Page 68 of Craving You

Nodding, Chloe agreed. “Me too!” She sighed happily. “No matter how much I pushed Tanner away, he just let me work my stuff out and waited patiently.”

“And I don’t have to tell anyone how incredible Levi is,” Jade chimed in. “After my ex walked away when I got pregnant, I swore I’d never trust another man again. But Levi got past all my defenses and…” She stopped and groaned. “We’re doing it again!”

“What? What are we doing?” Chloe asked.

“We’re focusing on Max! Ugh…stop it! Where are the enchiladas? I need to shove something in my mouth so I stop turning the conversation back to…not fun girls’ night stuff!”

“It’s okay!” Hailey said, patting Jade’s hand. “Really. I kind of like learning about you guys and your relationships, and believe it or not, this is helping a lot. It’s making me see that I’m not weird for being cautious, and that not all guys are creeps.”

“Some are,” Ash said with a frown. “But this is a small town and everyone knows who the creepy guys are. And Max isn’t one of them.” She took another scoop of guacamole. “And that’s the last time I’m going to say that tonight, I swear.”

“Trust me, it doesn’t matter if he’s Billie’s brother-in-law,” Jade told her. “If he wasn’t a good guy, we all would have warned you—even knowing you’re pregnant.”

The oven timer went off, and Chloe jumped up. “Enchilada time!”

They all stood and began making room for the tray of enchiladas and refreshed their drinks. “They smell delicious,” Hailey said. “Max and I have been doing a lot of cooking together, but we haven’t tackled any Mexican dishes. You’ll have to give me the recipe!”

For the next few minutes, they talked about favorite foods, recipes, and how they divvied up cooking responsibilities when they had family get-togethers. “It takes a village, right?” Chloe joked.

It was such a comfortable atmosphere and she was already loving the new dynamics and hoped she’d find her place and fit in.

They were her family, so she already knew she technically fit in, but now that she was living here, she wanted to be a part of it all and not just on the fringe.

“What’s been the biggest adjustment since moving here?” Ashlynn asked. “This is obviously a total one-eighty from living in Florida.”

“It is, but the obvious thing is the job situation. Where I lived, there were gyms and yoga studios all over the place! I never had to actively search for one because if you drove in any direction for five minutes, you found one. I’m a little freaked out about it, but I guess I’m going to just have to take the part-time position up at Summit Ridge and maybe work at the coffee shop part-time. It’s not ideal, but…”

“Did you ever talk to Billie about it?” Jade asked.

“Um…not really. I’m sure we talked about it at some point, but the last few weeks have been kind of a blur, so…it’s possible.”

“You really need to sit down with her when she gets back,” Jade said firmly. “Trust me. The girl has a real knack for figuring business stuff out and making things happen.”

“Is she involved in the bar thing?” Chloe asked. “The one our dad and Max and John are all going in on?” Then she paused. “Wait, is that still happening? With Max buying a house, is he still going to be part of the bar project?”

Hailey held up her plate as Chloe served everyone. “My dad has offered to donate construction costs and a crew as his way of investing,” she explained. “They talked about it a lot when we were down in Florida packing my place up.”

“Okay, so it’s still on,” Ash said before thanking Chloe for serving her. “I think Marcus is actually behind the whole bar thing. Like…he’s the one handling the financial planning part of it and investing. It’s kind of cute how he’s getting that stick out of his ass and doing stuff for other people.”

“Ash! That was a terrible thing to say!” Chloe said with a tsking sound.

“Oh, please. We all know it’s true. Marcus was another example of…well…okay, not a great example. Never mind.”

“Wait…why?” Hailey asked. “What’s the deal with Marcus? He seems very nice and Max speaks highly of him.

Ashlynn took a big bite of her dinner before she answered. “He and Billie dated years ago, and then broke up. When he came back to town, he was a major jackass to her. We all told her not to give him another chance. And for a little while, we thought they were well and truly done. Only…”

“Only he was persistent,” Chloe continued for her. “He kept saying he was leaving, but then he kept coming back. He redeemed himself in a major way and he and Billie are so happy now, so…I guess some jerks can turn into great guys.”

“Doing it again…” Jade murmured.

“Right! We need a girls’ night topic,” Ash agreed. “Ooh! I’ve got one! What on earth am I supposed to do when the baby has the hiccups?” Laughing, she shook her head. “I was sound asleep the other night with my belly against Reid’s back, and the baby had the hiccups! Woke us both up! Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Um…I don’t think so,” Jade said. “It’s just something natural and as long as he—or she—eventually stops, there’s nothing you need to do.”

“Okay, whew! I thought I was screwing something up!”

After that, conversation turned to the different stages of pregnancy, how everyone was feeling, due dates, and birthing plans.

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