Courage in the Kiss (24 page)

It took a week for the shock to fade. Hadley was sure that the bottom would drop from her world at some point, but Maxx kept being supportive and positive about the pregnancy.

The only thing that she couldn’t stand was the fact that he’d cancelled all of his meetings and told the office that, unless it was urgent, he wouldn’t be dealing with any ‘trivial’ matters. He had his assistant forwarding e-mails and urgent phone calls, but any important meetings were being held at the house, where he insisted on staying.

No matter how often Hadley insisted, Maxx had already put his apartment on the market. He wanted them to live at home, with Emerson and Micah, until the baby came along, and then they’d agreed to get a house.

But getting married, for the sake of the baby, was hardly the dream she’d spent her whole life coveting. This wasn’t how she’d planned to have a family or get married, but there was something magical about talking over wedding plans with Maxx and knowing that it was going to happen.

“What are you doing now?” Micah asked from behind her.

Hadley swirled the cloth over the counter top in the kitchen, wondering why she couldn’t find a few minutes alone.

Emerson was smothering her with wedding plans; Maxx was in over-protective daddy mode, and Micah kept laying into her for doing chores around the house.

“Cleaning,” she replied, not sure why it was such a big deal. She had the go ahead from the doctor – and from Maxx – to keep up her usual routine, as long as she rested regularly and kept up her fluid intake.

“Can’t I do it for you?” Micah offered, trying to take the cloth from her.

Hadley put it down and turned to face him, frustrated at constantly being told what to do. It felt as though the minute she discovered she was pregnant, everyone began treating her like a China doll. “Micah, I’m not breakable. And if you keep pushing me to sit done and relax, I’ll stop cleaning your room and let you live in the pig sty you create,” she warned him.

“But...”

“I’m not incapable! I’m pregnant!” she argued, wishing there was a clearer way to draw the lines for him. She was not made of glass, and she wasn’t going to fall apart if she did some light cleaning or cooking. “I am this close,” she said, holding her index finger and thumb less than a centimetre apart, “to pitching a fit. I suggest you leave me to my work and come back with something nice to say.”

Micah smiled at the advice, but simply leaned against the counter. “I’m only trying to help. I don’t want you overdoing it and hurting yourself,” he maintained, in all innocence.

“Go ask Maxx to get those comics for you,” Hadley suggested an alternative, too emotional to react to his words. Her doctor had insisted that the excess of emotion and tears she’d been suffering lately were caused more from lack of sleep and stress than the actual pregnancy. Not that knowing the cause helped much.

She turned back to her task and hoped that Micah was leaving her in peace, when she heard the door swing open with that tell tale creak. But then warm hands slid over her waist and soft lips pressed against her temple.

“Micah, give us a minute, will you?” Maxx asked, patient and understanding of his worry.

It still astounded her that he was taking this whole pregnancy thing so well. It had come as a bolt out of the blue for both of them, and nothing was how she’d imagined it. Yet, Maxx acted as though everything was going according to plan.

Once the door swung shut again, Hadley relaxed in Maxx’s arms. So far, he was the only one that was acting normal. Even Ronnie had a tendency to overdo the whole ‘protective’ vibe when he was around her.

“Better?” Maxx asked quietly, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

She nodded, tired and lost for words now that he was close again.

“Will you sit and have a drink with me? There’s something I think we need to talk about,” he began, sounding far too serious for her nerves to take.

Reluctantly, Hadley nodded her agreement and waited for his arms to release her before taking a seat at the dining table. “What’s wrong?” she asked, turning her seat to the side, toward the seat at the head of the table, where Maxx perched.

“Nothing. But, I did want a minute alone with you, to talk,” he confessed, reaching out to take her hands in his. “We’ve both been really busy this week, getting things ready for the baby, organising schedules, and dealing with Dad and Micah...” He rhymed off their big problems and laughed. “I know they mean well, but we’re both struggling with the
fact
that you’re pregnant, never mind with the
reality
of everyone smothering us, right?”

Hadley nodded, relieved that he understood how she felt. It was so suffocating, constantly having everyone trying to help and asking if she was alright every five minutes.

