Page 81 of Craving You

“I could barely handle speaking to anyone, and by the time we got home, Jade, Ash, and Chloe were here making us dinner. I’m fine, the baby’s fine, and I just need to remember to drink more water and take my prenatal vitamins.”

“Well…as long as you’re both alright,” she murmured. “How was Max? Did he freak out?”

Just thinking about how amazing he was made her smile. “No. He didn’t freak out at all. He was…” She sighed. “He was my rock.”

Sloane’s response was to screech with joy.

“Um…”

“I knew it would finally happen! I knew you’d finally figure it out!”

“Yeah, um…what?”

“Ugh…why are you like this?” Sloane asked with a laugh. “Max was your rock. Those were your exact words. For the last like…forever, you were convinced that you’d never trust a man again, and you acted like you would never fall in love again. And now look at you!”

Frowning, Hailey popped a piece of muffin in her mouth because she was still confused.

“We all know Max is a nice guy, right?”

“I mean…I do. I’m not sure why you sound so confident about it.”

“Please, I met him at the wedding, and then when I came up there with Mom and Dad. I also spent time with the two of you again when you came down here to pack up your stuff. Hales, we all could see that he was a great guy. We just couldn’t figure out why you were fighting it.” She laughed giddily. “Mom and Dad are going to be so excited! Wait until…”

“Okay, okay, okay…can you just…you know…stop for a minute?” Hailey interrupted, but she was laughing a bit too. “I’ve always known Max was a great guy, I just didn’t fully believe that he was all-in with me. With me being pregnant, it made it hard to trust whether he was committing because he cared about me or if he was just in because of the baby. You can’t blame me for being wary.”

“I guess, but you guys already had this crazy attraction to each other. That’s obviously still a thing, right?”

She felt herself blush. “Big time.”

“Then I’m not really sure what took you so long.”

“I just…” She sighed again. “I had to figure it out for myself. I can’t help that I have issues and was afraid of making the same mistake again.”

“Max is nothing like that jackass you dated before. Everyone knew that.”

“I knew it too, and I probably would have accepted it sooner if Max and I had reconnected just because we wanted to. The pregnancy really messed with my confidence.”

“Alright. We’ve established that you’ve finally figured out how awesome Max is, so I’m guessing that also means you’ve figured out that you’re in love with him.”

Nodding, she said, “Bingo!”

“Yay! Have you told him? Are you going to get married? Did he immediately propose? This is so exciting! Did you say yes? Did he have a ring? Can you send me a picture? Will you…”

“Oh my God, Sloane!” she cried. “Can you maybe stop asking questions and let me try to answer at least one?”

“Sorry. Go ahead. But start with how he proposed!”

Hailey fought the urge to groan. “He hasn’t proposed. The last time he brought up us getting married, I kind of didn’t react…um…I was kind of bitchy,” she admitted. “He hasn’t brought up marriage since. He bought a house, we’re moving in together, and we sleep together, but I’ve kept him at a distance. Emotionally.”

“Yikes.”

“The last few days, I’ve been really thinking about my life and realized that the only reason I’m not deliriously happy is because I’m standing in my own way. And then when we were in the hospital yesterday and we heard the baby’s heartbeat…Max was holding my hand and…I don’t know…I just…I knew. I knew I was in love with him and wanted a life with him. Not as a roommate, not to just co-parent with, but a real life. A real marriage.”

She heard her sister sniffle before she replied, “Oh, Hales…that’s beautiful! So when are you going to tell him?”

“That’s where I need your help.”

“Wait…you don’t want me to tell him for you, do you? Because that would just be super awkward. I don’t mind coming to visit, but…”

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