Now that I know for sure what’s causing it, it’s been a little more manageable. My mom said she was the same way, sick all the time.
Max walks up to the porch, his face opening up when he sees me, like a sigh of relief. Then, he sets something I hadn’t seen before — a drink — on the porch, before backing up and looking at me.
Almost like a cat bringing its owner a mouse.
“A peace offering,” he says, gesturing to the cup, and I pick it up, cradling it in my hands but not drinking. I look from the cup, which readsWitch’s Brew Double Whip,to him, where he’s standing on the dirt path and staring up at me resolutely.
“I’m sorry, Lacey.” He swallows, lets out a breath, and slides his palms together, before stuffing them in his pockets. As he speaks, he stares right at me. “What I said— I was out of line?—”
“You were right,” I interject, setting down the cup and taking one step down from the porch. “Idocapitulate. I try to make everyone happy. I’m not doing that anymore, though.”
“Oh.” He coughs, and I realize he thinks I mean him, so I take another step down, closer to him, shaking my head.
“No.” I stop, breathe, start again. “I let Gaial know that I won’t be taking the position. In fact, I turned in my two weeks’ notice.”
Max’s eyebrows jump. “You did?”
“I did,” I say, heart pounding as hard as it was when I first sent the email. Gina was not happy about it, but she reluctantly wished me the best, saying she knew it was going to be hard to hold onto a talent like mine. “And Vanessa and I are going to work on my game. Our game. Instead.”
“Okay,” he says. “I?—”
“Sorry,” I interrupt, taking the final step and having to tilt my head to look up at him, now that I’m on the same dirt path as him. “I also wanted to let you know that, no matter what happens, I’ve decided to stay here. For longer. I’m not renting out the cabin. At least, not yet.”
“Lacey,” he says, taking a step and crossing the distance between us, picking up my hands and taking them in his own. “I’m in love with you. I want you to stay, and I hope you’ll let me continue to be a part of your life. Pushing people away… it’s a bad habit of mine. I guess part of the reason I moved up here in the first place is that I thought people would leave me alone, and I wouldn’t have to be afraid of them leavingme.”
Everything afterI’m in love with yougot a little quieter, but I hold tightly to his hands and listen, heart thundering in my throat.
He’s in love with me.
He continues, “So, if you’ll give me the chance, I want to prove to you that I’ll never leave again. That I won’t push you away.”
“Max.” I drop his hands and take a step back, remembering, in my happy haze, that there’s something else I need to tell him.
Something that might change his mind about this whole thing.
“Lacey?” he asks, eyes flitting over me like he might be able to figure out what I’m about to say before I say it.
“I’m pregnant.”
The words burst out of me as one, so it takes Max a second to process, then he blinks and his eyes go wide, his mouth falling open in a happy gasp.
“Wha— really?”
Time feels suspended. I have no idea what to make of this reaction, until he’s smiling and stepping toward me. This careful back-and-forth dance we’ve been doing since he arrived in theJeep ends when he wraps his arms around me and pulls me in close.
The second I’m enveloped in him, I realize how cold I’ve been out here. His warmth is welcome, and he smells good, like fresh air and spice. I melt into him, letting him hold me, and maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, but I can’t stop the tears that spring to my eyes, the sob that chokes up in my chest.
“There’s a lot to talk about,” he says, still holding me close, “but if you’ll have me, then I want to be here. I want to be a part of your life. I want to be everything, Lacey.”
I wrap my arms around him, burrowing in, still trying to recover from the roller coaster that the past couple of days has been. Pulling back, I wipe at my face and look up at him. “What changed your mind?”
“I thought I was doing what was best for you,” he says softly, looking over my face, then meeting my gaze. “I… thought that I would be asking you to give up too much. That I would be keeping you from living your dream by asking you to stay here. Then I saw your flyer about the rental. That line about friendly renters, it made me realize the only person I want living up the road from me is you. And, ideally, I don’t even want to have to go that far. I was an idiot, Lacey. Impulsive. I know that, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you.”
Without thinking, I lift up onto my toes, pressing my lips to his.
There is a lot to talk about; Max is right about that. I’m uprooting my entire life, starting something new, and creating something with him that will tie us together forever.
But it feels right.
