Donovan! Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been?” someone called out.

Hailey Shae?

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