“Okay.” Maxx nodded and let go of one hand to brush aside a strand of hair that fell over her cheek. “Well, I’ve just had a chat with Dad, and he’s agreed that he’ll cover for me at work, giving us time together while curing his boredom, and it will keep him out of our hair. Just until we’re more settled,” he explained, with a look that said they couldn’t expect the miracle of an offer to last too long.

Hadley knew all too well what he meant by that. Emerson wanted to help out, but he was also a meddler and he wouldn’t be too happy about being distracted and sent away, while they made plans without him. “And Micah?”

“I called Rowan and talked him into inviting Micah on a weekend camping trip. That will get him out of our hair for a few days,” Maxx continued, grinning in acknowledgement of how much Micah took after their father.

She had never seen it more clearly than since Maxx had revealed her pregnancy. Micah had suddenly become as much of a papa bear to her as she’d always been a mother hen to him. Hadley was beginning to realise how annoying she’d been as he was growing up.

“I also gave them some money and talked them into inviting the girls,” he revealed with a cheeky wink. “I don’t think we’ll hear any complaints, once they realise that all four of them will be alone, miles away from any of us.”

“It sounds too good to be true,” Hadley confessed, finally feeling her shoulders lose their tension and her muscles relax. Somehow, that was the effect Maxx had on her. She couldn’t explain it, and she wasn’t sure she’d want to, even if she could. It was just what Maxx did.

“Well, it’s true. There’s just one catch,” Maxx warned her, letting her know it really
was
too good to be true. “You have to spend all that time with me...alone. And I have a particular task that I want us to tackle today, even if we don’t finalise it for a few more days,” he announced with a smile.

“What?”

“I want to take you somewhere, as a surprise. And I don’t want you to freak out. It’s a good surprise,” he promised. “But, you can’t know where we’re going or why. I’ll reveal all when we get there.”

Hadley would normally say no, but she was beginning to learn that Maxx’s surprises were always worth it. That first surprise, when he asked if she’d be home on the Sunday so that she could get his ‘gift’, had been the best. He’d come home to her, even though it was only for one night.

“Alright,” she agreed, reluctantly. “I’ll accept those terms, but when we get back, I want something of my own,” she confessed, gently reaching out for the tip of his tie. She wrapped her hand around it and gave it a gentle tug, until Maxx got the point and leaned in to kiss her.

Hadley responded lightly, savouring the moment, until he broke away and grinned.

“My surprise first, then, if you’re good, I’d be more than happy to give you exactly what you want,” he agreed, kissing her again quickly, as though to cement that promise.

Maxx rushed out of his seat and toward the door, before Hadley could even complain. “I’ll get the car, while you get your jacket,” he suggested, smiling back at her as he opened the door.

“What…now?” Hadley asked, having thought he would wait for Micah and Rowan to leave on their trip, before they went on this secret trip of their own.

“Yeah. Hurry!” he ordered with a laugh, as he shut the door behind him and disappeared from sight.

She shrugged it off and began putting away the cleaning products she’d sprawled across the counter. Once the surface was clear, she headed into the front hallway and grabbed her jacket from the hook.

She got one arm in, before a pair of hands helped her into the next sleeve. Then Maxx walked around in front of her and zipped it up.

“There’s a light nip in the air,” he warned, while adjusting the hood to lay flat across her shoulders. “Perfect,” he approved with a nod.

Hadley tried not to blush as his eyes raked over her and he held his hand out. They might not be getting married for love, or be having this baby as a planned act of extending their family, but she felt so wanted when Maxx looked at her that it all felt like a dream. There was passion, hope, and adoration in his eyes. Even, dare she suggest, love. She wasn’t sure what
kind
of love it was, but it was there nonetheless.

Hadley quizzed Maxx continuously as he drove through the country roads, making his way into town, but he never answered her. He just smiled and told her to wait. The only thing she got out of their conversation was that he was enjoying torturing her.

It was twenty minutes before they reached town and Maxx stopped the car.

“Are you going to tell me now?” she asked, the excitement getting too much for her.

“No.” He grinned, as he got out of the car and walked round to her side. He opened the door, but Hadley didn’t budge.

“If you’re not going to tell me what you’re up to, then I’m not getting out of this car.” She sighed, a soft smile betraying the demanding tone of her voice.

