Page 59 of Craving You

“Oh, please! It takes two to get pregnant! And as for you seducing me? I think we can be honest and say it was an equal seduction. We were both flirting, we were both dropping some serious hints about where we wanted the weekend to go, and we did exactly what we both wanted to do!”

Growling with frustration, he kicked the chair out from under him as he got to his feet. “Why are you like this? Why are you taking all the blame and all the responsibility? If you’re saying that it takes two and we seduced each other, then why do you think everything is your fault? Instead of constantly apologizing to me and to everyone else, why aren’t you mad at me for contributing to the mess?”

Sighing, she looked over at him. “Do you want me to be mad at you?”

“Please don’t answer my question with a question,” he said wearily. “I’m just trying to understand you. You know how I said you had to come here and live with a stranger? Well, I’m going to be living with one too! Being sexually compatible isn’t going to be enough for us to make it. If we’re going to survive this pregnancy, then we’re going to have to stop hitting pause on reality, and you’re going to have to stop taking the blame for everything.”

“You didn’t seem to mind me hitting pause on reality when we were dealing with the move,” she mumbled.

“I didn’t,” he agreed. “But I also didn’t need an excuse to make love with you! I slept with you because I wanted to, not because I was trying to forget anything else.”

Her expression turned cool and he had a feeling he may have gone too far.

Slowly, Hailey got to her feet and began cleaning up their breakfast dishes. “I won’t be making that mistake again, believe me.”

“Can you just…” He let out a long breath. “You also didn’t seem to mind hitting pause and sleeping with me when there wasn’t anyone around to know about it!” he reminded her. “It was fine at Summit Ridge because no one even knew we were there! And I think the only reason you were okay with it when we were in Florida was because we stayed by ourselves. But as soon as we got back here, you’ve been treating me like a stranger!”

“Sorry, still here,” Marcus muttered as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. “And going back to my office.”

Waiting until they heard Marcus shut his office door, she turned to look at Max again. “Because things are real now,” she began with a sigh. “Like…they’ve been real all along, but this is like…really real.” Laughing softly, she shook her head. “Can I say real a few more times?”

And for some reason, that seemed to work on defusing the situation. “I get what you’re saying, but we’re going to have to settle into some sort of life here. We have to set some boundaries and expectations because I never know what to expect with you and it’s not fair.”

She gasped softly. “You don’t know…?”

“Is today the day you’re going to seek me out, or are we going to be polite strangers, or new friends hanging out and commiserating about our job situations? I want us to be partners, Hailey. I don’t care that we’re doing things out of order. I want us to start building something here that’s going to last.”

Then he practically held his breath while he waited for her response. In most situations, he was a patient guy, but this was all too big—too important—for him to keep being cautious.

This time when she looked at him, she looked…sad. “I think…we both deserve a love match,” she said, her voice shaking slightly. “Our lives are complicated enough without trying to force feelings that wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for this pregnancy.”

He didn’t respond.

“So for now, I think you should pick out a house that you like and…consider me a roommate. Maybe after the baby is here and maybe a year old, I’ll be able to find a place nearby—like a little apartment or something so we can co-parent while resuming the lives we had before…this.”

Still no response.

“Please don’t think I’m being ungrateful,” she rambled on. “Because believe me, I am incredibly thankful for everything you’ve done for me and for wanting to sacrifice so much of your life for me and the baby. You’re an amazing man and I’m glad you’re the one I’m going through all of this with.”

And still nothing.

“Max? Say something. Please.”

Standing, he finished clearing away their breakfast dishes, not looking at her. “I guess I should thank you for being so brutally honest with me. I thought we weren’t looking at this as a temporary thing or being so utterly…forced.”

“You have to admit…”

“Now that I know how you feel, it makes things easier for me. Clearer.” Now he faced her. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll move into the house while my brother and Billie are gone, but I’ll sleep in one of the other guest rooms. I’ll treat the apartment as my office.”

His tone was cool and slightly detached and it felt almost like an out-of-body experience. He felt numb.

“I’ll work on finding a house,” he went on, “but I might occasionally ask for your input. Not that I’m pressuring you in any way, but just because I always enjoy getting other people’s opinions. I hope that’s okay.”

“Max…”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, it looks like I have some calls to make. I’ll see you at dinner.”

He walked out of the kitchen and told himself that maybe this was for the best.

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