Page 91 of Craving You

“Aren’t all the Donovan weddings big?” he asked with a nervous laugh.

“Not always. I think something like Billie and Marcus had would be perfect. And from what I learned today, we can pull that off in about a month. What do you think?”

“Well, we’ve gone the fast route with everything else, so why not with our wedding?”

Yawning, she nodded. “We’ll look at the calendar tomorrow and let everyone know.” Another yawn. “Right now, though…”

“Right now, you need to get some rest,” he said softly. Reaching back, he grabbed the TV remote and turned off the light. “Let’s watch some reruns of Frasier and we can talk more about wedding stuff tomorrow.” Kissing the top of her head, he whispered, “Sleep, beautiful girl. I love you.”

After another loud yawn, Hailey sleepily replied, “Love you, too.”

Epilogue

A week later…

“It was kind of cool to hear the baby’s heartbeat again when we weren’t freaking out,” Hailey said as they got into the car.

“Definitely. And it was also nice to talk to a doctor who only had good news for us.”

“Technically, the ER doctor had good news too. It just took him a while to get to it.”

“Fair enough.” Max pulled out of the doctor’s parking lot. “Want to take that tour of the bar? Your dad really blew me away with his plans, and once Marcus works up all the numbers, we could go to contract by the end of the month.”

“That is amazing!” she said, but then immediately frowned.

“What? What’s with the face?”

“Okay, I swear I’m not trying to be a total buzzkill, but…it is like the universe is shining down on you! You bought a house, you’re buying a bar, you’re marrying me,” she added with a wink to lighten the conversation. “And I’m getting fatter and I’m still unemployed.”

“For the record, you gained a pound. A. As in singular,” he reminded her. “All of your bloodwork came back great, so you’re healthy and so is the baby. As for the unemployed…”

“You got nothing. I know,” she said miserably. “Jade and Billie both said I can work part-time at Books & Beans, but…the smell of coffee really isn’t agreeing with me lately. I know I should be thankful, and I really need a job, but I can’t help but hope that something’s going to come up.”

With his free hand, he placed it on her thigh. “There’s no rush for you to find something. I know you want to and it’s admirable, but it’s more important for you to not stress yourself out.”

“Easy for you to say,” she mumbled as they pulled up to an unmarked, two-story brick building. “Is this it?”

Nodding, he parked and climbed out of the car. She joined him on the sidewalk and tried to look excited.

“It’s not much,” he began, but we’re going to divide the space in half. One side is going to be the bar. The upstairs will be our offices—for the bar and also for my cybersecurity business. This way, I’m always here to help with the day-to-day operations. Sort of like a two-for-one thing so I’m not working from home all the time.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Max.” Glancing around, she noticed there were a few other businesses across the street. “And they’re all okay with a bar coming in?”

“Levi and Patrick have been talking to all the other business owners and no one’s opposed to it. And we’re really going to be a pretty low-key kind of bar.” Then he laughed. “I’m not sure if that’s possible, but I’m thinking a small-town bar isn’t going to get too rowdy.”

“And what about the other half of the building? Are you going to rent it out?”

“Not exactly,” he said slowly. “I’ll show it to you after we look at the bar space. Come on.”

It was essentially a large, empty room. Max walked her around and explained all the designs her father had come up with. He sounded so psyched about it all that she didn’t say anything; she just let him keep talking.

The upstairs was already split up with several rooms and she could envision the office spaces. As they made their way back down the stairs, he asked what she thought.

“I think it sounds like you guys have it all worked out. What kind of timeframe are you looking at if you close on the building by the end of the month?”

“Depending on the contractors, your dad thinks we could realistically be open in three to four months.”

“Oh, wow! That’s fast!” With her hand still in his, they walked outside and over to the other space. “If you’re not going to rent this side out, what are you going to do with it?” All the windows were covered in brown paper, so she had no idea what was on the inside.

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