Maxx crouched beside her and took her hand in his. “I’m not telling, because you’ll make up excuses to get out of it. This way, I get to give you what you want, but won’t ask for,” he explained.

Hadley looked at him, completely confused until he kissed her softly.

“Now, will you let me surprise you for God sake?!” he joked as he stood up.

“Okay.” She submitted to his will merely out of curiosity. She didn’t know what it was, but she was sure it was something he thought was important or he wouldn’t have been so secretive. Hadley stepped out of the car and shut the door. “This better be good,” she warned him.

Maxx laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist to give her a gentle squeeze. “It will be. I promise,” he vowed, even going as far as to cross his heart.

Hadley shook her head and kept a close eye on the shops they passed, as he led her along the busy street. She felt like he was trying to disguise his real reason for bringing her here, by constantly stopping to browse at the shop windows and pointing things out to her.

It was kind of adorable to stand by the baby shop and hear him talking about their baby. “That crib is gorgeous,” Maxx insisted, holding his hand to the window to see through to the dark shop interior better. “We should definitely come back here, when it’s open. That blanket looks really warm. We could use that when we bring the little tyke home from the hospital,” he said.

Hadley couldn’t see the blanket. She just stood there, by Maxx’s side, soaking up his enthusiasm and watching the joy on his face as he planned ahead. He’d been quiet about the baby until just two days ago, when she stopped feeling sorry for herself and accepted reality for what it was.

So, she’d never get her dream wedding to Maxx, with a white dress and hearing him say he loved her, while knowing he meant it. So, she wouldn’t already be married when she fell pregnant with their first child and it wasn’t a planned pregnancy.

Those were small dreams to give up, for the truth of her life now. She had Maxx, and although he didn’t love her, they weren’t strangers and didn’t have to use the baby as an excuse to be civil to each other. Maxx was right; they had fun together and knew everything about each other.
How
they got together wasn’t important, only that they’d created this perfect bundle of joy that they both loved.

“Had?” Maxx looked down at her and smiled in that curious, confused way that surprised her.

Hadley hummed and wondered what she’d missed.

“Am I freaking you out?” he asked, carefully. “I am, aren’t I? Let’s keep going,” he suggested, clearly believing that he’d jumped the gun and gushed over the baby too much.

“No.” Hadley stopped him by catching his hand and holding it tight. “I love hearing you talk about the baby. It just...it makes me drift a little,” she confessed, knowing he’d understand what that meant.

He always, very politely, said she was drifting when her thoughts carried her away. It sounded so much nicer than daydreaming, which always seemed to imply that, like dreams, some things would never happen.

“Oh.” He cracked a stunning smile and laughed as he gently urged her on to the next shop. “Then I won’t bother apologising. Drifting is good. In fact, you might need to do some more of it before the day is through,” he insisted with a wink.

It was an excruciating fifteen minutes before they reached the real reason for their trip out - the jeweller’s. Maxx bypassed the window and headed toward the door, but Hadley had spotted something and wasn’t willing to just walk past it.

“What is it?” he asked as he stared at her. He followed her gaze and moved to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder, to wrap his arms around her waist. “That one?” he wondered, pointing out the exact ring Hadley had her eye on.

She looked up at him with a shy smile. “How could you tell?”

“It’s perfect! Just the sort of thing you’d go for,” Maxx explained, stepping back as he took her hand again, leading her inside.

The whole store seemed to sparkle, with sunlight reflecting off the glass cases. She stood there, just behind Maxx, admiring all the beautiful things around her. She could hear him talking to the shop assistant, assuring her that they knew what they wanted and didn’t need any help, at the moment.

“Maxx,” she whispered, so as not to attract the shop assistant’s attention. He turned with a knowing smile, but she persisted. “We can’t get anything out of here…it’s so expensive,” she continued.

No matter what he said about whatever was his being hers now, they had to be careful. With Emerson’s retirement and Maxx taking over, a lot of investors could easily get cold feet about the new management and jump ship. And now, with the baby, they had to be smart about what they spent their money on.

But Maxx only stepped closer to her and kissed her lingeringly. “Don’t worry about it. Just think about seeing that ring on your finger,” he insisted.

