Page 76 of Craving You

“We did, but we want you to see it too. This is a group effort.”

“Then Marcus should be there too.”

“Pfft…your brother doesn’t want to be involved in this part. He’ll want a full report with all the legwork done before he’ll even want to talk about it.”

Laughing softly, he had to agree. “That makes sense. Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow. And thanks again.”

“I didn’t do anything. Just try to relax tonight.”

“We will. Talk to you tomorrow.”

When he hung up, he noticed Hailey was just slipping her phone back into her purse. She sighed softly.

“Everyone updated?” he asked.

Turning her head, she gave him a small smile. “Luckily it was a group text, so it was easy to just have to answer everything once, but it was incredibly sweet how concerned they all were. They’re dropping food off at the house for us for dinner, so that’s one less thing we have to do tonight.”

“I wonder if…”

“Jade’s bringing stuff from the coffee shop, so yes, there will be cake.”

They both laughed at that and it made him happy how she already knew what he was thinking. All the time they’d been spending together really had made a tremendous difference for them. Clearly Hailey was feeling it too because it seemed like she was building up to something big back there at the hospital before the discharge nurse came in and interrupted them.

“Hey, um…”

“I swear I can’t wait to get back to the house, put on jammies, and just sit on the couch and eat while we watch some TV,” she said, completely unaware that he was about to ask her a question. “The girls didn’t mention what they were specifically bringing, but is it wrong that I’m hoping Chloe made her enchiladas?”

Okay, so maybe he needed to be patient—again—and pray that whatever it was Hailey was going to say back at the hospital, she’d feel led to tell him again sometime soon.

Never pray for patience because it clearly turns into a test…

The rest of the drive, they talked about food, and it felt like they were both trying to keep the conversation light and neutral instead of addressing how emotional everything was. It seemed odd, but he supposed it would be better to wait until they were home and relaxed to have a deep conversation.

When they pulled into the driveway, there were multiple cars there and he did his best not to sound disappointed when he said, “It looks like we’ve got company.”

Her first response was a soft hum as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “They mentioned that they didn’t want to bring anything over until after they heard from me, and considering it was only a thirty-minute drive, it makes sense that they’re here.”

“I guess,” he murmured. Max got out and walked around to the passenger side to help Hailey out.

“I’m fine, Max. I promise. You heard the nurse. I need to rest a bit, but other than that, I’m fine.” Then she gasped.

“What? What’s the matter? Are you in pain?” He was suddenly freaking out and had no idea where to look or whether it was okay to touch her.

The patient smile told him he was overreacting. “I’m fine,” she said again. “I just realized we probably should have stopped at the pharmacy on the way home.”

“Oh. Right.” He nearly fell to the ground in relief. “Let’s go inside and I’ll say hello to the girls and then I’ll head back out.”

“Thanks.” And before he knew it, she kissed him on the cheek. “Now let’s go see what’s for dinner.”

Following her inside, he smiled, and was extremely grateful for the love and support her cousins and Jade were giving Hailey. As soon as they walked through the door, there were all kinds of happy squeals and hugs as they led her through the house and into the living room.

“Hey, Max!” Jade called out with a big smile. As soon as they had Hailey situated on the couch, she came back into the kitchen. “How are you holding up? You okay?”

“I’m good, thanks,” he told her. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my entire life.”

“You handled it like a champ. When you called me earlier, I was seriously impressed with how calm you sounded.”

“I didn’t want to freak Hailey out. She was almost hysterical by the time I got her to the car, so I knew I needed to hold it together.”

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