Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Dinner had been served early and was beyond awkward, no matter how hard Billie tried to make sure they talked about anything but pregnancies. By the time they were done eating, Max—bless his heart—had put an end to everyone’s misery by announcing that he was taking Hailey up to his apartment so they could talk.
She’d never been so thankful to get away from any member of her family in her entire life.
When they reached Max’s apartment, she sort of stood and marveled. “Oh…this is not what I pictured at all.” The ceiling was vaulted, and it was basically just one open space with a kitchenette. He had it set up so there were clearly defined spaces, but it was essentially a studio apartment.
“It’s not much, I know, but it’s temporary.”
“It’s actually very nice. It looks like it’s all brand new.”
He nodded. “It is. That was part of the appeal. Well, that and the fact that it got me out of my father’s house.”
“That makes sense.” She walked around the space, and it was better than the way he’d been describing it. “This is…”
“Hailey?”
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t bring you up here so we could talk about the apartment. We need to talk about what happened today. I don’t understand how or why you told Billie about the baby when you and I have barely talked about it.”
He wasn’t angry, but he was most definitely confused.
And rightfully so.
“It just slipped out! We were walking around and talking, and she was telling me about her plans for their nursery and then she kept talking about her pregnancy and how great her doctor is, and I guess I asked too many questions, and she just put it all together! I’m really sorry, Max. I know telling people is something we should do together, but…”
He held up a hand to stop her. “It’s okay, and you don’t have to apologize. My brother kind of joked about how he thought Billie was going to find out why you were here while she was showing you the house, but I didn’t think it would actually happen.” He motioned for her to sit down on his small sofa. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“Thanks, but I’m good.” Then she let out a weary sigh. “I’m really messing this whole thing up. I had no idea this was going to be…so much!”
“Does anyone else in your family know?”
Nodding, she explained about the dinner with her mother and sister. “Originally, I just planned on keeping it a secret until I talked to you. Sloane knew, but she’s like a vault. I never have to worry about her sharing any secrets. But after everyone saw the picture of us and my mother just kept harping on it, I just blurted it out. Sort of like I just did with Billie.” She groaned. “What is wrong with me?”
Luckily, he didn’t say anything and just genuinely seemed to listen without judgment.
She felt her shoulders sag. “So…let’s talk.”
She watched him pace for a minute before he sat down beside her. “I’m not sure where to even begin. Would you consider moving here, or would you like me to move to Florida?”
“I would never ask you to give up your life here. You just moved back.” Shaking her head, she repeated. “Plus, you have your business here.”
“I want to be involved in my child’s life, Hailey. And if that means I need to move to Fort Lauderdale to do it, then I will.”
Her heart started to race. Was he serious?
“That won’t be necessary,” she began slowly. “If anything, I would prefer to move here. I just didn’t want you to think I’m trying to trap you or take over your life or anything like that.”
His head fell back against the cushions, and she could tell he was frustrated. But when he lifted his head and looked at her, his expression was completely neutral. “I realize we don’t know each other that well, but I can already tell that you are a people pleaser who is afraid of upsetting anyone, and that’s not going to work. We’re in this together. No one’s accusing you of trapping anyone. Hell, if I thought you’d say yes, I’d take you to the courthouse first thing tomorrow morning and marry you!”
“What?!” she said in a near screech.
“I’m serious, Hailey. Marry me. Marry me and we’ll raise this baby and…”
“Are you insane? We can’t get married! You just said we don’t even know each other!” She felt herself shaking on top of the heart racing, and now she felt like she was going to throw up. Glancing around frantically, she spotted the bathroom and made a run for it. Naturally, Max was hot on her heels.
Ugh…how embarrassing. Kill me now…
When she was done, he gently helped her to her feet, gave her a cool cloth and a glass of water. “I’ve got an unopened toothbrush if you’d like to use it.”
“I would. Thanks.” As soon as she was done brushing her teeth, he led her back over to the couch.
“Sorry.”
He sat down beside her. “I’m not gonna lie…your reaction to my proposal was kind of a huge blow to my ego.”
She knew he was teasing, and it was exactly what she needed to help her relax. “Oh, Max…how did everything get so crazy?”
Moving in closer, he placed his arm around her and guided her head to his shoulder. His hands gently combed through her hair, and it just felt so nice. “I don’t know, but we’re going to get through this together. I’m not going anywhere.”
It felt so good to be close to him and be in his arms again, even if it wasn’t exactly the way she’d been fantasizing about it for the last month.
I’m serious, Hailey. Marry me. Marry me and we’ll raise this baby.
