Page 40 of Craving You

He’d call that plan B.

And right now, he knew having her sitting there quietly in her own head probably wasn’t helping anything, either, so…

“Are you looking forward to seeing all your cousins today?” he asked.

For a moment, she looked at him like he was crazy before responding. “Everyone’s going to know.”

“No, they’re not. You’re being paranoid.”

“Billie knew.”

“Billie was fishing for information. And considering she’s pregnant, it was really just a coincidence that she figured it out. No one else is going to be talking about that stuff.”

Hailey looked up at him with an expression that said, “Really?” and that’s when he realized she was right. Pretty much all the Donovan women were pregnant, so there was going to be a lot of pregnancy and baby talk.

“O-kay…so what do we need to do here?” he asked. “Do you need me to keep everyone distracted or…”

That seemed to amuse her. “Max, you can’t keep eight adults and two kids distracted for the entire day. At some point, I’m going to have to talk to them without you being right there changing the subject.”

“True, but you know they’re all going to ask what made you come up for a visit. Do you know what you’re going to say?”

She frowned. “No.”

“Is it possible that everyone knows already? I mean…I obviously don’t know your family the way that you do, but even I know that there are never any secrets.”

“I suppose it’s possible. My mother knows and so does my sister, so there’s a chance that everyone’s already heard.”

She didn’t sound so happy about it, and that left him wondering how he was supposed to feel about it.

Inwardly groaning, he realized he hadn’t thought this much about his feelings in…well…ever.

No time like the present apparently…

Reaching for her hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Look, we took a little reality break, and I think it’s exactly what we needed. But when we get back to the house and everyone arrives, I want you to know that I’m one hundred percent there for you. I’ll back up whatever you’re going to say, and I’ll shut down anyone who gives us any grief, okay? We’re in this together. You don’t have to take it all on yourself.”

That seemed to relax her. “Thanks, Max. I guess maybe we should have spent a little time talking about things.” Her soft sigh was seemingly filled with regret before she gave him a weak smile. “I’m not even sure where to start or what to say. I mean…let’s be honest, I never expected to be starting a family with you. It wasn’t like we even planned on seeing each other again.”

Yeah, that part still stung because he regretted that more than anything.

“If I could go back and change that, I would,” he admitted. “Long-distance relationships aren’t anyone’s first choice, but I wish we would have given ourselves that option.”

“Me too.” Another sigh. “Unfortunately, my time traveling skills are pretty much non-existent.”

“Same.” Then they both quietly laughed. “And since that’s off the table, the only thing we can do is move forward. Were you serious about moving here?”

Nodding, she smiled. “Yes. That was something I’d been toying around with for a long time, but couldn’t seem to make myself do it. Now I have a reason to.”

“How do you think your family is going to take it?”

This time, her laugh was mirthless. “Um…probably not well. The only thing helping me is the fact that Uncle Ronan and my cousins are here. When I told my mom that I was pregnant, she immediately started saying how she and my dad were going to be there for me and how I didn’t have to worry about anything.”

“Oh.” He paused before carefully asking, “And did you tell her I was the father?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And…she said you could move to Florida if you wanted to see me and the baby.”

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