Page 71 of Craving You

“What about you?” he asked. “How was girls’ night?”

She continued to smile as she walked into the living room and motioned for him to follow. The dogs all perked up when she walked into the room and jumped onto the couch to be with her.

I get it, guys…I feel the same way too.

“It was amazing,” she gushed as he sat down beside her and the dogs. “I get that these are my cousins and we’re already close, but we’ve never had a chance to just hang out without it being a big family event. Chloe made these amazing chicken enchiladas—and yes, I got the recipe—and we drank virgin margaritas, and it was just so much fun!” Her head fell back against the cushions as she sighed happily. When she turned her head and looked at him, she was still smiling. “And it was really very cool knowing that we’re all pregnant together. Well, except Jade, but she’s already had two kids and knows a ton about being pregnant. I feel like I learned a lot tonight.”

“That’s awesome!”

“But I also learned that I have so much to learn,” she told him. “I guess I never realized just how much happens to your body and…Chloe gave me a book to read. It’s supposed to explain everything you should expect while you’re expecting.”

“Doesn’t she need it?”

Shaking her head, she sat up a bit. “Apparently, Tanner has his own copy and they’ve been reading it together, so she said this was her spare. I told her I could just order my own copy from the bookstore, but she insisted I take it. So, guess what I’ll be reading for the next seven months?”

That made him laugh. “Well, then I’ll try to be like Tanner and get a copy and we can share notes. How does that sound?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

And they stayed like that—just looking at each other and sharing smiles. It was such a simple yet perfect moment and Max was so tempted to just say how he felt, but Hailey yawned and stretched and her eyes began to close.

Tomorrow, he thought. I can tell her tomorrow.

Standing, he moved closer and gently shooed the dogs away. “Come on, sleepy girl. You look ready to fall asleep.”

“Mmm…this couch is very comfy. I’ll just rest my eyes for a minute,” she said sleepily.

At that moment, Max didn’t even think twice. Bending down, he carefully scooped her up into his arms. Her eyes immediately flew open, but then she rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled closer.

“Why are you always so good to me?” she whispered.

Again, this could be the perfect opening to tell her how he felt, but he didn’t. “You make it easy,” he softly told her. “And I enjoy taking care of you.”

She hummed as she tried to snuggle even closer. He slowly made his way up the stairs to her room—well, it had sort of become their room—and gently placed her down on the bed. Moving around, he took her shoes and socks off before grabbing one of her nightshirts from the dresser. It was awkward getting her undressed and then into her pajamas, and she slept through most of it. But when he finally had her all situated and under the blankets, he couldn’t help but stop and look at her. He was caressing her cheek when she hummed again and whispered his name.

Bending forward, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight, beautiful girl.” His words were spoken so quietly he was sure she didn’t even hear them.

“Love you, Max,” she said in the same hushed tone, and Max swore his ears were deceiving him.

Was it possible that she really was in love with him? Was this part of the whole trust issue she had and her subconscious allowed her to say it finally?

There was no way for him to know and it would be wrong to wake her up and ask her if she meant it because…well…she probably didn’t even realize she’d said it.

“So I’m still stuck waiting,” he murmured.

The yawn was out before he could stop it, but instead of crawling into bed beside her, he needed to let the dogs out one more time and make sure everything was locked up. And when he was done, he’d come back and gently pull her into his arms and hold her all night while silently hoping she’d say those words to him again.

Chapter Twelve

Paranoia was never her thing, but right now, Hailey was totally feeling paranoid.

For the last several days, Max had been looking at her like…like he was just waiting for her to say something. And yet, no matter what she said, he still seemed to be waiting. It was totally weird, and it made her wonder just what it was he was expecting.

I could just ask him…

They had finished lunch a few minutes ago and he ran back up to his apartment-slash-office to grab something he needed for a meeting he was heading to. As she cleaned up the kitchen and dumped her nearly full glass of water down the drain, it hit her how they had settled into this little form of domesticated bliss. Other than the way he’d been watching her lately, things were seriously great. She still missed her family, but she was loving small-town life.

“I’d love it even more if I could find a job,” she murmured, putting the last of their plates in the dishwasher.

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