The hopeless romantic in her would love to just say yes. It was crazy and more than a little unorthodox—and they didn’t need to be married to have a baby—but there was a tiny part of her that wanted to marry him.
Marry me. Marry me and we’ll raise this baby.
There was a very real chance he was just saying what he thought he needed to say, and it wasn’t at all what he actually wanted, but how would she ever really know? And was that what she wanted? A marriage of convenience for the sake of their baby?
Marry me and we’ll raise this baby.
Marry me.
Marry me.
Marry me.
She was exhausted from the day, but there was no way she could relax until they got at least some things settled.
“I want to move here,” she said. “It’s something I wanted to do even before all of this. This is just the push I need to actually do it.”
“Then we’ll start with that.”
They were quiet for a moment. “If only everything was that easy, huh?” And unable to help herself, she laughed. It wasn’t all that funny—and maybe she was just overtired from it all—but she almost couldn’t stop laughing.
Fortunately, Max was holding her close and laughing with her. Hailey could feel the tension leaving her body, and when she finally calmed down, she looked up at him and sighed happily.
“Thanks. I needed that.” That’s when she realized how close they still were. She could see the different shades of brown in his eyes, could feel his breath on her face. Now so wasn’t the time for this, but the magnetic pull she had for this man was too strong to deny. Whispering his name, she was surprised that he was already closing the small distance between them. His lips touched hers and it was like everything in her life had just righted itself.
Her arms went around him even as he gently hauled her into his lap. There was nothing rushed about the kiss; it was a slow and sweet exploration.
Thank God I brushed my teeth…
Hailey’s hands immediately went to his hair—she remembered how much he liked that. Meanwhile, his hands went to her bottom as she shifted to straddle him and flexed his fingers. Obviously, he also remembered what she liked.
They took their time, their movements languid and tender. It was better than she remembered, better than her dreams. The attraction she felt for Max wasn’t just because of the wedding. It was real.
And it was going to complicate the hell out of everything.
But right now, she didn’t care. Her life was spinning completely out of control, so she was extending herself some grace to just enjoy this time with Max before she had to face the world again. Humming softly, she pressed even closer to his hard muscles, reveling in the feel of him as he took the kiss deeper. Languid and tender ramped up to a little wild and needy. She was rubbing against him with more urgency and almost cried out in frustration when he broke the kiss.
Breathless and disheveled, he looked sexy as sin. “Damn, Hailey. That was…” He paused to collect his thoughts. “You have no idea how badly I want to lift you up and carry you over to my bed, but…” Another pause. “I don’t want to confuse things.”
Confuse things? What the…?
Reaching up, he cupped her face. “There are so many things we need to work out, and I don’t want sex to mess things up.”
“Oh.” She went to move off his lap, but he stopped her.
“Make no mistake. I want you. I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you, and I’ve been wanting you every day since you left. In any other circumstance, I would be buried deep inside of you right now.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “But…”
“But…I want us to get to know each other. We’re having a baby together and that’s going to put us together for the rest of our lives. It’s important for us to know more than what turns us on in bed.”
Dammit, she hated how much sense that made.
“You already know I love when you rake your hands through my hair, just like I know how much you love it when I grab your ass.” His voice was low and gruff and a damn turn-on all by itself. “But I want to know more. I want to know everything. What do you like for breakfast? What did you want to be when you grew up? What were your favorite subjects in school? Do you prefer Disney or Universal?”
Again, he knew when to lighten the conversation to keep them from getting overly serious.
“I get what you’re saying. I do. I also can’t help but be a little disappointed.”
Placing a kiss on the tip of her nose, he nodded. “Believe me, I am too. We’ll get there eventually, but for now, we need to take care of you and this baby and figure out like a million other things. Is that okay?”
Right now, she missed the reckless man she shared a sexy weekend with. This logical one was a bit of a buzzkill.
“No,” she whined, but then nodded. “It is. I just…”
He silenced her with a quick yet thorough kiss. “I know. Me too. But it’s just day one here. There’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere.”
Another nod. “Me either.”
“Okay, then.” He helped her off his lap. “How about I walk you back over to the house so you can get some sleep?”
“Ugh…I have a feeling my cousin is just pacing in the kitchen waiting for me. I love her and I appreciate her concern, but I’m still figuring things out.”
“We,” he corrected. “ We’re still figuring things out. You’re not alone in this. And if I have to go in there and tell her to back off, then I will. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable staying there.”
“Finding a place to live should be first on my list, then. After going home and packing up my place, quitting my job, and finding a new one.” Groaning, now it was her turn to fall back against the cushions. “How am I supposed to do all of this?”
