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She stops and I can see how hard that would have been, not just for her family—but for her. Because she’s seeing the same thing in me, in what we’re doing. And I hate that. “I don’t want to have to walk away, Max, but I will. For our baby. I can’t keep questioning what you’re doing or what you really want. I can’t keep worrying that you’re going to realise someday soon you actually don’t want this, and you regret ever making the offer to marry me.”

Sickness twists in my stomach as I watch her place her hand on the doorhandle. “I was married,” I say quietly. “A long time ago.”

Winnie stops and stares at me in shock. “What?”

I swallow hard past the lump forming in my throat. “She and I were high school sweethearts. Married right out of college. But we didn’t love each other anymore. It sounds so simple and yet…I think it’s a lot bigger than it was.”

She sits there with an unreadable look for a long moment, lips pressed together like what she wants to say is being kept within, like she knows saying what she wants might change everything. Or maybe she’s giving me the chance to explain before she walks out of my life for good.

Whatever it is, I’ve opened this can of worms, and I need to settle it before we can move on.

“We fell out of love. I think that’s the only way I can describe it without wondering if…if it was me. That I was the reason it never worked out.” I look away from Winnie to the wet street, taking in shining bitumen that reflects the golden light of the nearby streetlights. “And I guess I’m worried I might be pushing this so hard, not just because I want to make sure everything goes right, but because I’m afraid it will happen again. I fall in love with you, and you walk away because there’s not enough here for you to love. I’m not enough to love.”

Having it out in the open feels like a weight has been lifted from my chest, but also like I’ve set in motion something that can never be undone.

I swallow again, this time the pressure in my throat and chest too much. “I want to marry you,” I finish softly. “Not just because of the baby, but because I’ve been looking for any sign of you for months. And as much as I secretly wanted to be a father, as much as I don’t want you walking away, I will let you go if that’s what you need. But I’m not rescinding my offer. I want you and our baby, Winnie. I want this more than I’ve wanted anything. And I am willing to fight for it.”

With that, I push out of the truck, leaving the keys on the driver’s side seat. I’ll know her answer if she takes the keys and drives away. I’ll know if she wants this if I don’t see her at Town Hall.

I’m terrified of both, but I know which one will feel right.

I just hope she feels the same way.

10

WINNIE

Iwatch Max shove his hands into his jeans and stalk towards Town Hall in the rain. In the corner of my eye, the truck keys glare at me—judging me for everything I didn’t say and could have told him.

With trembling fingers, I pull out my cell and call the first number I find: my sister.

Jess picks up after the third ring with a tired sigh. “Winnie?”

“Hey,” I whisper, voice shaking. “You got a minute?”

Jess shifts, clearly still in bed. Shit, did I wake her after a night shift? They have her working all sorts of hours at the nursing home, rotating patients in her care constantly. Our last text was her telling me she’d lost another resident during the night, and she’d been the only one there. It’d broken her heart.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, voice clearer. “Do you need help? I have some cash I can send you⁠—”

“I’m pregnant,” I tell her finally. The other line goes quiet, and I draw in a deep, shuddering breath. “I’ve been pregnant for a while now.”

Jess doesn’t say anything for a long moment, her breath shaky as she releases it. “Win…what’s going on?”

I break down the last couple of months for her; from meeting Max in the bar, to finding out I was pregnant, and spending the first few months spiralling before locking in to find him; all the Max Gilberts I had to meet before I finally found him, the father of my child; and then the weekend where everything shifted permanently.

His proposal to marry me for insurance. Our date to the Fall Festival and how it felt like we might finally be working. Then his complete one-eighty that same night, and finally, his admission. The fact that he’s been married before. That it didn’t work out because they simply fell out of love. And how he blames himself for it ending the way it did, because he feels like he’s unworthy. How that unworthiness is dictating his fear now when it comes to me.

“It’s a lot,” I murmur, “I know. I’m sorry I kept this secret for so long, I just didn’t know how to tell you or Caleb or Mom. For a little while, this could just be mine to figure out without any of the pressure of the family. I just wanted to focus on finding him and going from there.”

“You’re seven months pregnant, Win. That is a lot,” Jess admits, her voice low. “I’m sorry you didn’t think it would be a good idea to come to us. But I get it. So, what now?”

I stare out the front windshield at Max’s hunched form. “Well, I decide if I meet him outside of Town Hall to marry him with the license we just picked up, or I take my keys and start driving.”

“What do you want to do?” Jess asks softly.

I press my lips together as I watch the man I’ve been searching for since this all started waits in the pouring rain. My gaze drifts down to the license, sitting still on the dash, with both our names already printed across it. “What I want to do is a little crazy.”

“You’ve always been a little crazy, Win. Let’s be real. You were the one who handed over Caleb’s spare key to a total stranger and told her to take over his cabin for a few days, and now they’re happily married. You also encouraged all of…this crap and I love you, but this is the sort of thing we expect from you, Win.”