Page 57 of Craving You

Max walked over and put his arm around her and carefully guided her up into the truck as everyone wished them luck and made all kinds of promises to come and visit soon.

By the time they finally drove away, she was second-guessing everything. Was this move the right thing to do? Should she have asked Max to move here instead? Was moving in with him back in Sweetbriar Ridge the best decision? Should she find her own apartment? Would it be wrong to ask him to marry her?

Ugh…I’m a freaking mess…

It was a fourteen-hour drive that they were going to split up into two days, and, if anything, being stuck in the confined space was a great way for them to talk things out with no interruptions.

Only…she didn’t even know where to begin.

It wasn’t until they hit I-95 that he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“How you’re feeling?” he prompted. “It’s one thing to think about moving; it’s another to do it on short notice.”

Just thinking about it had tears stinging her eyes, and she couldn’t seem to make herself talk.

“Let’s face it, the last few weeks have been more than a little crazy. Between finding out you’re pregnant, coming to see me, us spending three days up at Summit Ridge, dealing with your family, us looking for a house, having to quit your job, flying down here and packing up the apartment…”

“I don’t need a recap, Max!” she said with exasperation. “I’ve been living it!”

“I’m aware because I’ve been there for a lot of it too. These last few days were kind of chaotic and I’m just concerned about how you’re handling it, that’s all. Your family is very different from the Donovans that I’ve met. I mean…they’re great, but…they’re a lot.”

That made her sigh. “Not really. You just came into the family under happy circumstances, with Marcus and Billie getting married. Plus, you grew up knowing them.”

“I guess that’s true. I mean, they gave Marcus a hard time when he came back into Billie’s life, but they got over it.”

“And my family is going to get over this too. They just had to pitch their fits.” Another sigh. “I know they love me, and they mean well, but we all have to be dramatic first.”

“All? As in you too?”

Turning her head, she grinned. “Definitely. You’re going to have your hands full sometimes.”

“Want to know a secret?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’m no day at the beach sometimes either. Isn’t this going to be fun?”

After a fit of total laughter, Hailey felt like some of the tension had been broken.

And prayed it would last.

“Hey, guys. We need to talk.”

Hailey and Max were having breakfast in Marcus and Billie’s kitchen Friday morning and looked up to find their hosts looking rather somber.

They’d been back in Sweetbriar Ridge for a week and things had been strained.

Like seriously strained.

Max asked her to move up into his apartment, but she felt weird about it because the space was far too small. He’d been working long hours on some projects—mostly late into the night—and she’d been spending her days looking for a job and getting nowhere. They were both stressed, and she’d been staying in Billie’s guest room, and it was as if their sexy time in Florida—and at the hotel in Savannah, Georgia where they stayed for a night—never happened.

She had started withdrawing from him the moment they pulled into Billie’s driveway. They’d been living in a bit of a fantasy world where they let themselves believe they could keep hitting pause to keep reality at bay. Now reality was back and couldn’t be ignored anymore. She had really packed up her life and moved, and now they had to figure out what came next. If he kept allowing himself to get wrapped up in Hailey and all her sexy ways, he was going to lose his heart for good.

And…what’s wrong with that?

If an amazing sex life was all it took to guarantee love and a happy marriage, he’d be ecstatic. Hell, if he could just get her to let down her guard and relax around him all the time, he knew she’d see how much she meant to him.

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