“One step at a time, and not all by yourself. We’ve got this.”
“I wish I had your optimism.”
He didn’t comment, but he was on his feet and holding out his hand to her. “And we’re not going to figure it all out tonight. Tomorrow’s another day and we’ll sit down and make lists and take it from there.”
Slowly, Hailey got to her feet and hugged him. “Thank you.” His arms came around her and they stayed locked like that for several long moments.
“If Billie needs to lecture anyone tonight, she’ll have to settle for me,” he told her. “Now come on. You need some rest.”
“Thanks, Max.”
Together they left his apartment and walked across the driveway to the house. No one was in the kitchen when they entered, and Max gave her a soft kiss before wishing her a good night. She hated leaving him, but she was definitely tired. And like he said, tomorrow was another day.
But she also knew she was going to dream about him all night.
“Not so fast.”
Crap. He was almost at the door when he heard his brother’s voice. Turning around, he made sure he was smiling. “What’s up?”
“Seriously? What’s up? What the hell is going on?”
Max casually walked over to the kitchen island and snagged a cookie off the plate that was there. “I believe we covered that earlier.”
“Max…”
“Marcus…” he mimicked before letting out a long, loud breath. “We’re having a baby and we’re figuring things out. That’s all I’ve got right now.” Biting into the cookie, he hummed appreciatively. “Is there anything your wife can’t bake?”
The look of utter frustration on his brother’s face was almost comical, but luckily he must have realized not to push.
“So…are you okay? I mean…this had to be a shock.”
“It was. For both of us, obviously, but for now we’re just taking it one day at a time.”
“Are you going to marry her?”
“I want to,” Max answered truthfully. “But when I proposed, she ran and threw up so…”
Throwing his head back, Marcus laughed. “That’s awesome.”
“My ego didn’t think so.”
“Your ego could use a reality check.” Walking over to the kitchen table, Marcus sat. “You know you don’t have to get married, right? That whole train of thought is completely outdated. The two of you can co-parent without a ring.”
Sighing, but opting not to sit down, he nodded. “I know, and I get it, but…I can’t help how I feel. In my mind, that’s what I want. I want to marry Hailey. Most of the time I may act a bit goofy or like things don’t bother me, but I’m a traditional kind of guy.”
“Not that traditional. You slept with her after knowing her for less than a day.”
Frowning, he grabbed another cookie. “Doesn’t change how I feel.”
“Is it for convenience? Because you have nine months before she’s really going to need your help.”
“She needs help now ,” he countered. “She’s going to move here, and she shouldn’t have to do that by herself. Then she’s going to need to find a place to live, a job, a doctor…she didn’t get pregnant alone, so don’t give me any of that crap like she won’t need me until the baby comes!” And yeah, his tone was a bit snappish.
“Okay, okay, okay…I’ve clearly hit a nerve. Sorry. This is all kind of new to me.”
“Well, it’s new to me too, but I’m still an intelligent human being who is aware of other people’s needs.”
“Max, I said I was sorry. What more…?”
“Look, we’re all on edge. I get it. I’m going to head up to my place and just try to absorb everything that’s happened today.” But he grabbed another cookie for later. “Can I just ask a favor?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Please ask Billie to just tread lightly for right now. Hailey’s a little overwhelmed, and we all know your wife’s heart is in the right place, but this is something we have to work out for ourselves.”
“Understood. And it goes without saying that she can stay with us as long as she needs to. She may not want to and may prefer getting a place of her own sooner rather than later, but the offer’s there.” Then he paused. “Or maybe the two of you should look for a place. Even if you take marriage off the table for now, it would make total sense to consider moving in together. It would give her some space away from prying and well-meaning family, and help her financially since she still needs to find a job.”
It wasn’t the worst idea.
“This could be the push you need to find a house too.”
“Don’t I have enough on my plate without buying a house too? And you’ve been saying there’s no rush for me to leave. I mean, between this, the potential bar, expanding my firm…” But he immediately stopped because it didn’t matter how much was on his plate; he was going to take care of all of it.
But Hailey came first.
“I’m heading up. We’ll talk at some point tomorrow.”
“Can I make a suggestion before you go?”
Max hung his head for a moment before nodding.
“Billie’s working tomorrow and then she’s going to work on payroll with Ashlynn. Maybe you should take tomorrow off and spend the day with Hailey. Alone.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he nodded again. “I can totally make that work. Thanks.”
“Make the most of the next few days because all the Donovans are going to be here this weekend,” Marcus said with a smirk.
He had briefly forgotten that.
