Page 82 of Craving You

“I don’t want you to tell him,” she said wearily. “I feel like I need to do something…I don’t know…grand! Something that isn’t just me sitting on the couch telling him how I feel.”

“Why not? Light a fire, turn on some soft music…” She paused. “Think about what you would like. If Max were to do it all over again without you thinking it was all about practicality, what kind of date would you have wanted?”

“Oh, um…I’m not sure. It feels a little weird to be planning where to have this kind of talk. I kind of wish it could have happened organically, but the discharge nurse interrupted me.”

“Bummer. Maybe go back up to Summit Ridge! Get a room for the night, have a romantic dinner…”

“Ooh…I didn’t even think of that! Go back to where we spent those first few days after I came to see him!”

“Or go back to the scene of the crime!” Sloane suggested with a snicker. “You know, the hotel you guys stayed at the weekend of Billie’s wedding! “

That wasn’t the worst idea, but it was just a basic chain hotel. There was nothing romantic about it.

“No, I think going back up to Summit Ridge is the right place. I’ll make dinner reservations and tell him how I feel.”

“Yes! Do you know what you’re going to say? Are you just going to blurt it out? Do you think once you tell him you love him, that he’ll propose?”

“I honestly have no idea. I guess it’s a possibility, but it would kind of steal my thunder, don’t you think?”

“Hmm…it could. But I don’t think you can be all like, ‘I love you, Max, but can you wait to propose until tomorrow?’ That would definitely sound weird.”

“It shouldn’t be this difficult. Maybe I’m just overthinking it? I mean…I could tell him when he comes downstairs for lunch! I don’t have to wait and make dinner and hotel reservations, right?”

“If you want to be boring, you don’t,” Sloane murmured. “This is a potentially life-changing declaration, Hales! One that is going to definitely lead to the two of you getting married! Why wouldn’t you make it a big deal?”

“Because I’m boring!” she shouted with a self-deprecating laugh. “You’re the brave and bold one! What would you do?”

“I would…” She paused and mumbled something, and then it sounded like there was someone else in the room with her.

“Sloane? Do you need to go?”

“Hang on a sec…” More muffled speaking. When she came back, she apologized. “Sorry. One of my clients isn’t happy with something I posted on social media for them, and I need to calm them down.”

“No worries, we’ll talk later or something.”

“I’m totally going to come up with a plan for you, so don’t make any reservations or anything until we talk.”

“Sloane, I really don’t want to wait…”

“Just…trust me! I’m really good at this sort of thing, so just hang tight and once I get things settled with my client, I’ll call you. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Sloane. Love you!”

“Love you too!”

Putting her phone down, Hailey finished her breakfast and then wondered what to do with herself today. The doctor told her to rest, but she kind of felt a little guilty about it. Still, she knew she needed to and went upstairs and grabbed her tablet before coming back down and settling on the sofa. Reading was always a favorite way to pass her time, but she couldn’t focus because she was silently willing her sister to call back.

It wasn’t until she heard Max walk into the kitchen that she realized it had been almost two hours since she sat down to read.

Dammit, Sloane! Why haven’t you called back?

Standing, she stretched and walked into the kitchen. “Hey! How’d your call go?”

“Long and boring,” he said with a chuckle. “And unfortunately, I have to call them back in thirty minutes.”

“Is there some sort of problem?”

“They’re expanding and need a more advanced system in place. It will be the biggest job I’ve even taken on, and I want to make sure I can really handle it before I commit.” He was pulling cold cuts from the refrigerator. “But I wanted to come down and have lunch with you before I dove back in.”

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