Page 51 of Craving You

“Billie is a financial whiz. It’s almost crazy. She came to work for me, and I just thought she was there as a baker. Then she offered to invest a little to help me advertise, and I reluctantly agreed. After that, she asked to become a partner and that enabled me to upgrade a lot of our equipment. Once we got settled, she helped Ash get her salon off the ground and did the same for Levi with his office. She doesn’t want to run anything; she’s just investing in her family and the town she loves so much.”

“If you opened a studio—and considering you’re pregnant too—you could offer prenatal yoga and Pilates, and teach about the importance of diet and nutrition during pregnancy,” Chloe offered. “I’m not sure if that’s something you’re interested in, but I think it would be a great service to offer.”

“That would be an absolute dream,” Hailey said wistfully. “It was something I’ve wanted for a long time—basically because I got tired of waiting for my bosses to make the improvements to the spa that they said they were going to. I mean…I would do nutrition counseling on top of offering yoga and Pilates, I could be a personal trainer…” Pausing, something occurred to her. “Would there be enough interest here for such a thing? Maybe that’s why there isn’t one already.”

“That’s why you need to talk to Billie!” Jade said excitedly. “I know it’s a long-shot, and I have no idea how it would work, but at least it’s a way to start.”

Four pairs of eyes looked at Hailey expectantly.

If it all worked out, it would literally be an answer to all her prayers. She would be doing what she loved, and she’d have at least one thing settled in her life.

“So?” Ash asked. “What do you think?”

The smile was too strong to even try to fight. “I think it’s an amazing idea!” she blurted out happily. “I just hope we can make it work!”

There was a group hug, and they stayed up in the guest room for just a little while longer until they ran out of snacks.

“I hate to say it, but I think we need to go back downstairs and rejoin the party,” Jade said, sounding like the voice of reason. “I know your parents are going to be a handful, and you’re a little annoyed with Max right now, but try to enjoy the rest of the day. Everything’s going to work itself out. I promise.”

Hailey nodded, but she didn’t feel even the least bit confident.

Sloane came up beside her and hooked their arms together. “And if Mom or Dad give you any grief, remind them again how Mom was a bun-in-the-oven bride because that was amazing!”

Ugh…

“That wasn’t my finest moment,” she murmured.

“No, but it was exactly what needed to be said. You’ve got this, Hales. Stop worrying so much.”

If only…

On Wednesday morning, Max stood back and watched Hailey say goodbye to her family. They had asked her repeatedly to fly home with them, but she insisted that she needed to stay in Sweetbriar Ridge for at least another week. To say he was relieved was an understatement, because things had been strained ever since his disastrous declaration on Sunday. They’d spent every day together when he wasn’t working, but her parents were present for most of it.

That’s why he wasn’t the least bit sad to see them leave.

“Max!” Kevin called out. “I’ll have those figures for you this weekend and my nephew Patrick will be in touch as well!”

Max smiled and waved, but didn’t breathe easily until their car was completely out of sight.

Casually, he walked up beside Hailey and hesitated before putting his arm around her. “You okay?”

The soft sigh was her initial response before resting her head against his shoulder. “It felt weird to watch them leave, but I’m not sorry that they left.”

He wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he stayed silent.

“What about you?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

“Me? I’m fine. Why?”

“Well, since you and my dad are officially BFFs now, I just thought you might be sad that he’s gone.”

Glancing down at her, he saw the impish grin on her face. “Ha, ha. You’re hilarious.” Gently, he shrugged his shoulder before taking her hand and leading her back into the house. “I thought you’d be happy that we’re all getting along. With the way things started when we got back from Summit Ridge on Sunday, I wasn’t sure we were going to convince them to calm down.”

“You spoke my father’s language,” she said, and for the first time since Sunday, there was a bit of snap in her voice.

“Meaning?”

“You talked about opening a bar, asked his advice about construction, shared your love of different beers, and told him you wanted to marry his daughter and make everything alright.” With a huff of annoyance, she walked over to the coffeemaker and groaned. “Dammit! I really want something more powerful than decaf right now!” Spinning around, she walked over to the kitchen island and opened the bakery box that got refreshed daily and pulled out a brownie. After taking an obscenely large bite, she glared at him.

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