“Then I guess that’s what I’m going to do.” And with that, he left and made his way back up to his apartment. “Stupid studio over the garage. If I had a house, I could have just taken Hailey home with me instead of the two of us living under my brother’s roof.”
And it stung.
Sitting down at his desk, Max’s mind was in total chaos. He was just starting to feel like he had a plan for his life and the universe had gone and thrown a monkey wrench into it.
But the craziest part?
He wasn’t upset about it.
He always knew he wanted to be a father someday, but in his mind, he was always married first.
“That ship has temporarily sailed.” He wasn’t giving up on it, though. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was going to marry Hailey. He just needed to prove to her he was worthy of her—that he could provide for her and their baby.
That was going to require a lot of trust and hard work.
On top of all the work he was doing to get his own life in order.
Shoving half a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth, he tried to figure out where to start. Getting the plan for the bar going seemed more important than ever. Having a second stream of income was going to come in handy with a baby on the way.
“So would having the money I was going to invest. Shit.” Yes, this was a potential hiccup, but his brother and Billie were both financial whizzes so perhaps they could help him work out a plan so that he could still move forward with his plans while also moving forward with getting a house for him and Hailey.
Opening up his laptop, he began searching for houses for sale in the area. He hadn’t done that in a few weeks, so maybe there were new properties available. It didn’t take long for Max to realize his heart wasn’t in it because he couldn’t seem to focus. There were two homes that had some potential, but not enough that he was ready to book a showing.
Right now, he’d kill to be standing behind a bar serving drinks and listening to other people’s problems. It was a great escape for him. He missed bartending and how simple his life was. Everything seemed to change overnight.
Well, not overnight, but in a span of three months.
“Yeah, I miss bartending.” It didn’t matter that he was still doing it a bit here and there; it wasn’t the same.
Exhausted, he stood and stretched and decided he needed to get some sleep. If he was going to make a good impression tomorrow with Hailey and figure out a plan for their future, he was definitely going to need some rest.
“Max? What are you doing here?”
He was standing in his brother’s kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee. “Hey, good morning.” Smiling, he turned to face her. She looked adorable in a pair of hot pink flannel pajama pants and a clingy white T-shirt. Her blonde hair was a bit tousled, and he had to force himself to look away for a moment.
Do not ogle her and do not freak her out by coming on too strong…
“Well, I thought we could have breakfast together, so I went to the store and got some things to actually make breakfast. I hope you like omelets. I make a mean Western omelet. There’s decaf coffee and some different varieties of tea, plus apple and orange juice. And fresh fruit. I also picked up some English muffins. I’m planning on toasting a few of them as soon as the omelets are ready.”
“My goodness! This is a lot of food! You didn’t have to do all of this. I would have been fine with just the fruit, or maybe a muffin.”
“I read that eating protein for breakfast can help with morning sickness.” Pausing, he looked at her. “Are you having any of that? How are you feeling? Do you need to sit down?”
Laughing softly, she shook her head. “You’re sweet for asking, but you need to relax. I’m fine. I’ve never been much of a breakfast person. I usually just have some yogurt and maybe a banana, especially if I have a class to get to.”
“That’s pretty good, but I wanted to make sure you started the day off right.” He was moving all around, flipping omelets, toasting English muffins, and had the table set for the two of them.
“Where are Marcus and Billie?”
“Billie’s at the coffee shop and Marcus is in his office on some big call. He said we won’t see him until lunchtime.”
“Oh, okay. What can I do to help?”
“You can decide on what you want to drink and then sit and relax. I’ve got it all under control.”
He hoped he wasn’t coming off like he thought she was an invalid, but he was trying hard to put her mind at ease—well, both of their minds. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her checking out all of her drink options before settling on some decaf. By the time they were both sitting down, Max was watching her expectantly.
“Relax. I swear I feel fine and this all looks delicious. Thank you.”
“I took today off and thought we could spend the day together. We could hang out here at the house—although I should warn you that Marcus likes to roam while he’s on calls.” Winking, he added, “But he’s usually so focused on whatever he’s talking about that he doesn’t notice that anyone’s even here.”
“Oh, um…”
“Or we could go for a drive,” he suggested. “I can show you around town and we can talk without anyone bothering us. It’s a great way to get some privacy. I don’t know if you’re familiar with small town life, but we’re not big on privacy.”
Her eyes went a little wide. “Really?”
“Afraid so. And with there being so many Donovans who are involved in a lot of the local businesses, you’re bound to run into someone who knows one of your cousins. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but considering we’d like some time to talk alone…”
“I guess a nice long drive isn’t the worst idea.”
