Page 46 of Craving You

When they reached the sofas, Max waited for Hailey’s dad to sit before he responded. “Actually, quite the opposite. I’m a huge proponent of families and anything family related. I also believe that there needs to be places where adults can hang out without any kids being around. I’m also very close to my father and brother, and I’ve genuinely enjoyed getting to know Billie and her family. My brother and I don’t come from a large family, so this whole dynamic can be a little overwhelming at times.”

“Mm-hmm…and what do you do for a living, Max?”

“I have my own cybersecurity firm, sir. It was something I started right out of college. I used to tend bar part-time, and I still do it occasionally.”

Kevin’s gaze narrowed. “And do you own your own home?”

Crap.

“Not currently. I sold my house a few months ago. I moved back to Sweetbriar Ridge to help my father as he recovered from a fall, and even though I had been searching for a house, nothing’s felt right yet. Right now, I’m living in the apartment over the garage.

“Max really spent a lot of time helping our father and then he watched our house while Billie and I were on our honeymoon. He took care of our three dogs,” Marcus interjected. “I spent a lot of years living away from everyone and it’s been nice having my brother so close by. We’ve been reconnecting.”

All Kevin did was give a cursory nod before focusing on Max again. “And you expect my daughter to give up her life in Florida to move into a room over a garage? Did you think we’d be okay with that?”

Swallowing hard, he knew it was important to be confident and truthful. And even though he and Hailey hadn’t truly discussed anything yet, Max figured anything he said could only help smooth things over.

“No, sir. I don’t think you should be okay with that,” he began carefully. “Which is why I am actively looking for a house and one that Hailey and I pick together. She shouldn’t have to move here and either live in a room over a garage or in her cousin’s guest room.”

Kevin seemed to relax a bit.

“Obviously this is all still new and it’s a lot for both Hailey and I to work out, but I promise you right here, right now, that I am going to take care of your daughter and our baby. I won’t tell you not to worry because you’re her father and that’s your job. But I will tell you that you can trust me. All I want is to make her happy and be a good partner to Hailey and a good father to our baby.”

“You have to respect a man who doesn’t shy away from his responsibilities,” Ronan quietly commented as he nudged his brother’s shoulder. “I knew Max was a fine young man the moment I met him! And you should meet his father! Yes, John Calloway is a good friend. We’ve been hanging out a lot together since he’s recovered from his accident.”

“Oh, well, um…”

“Mr. Donovan,” Max went on. “Hailey and I spent the last few days just trying to get to know each other better without the pressure of solely focusing on the pregnancy. I believe she’s overwhelmed and very nervous about how you and the rest of the family are reacting, so my goal is to put her mind—and yours—at ease. I want her to know that she’s not alone, but I also want you to know that I’m not afraid to step in if anyone upsets her right now. This is a tremendous change in her life, and I believe we should be supporting and encouraging her, not yelling and throwing accusations.” He shrugged with a little more confidence than he actually felt. “And like she said earlier, it’s not going to change anything. You’re only pushing her away right now. If she’s ready to make this move here, you can be damn sure that I’m going to take care of her, and so are her cousins.”

“And me,” Ronan chimed in before smiling at Max with a wink.

There didn’t seem to be anything else he could say because after this, actions were going to speak louder. He felt good about how he handled himself, and yet it didn’t make that frown on Kevin’s face go away. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his brother walking away and almost shouted for him to come back, but at least Ronan was still sitting here with him.

“I’m going to go get us some drinks,” Ronan said, still smiling, before he got up and walked away too.

Seriously?

His smile felt a little forced as he tried to think of something to say to Hailey’s father now that it was just the two of them. Fortunately, Kevin was the one to break the silence.

“Tell me about this bar,” he said, sounding completely casual and not the least bit hostile.

“Um…the bar?”

“The one you’re planning with my brother. How do you go from running your own cybersecurity firm to opening a bar?”

“Oh, well…I tended bar while I was in college—after I turned twenty-one. I had a knack for it and I enjoyed it. When I started my firm, I worked from home and that can be very isolating, so working part-time bartending was a great way to get out and socialize a bit. I was working at a place a buddy of mine owns for the last several years, but it’s an hour away from here and once I moved back, it became a bit much to do that drive back and forth.”

“Commuting is a bitch,” Kevin said with a small laugh. “I’ve owned my construction company for the last thirty-years. I started out small—you know, renovating kitchens and doing some small home extensions—and eventually grew to building entire subdivisions. Some projects are close to home, but most of them nowadays are farther away. It doesn’t matter that I’m the boss; I still like to be hands on and walk the job daily, so I know things are getting done the right way.”

“Well, yeah. I would imagine you’d have to. That’s your name on the business, so you need to know what’s going on.”

“Exactly!” Leaning back against the sofa cushions, he smiled. A genuine smile. “Are you going to build something new or modify an existing building? It seems like there have been a lot of older buildings that have new businesses in them—especially in the last few years. Every time we’ve come to visit for a wedding, there are some new shops or restaurants in the downtown area.”

“Ideally, we’d love to renovate an existing building, I think. Marcus is the money man, and I believe he and Billie are looking over the finances of what a project like this would cost. We were just getting that ball rolling when Hailey came to town, so I’ve been out of the loop for a bit this week.”

Nodding, Kevin studied him for a moment. “Have you…do you have a reliable contractor yet?”

“Um…”

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