This time, Hadley looked over at the window where the shop assistant was and back at Maxx. She thought about what he said and how that engagement ring really was the perfect image of everything she’d ever wanted, dreamed of, and imagined over the years she’d pined away for him. But it was impractical.

“I don’t need a ring to know I love you,” she promised, unafraid of admitting that. He might not love her back, but that didn’t matter so much, when a part of him was growing inside of her.

He was right about getting married and providing their baby with a real family life. They would never make their child unhappy, by staying together if they found it intolerable, but they also knew that they could be great parents, if they just had the chance. Together, they balanced each other, and that might be all they needed to make a successful family unit.

Hadley took a deep breath and smiled up at Maxx, realising that she’d already made up her mind. She would let him buy her this ring, because it would be a permanent symbol of their commitment to one another and to their baby. It deserved to be solid and perfect. Just as their family would be.

The very thought of having an engagement ring, however, seemed to make everything more real and reassured her that she wasn’t dreaming.

Just then, the shop assistant coughed to get their attention and smiled when they looked over at her.

“Do you know your ring size?” she asked politely.

Hadley answered automatically and the assistant nodded, before heading into the back room, while Maxx ran his fingers through her hair.

A few minutes later, the woman returned with a smile to find them waiting patiently for her return. “I’ve brought the size above and the size below, just in case,” she explained, in a professional but friendly manner. “Sometimes these Italian makes can have a slight difference in sizes to ours,” she continued, as she took the delicate ring out of a beautiful, light pink box.

Hadley was about to take it, when Maxx reached around her and beat her to it. The small ring sitting in his large hand was a sight she never thought she’d see outside of a dream.

But then the assistant spoke and the dream was shattered. “I’ll give you a minute alone,” she offered quietly, leaving them to return the other items to the back room.

Yet, although the dream bubble burst, Maxx still held that perfect silver band on his palm. He held it in his hand for a second, just looking at it, then looked up and met Hadley’s nervous gaze.

She smiled shyly, as their eyes met and he slipped the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand.

A tingle shot up her spine, but she couldn’t decide if it was fear, nerves, or joy that trickled through her. All she knew was that she’d waited her whole life for this moment and now it was finally happening.

Hadley gazed down at the beautiful silver ring on her finger, the delicate diamond winking at her in the light. It looked perfect and was an ideal fit. She couldn’t help feeling emotional as she thought about it and all that it was supposed to represent. She looked up at Maxx and threw her arms around him. “Thank you so much,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s nothing compared to what you deserve,” he promised, running his hand over her hair. After a moment, he pulled back to look into her eyes. He brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her softly. “You do know you’ll have to take it off so I can pay for it,” he joked, but Hadley just laughed.

“Like hell I do. It’s on my finger now. It’s not coming off, for anything or anyone,” she promised, holding her hands to his chest, where the ring sat in perfect placement for her to gaze at it some more.

“That’s good to hear,” Maxx whispered as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Hadley closed her eyes. She didn’t care if it was admitting weakness to say that she’d never remove his ring. Without him, she
was
weak. She was nothing but a pathetic girl with a crush, until he came along and promised that he wanted her, too. It might not have been the lifelong commitment she’d hoped for, but there was something between them that extended beyond lust and much closer to love than could be possible.

She was about to kiss him again, when she heard the sound of the assistant’s heels clicking back onto the wooden floor, advertising that they had an audience.

“Is everything satisfactory?” she asked politely, standing near the till.

Maxx looked down at Hadley, who nodded excitedly. “I think so. Apart from the fact she won’t take it off now,” he warned her.

Hadley hit him playfully, as a sign that he wasn’t supposed to tell.

The assistant just laughed softly and ignored it. “That’s fine. There’s no need to take it off. I can simply run it through and let you wear it out. Would you like the box?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s so gorgeous,” Hadley admitted, taking another look at it.

Maxx took the opportunity, while she was looking at the box, to hand over his credit card to the assistant and turn over the price tag, so Hadley couldn’t see it.

She knew exactly what he was doing, but she’d let him get away with it this time. He was right about this one thing; the price didn’t matter, when it was something made to last a lifetime and mean so much to them both.

Once the assistant ran his card through the machine, she handed it back to him and lifted the pretty pink box off the counter to place into a bag.