And because things were sounding a bit too serious, he threw out, “Or we can go up to my apartment, forget all of this real-life stuff, and spend the day in bed.” He waggled his eyebrows for a comedic effect, but Hailey’s eyes went wide right before she promptly started to choke.
He was instantly on his feet, patting her back, and whispering encouraging words until she could breathe again.
When he sat back down, he let out a nervous laugh. “You know, I’m beginning to get a complex. Every time I mention us doing something together, you have a violent reaction.”
Taking a few calming breaths, she shook her head. “I swear it’s not intentional, but you definitely seem to excel at shocking me.”
“Okay, I’ll admit that last suggestion was just to lighten the mood. I didn’t mean to make you choke.” He took a sip of his coffee and met her gaze, realizing that maybe now wasn’t the time for joking around.
Pushing her plate back slightly, she looked at him with some apprehension. “How are you doing? I know I threw a lot at you yesterday, and if you’re having second thoughts, we don’t have to go out driving anywhere. I’d completely understand.”
Max took a moment to mentally count to ten before responding, because he didn’t want to come off sounding too accusatory.
“Can I ask you something?” he began, and when she nodded, he went on. “Did you even want to come here and tell me you were pregnant? Or maybe you thought you’d tell me and I would be a total ass and say something like ‘this isn’t my problem’ and send you on your way? Because I want us to both be very clear on this—I am one hundred percent in.”
“I wasn’t…”
“I get that this isn’t ideal; we barely know each other. But that doesn’t matter to me because I want to get to know you! I’ve regretted not doing more to make that happen over the last month. You need to know that you are not going to do this alone. We have a lot to figure out, but we’re going to figure it out together , okay?”
There were tears in her eyes as she nodded.
Unable to help himself, he reached across the table and caressed her cheek. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he whispered.
The soft smile told him she was okay. “Everything seems to make me cry lately. And…thank you for everything you just said. This is all so crazy and I’m not used to having this much chaos in my life. I’m a fairly regimented person and suddenly everything’s upside down. The last ten days have been an emotional rollercoaster, and I swear I just wish I could hit pause on everything and not have to think about all of…you know…this.”
“I’m sure.”
Then he realized that as much as he figured today was supposed to be about talking about all the things that needed to be discussed, maybe they needed to pivot.
“How about this,” he said, finally pulling his hand away from her soft skin and straightening in his chair. “We forget about everything for the day.”
“Max…”
Holding up his hand, he said, “Hear me out. Today we go on a real first date. We’ll go up to Summit Ridge and explore the resort, ride the rides, and have some lunch. Tonight, we’ll go out to dinner—again, just the two of us—and pretend that it’s right after Marcus and Billie’s wedding and we’re doing the things we should have done if logistics were on our side. What do you say?”
She studied him for a moment. “And you don’t think that we’re both not going to mention the whole pregnancy thing at some point?” Her little bark of laughter was kind of funny. “I know I say I want to hit pause on it all, but I’m not sure I can completely forget it.”
Leaning in close, he grinned. “Stick with me, beautiful. I’ll keep you completely occupied.”
Preferably in bed, he thought, but Max knew he shouldn’t be thinking about that right now.
The soft gasp Hailey let out and the way her eyes went wide told him maybe he wasn’t the only one thinking naughty thoughts.
She nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment before she nodded. “I’m not sure we’re going to pull this off, but…I’m in!”
“Yes!” He practically high-fived himself. “Any chance you’re feeling a little…reckless?”
“Um…”
“We can pack overnight bags and just spend the entire day and night up at the lodge. No interruptions, no family hovering, just the two of us.”
“I think we both know if we do that, we’re not going to discuss anything.”
Taking her hand again, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “And that’s the point, Hales. We’re not supposed to be discussing those things. Today and tonight were for us to get to know each other.”
“And I get that, but…we already know…you know…”
He totally knew what she was getting at. “I know last night I said that we shouldn’t, but…”
“I know,” she quickly interjected. “I feel the same way, but…you were right.”
Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed it. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” Pushing away from the table, Max picked up his plate and stood. “How about we meet down here in, say…two hours?”
“Two hours? It won’t take me that long to get ready,” she joked as she got to her feet too.
Chuckling, he shook his head. “That wasn’t what I was implying. I’m the one who needs the time. I need to take care of some business since we’ll be out all day. Once I clean up…”
Hailey held up a hand to stop him. “I’ll take care of the breakfast cleanup. You go and do what you need to, and we’ll meet back here in two hours.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve got it all under control. No worries.”
As much as he hated to leave her like this, he knew the sooner he got his work done, the sooner he could relax and get on with the day and all its possibilities.