“No,” I croaked, my vocal cords grinding out the words. “You should be telling me, Daze, because you’re my friend too.” I swallowed hard, holding back that she didn’t have to tell me because I already knew. “You’re my only priority now.” I went to stand in front of her, taking the empty carton and setting it on the counter so I could take her hands in mine. “You and this baby. You’re the only things that matter.”
She fought the urge to shiver, like a tree steeling itself against the wind. She didn’t need me to take care of her. I knew that. What I needed her to know was that I was going to do it anyway.
Chapter 14
Daisy
“You’re nervous,” I said when Max opened the passenger door.
“What?” He smiled and shook his head like the idea was ridiculous. “What would I be nervous about, Daze? I told you, my family isn’t going to be upset or angry at you. They know you and me. They’re going to understand why we did this.”
And he’d spent the past half hour reiterating it to me as we drove from Stonebar to his aunt’s house.
“Then why is the top button of your shirt undone?”
Max stiffened and reached for his collar. Just like I’d suspected, he hadn’t realized he’d left the top button undone. He never did.
“Must’ve missed it.”
“You always miss it when you’re nervous.”
His head tipped, and whatever else I was going to say evaporated from my tongue as his long fingers thumbed and pressed the button into its rightful seat. It was the smallest movement—a fraction of a second—but that was all it took for my hormones to hallucinate his touch. Those fingers on my face.My skin. Thumbing my nipple. Pressing lower—harder where I ached between my thighs.
“Daisy?”
I yanked my eyes up to his, praying he couldn’t see how my whole body was vibrating. “The day you and Todd met with those first investors in Portland. The day you bought Todd out of the business. At Todd’s dad’s birthday party. And then my wedding—” I stopped. I was about to saymy wedding day,except it wasn’t. My wedding day was actually four days ago, standing at the courthouse with this man who’d always shown up for me.The button hadn’t been undone that day.“I mean, the day Todd left.”
Max’s brow furrowed slowly, and I wondered which thought made it crease—that he didn’t realize he had a tell or that I did. “You fixed my collar right before Todd and I left for that meeting…”
Swallowing, I nodded, remembering that moment too. I remembered feeling like the axis of the earth tipped ever so slightly when I got close to him, when my fingers brushed the skin of his neck. It was so slight, I thought I’d imagined it.I told myself I’d imagined it.
“You told me not to be nervous,” he murmured as I took his hand, his warm touch making me shiver.
“Yeah.” I let him help me down, my sandals crunching in the dirt.
Even though it was only dinner at his family’s house, I wanted to look nice. I wanted to put my best foot forward given the circumstances. That was why I’d chosen the long boho lavender dress I’d found at a thrift shop over the weekend. It fit perfectly, was comfy, and I thought it would hide my sneakers. But apparently, as of earlier today, my sneakers no longer fit my swelling feet.
I should’ve seen it coming. I knew this was common in the last trimester, and I should’ve seen the signs. Mostly, how every day this week, we’d get back from making deliveries and I’d take them off only to see their shape clearly indented into my flesh. But tonight of all nights was the first time I went to put them on and knew I wouldn’t last five minutes, let alone through a whole dinner, with them on. So…weather-inappropriate sandals it was.
I hoped Max didn’t notice.No.He would. What I really hoped was that if I didn’t say anything, he wouldn’t either. I couldn’t take another blow to my pride this week. Maybe that made me foolish or ungrateful, or maybe it just made me hormonal, but I just couldn’t accept anything else from him right now.
Max closed the door behind me and then took my hand. It was that hold that stopped him from walking away. He looked over his shoulder, our hands linked between us.
“If you know they’re going to be okay with it, why are you nervous?”
A shadow passed over his face—the same one I’d seen a handful of times since Monday. “I just don’t want them to get the wrong idea about us.”
His answer needled into my chest. “That I forced you?—”
“No, of course not, Daze.” Max let out a rough breath followed by a shaky laugh. “I don’t want them to think there’s…something else going on between us.”
That needle punctured all the air from my lungs. Something else, like the vibrations still running through my body from that silly button.
“Oh.” I gulped.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I doubt they’ll think that.” His jaw flexed.
“Right,” I agreed with a strained laugh and repeated, “Why would they?”
