Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 38908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“Hey, babe,” he said.
“Max, what are you doing there?” She walked away from the counter, rushing up toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissing him. “I missed you.”
Not once had she told him she loved him. He knew not to expect anything from her. He’d never been the kind of guy to be needy or demand affection. With Aria though, he was breaking every single one of his rules.
“What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I think we need to go somewhere to talk.”
“It sounds serious.”
“We just need to talk. June and Molly can handle everything here.”
“I’ll, erm, grab my jacket.” She pulled away from him, and all he wanted to do was hold her close, to never let her go.
Gritting his teeth, he waited for her, knowing by the end of the day, she could hate him. This wasn’t how he wanted their relationship to go.
Aria didn’t keep him waiting. She’d changed out of her apron, and she wore a jacket. Her hair was still tied at the nape of her neck. To him, she looked stunning. Once again, he took her hand. While he could do so, he was going to use every single excuse available to him to hold her in some way. He didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to hold her, love her, and be with her, forever.
He’d never had the staying kind of power, but Aria had changed him. She’d fucked with his head, and now he wanted things he’d once laughed at.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“A little tired. Kind of worried about you.”
“You’re not feeling sick?”
He walked them to the park, a place where kids were, and he knew they’d be able to talk without much interruptions.
On arrival, there was a spare picnic bench, which he took her to. It was far enough away from the kids who were playing.
“I’m not feeling sick.”
“Aria, there’s something I’ve got to tell you.”
She nodded and leaned forward. “I’m pregnant.”
Max paused. “What?”
“I’m pregnant. I took the test before work this morning. I’d bought the test a couple of days ago. I realized I’d missed my period, and I’m like clockwork. I’m pregnant.”
Max felt his eyes fill with tears. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. I’ll understand if you don’t want to be involved in our baby’s life.”
“No, no,” he said, kissing her hands. “I want to be involved. Erm, I … the condom broke. Before you were on the pill. It broke, and I didn’t say anything.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” They were both crying now, and he couldn’t stand to see her cry.
“I didn’t want you to freak out, and I was selfish, Aria. So fucking selfish. I haven’t been honest with you about a lot of things.” He ran a hand over his face, hating how much of a dick he’d been to her. “I love you. I’ve been in love with you for some time now. I guess, in the back of my mind maybe, I figured if you were pregnant with my kid, I’d be able to, you know, keep you.”
“You love me?”
He stared into her eyes. “So much. I’ve never felt this way before in my life. I know you hate me, and I’ve done a lot of bad things to you. I want to make it up to you. To love you and to prove to you that Max from the past, he’s gone. He’s gone, and he isn’t coming back. It’s just me.”
“I can’t believe you love me.”
“I do. So fucking much it scares me. I … I should have told you about the stupid condom, but I was scared.”
“So Max Carter gets scared?”
“Yeah, I get scared.”
She wiped at her tears. “I’ve got a bit of a confession to make. I don’t hate you, Max. In fact, I rather kind of love you. I know I should find an excuse not to, but I’m tired of fighting this. I love that you come and walk me to work every single day. I even noticed that you sometimes followed me. A little bit like a stalker, but it was kind of nice for you to do that. I like dancing with you. I don’t like the way women look at you, but I had noticed you don’t look at them. Not even a little bit. You always pay me attention, never anyone else.” She held his hands tightly. “I’m scared about what we’re going to be like together, but if you’d have me, I’d very much like to raise this child with you.”
“I want that. I want to be with you. Every single step of the way. Birthing classes, moving in together. My place is bigger. You’ll move in with me.” She laughed. “I don’t care if people think it’s too soon. I’m gonna be a dad.”