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“Wait until you hear the next one,” he says with a sly smile. I bite my lip, watching him leave, wondering what he plans on singing.
“Dance with me?” Max asks from behind, startling me.
I wrap my arm around his, and he leads me onto the dance floor, pulling me into his very large chest. We two-step around the floor. He doesn’t say anything, just leads me. It’s an awkward silence. One I’ve never had with Max. I can tell he has something on his mind.
“So…” I bite my inner cheek. He looks down at me and waits for me to continue. I didn’t have anything specific to say, I just wanted to break the silence. “Cherrie’s cute,” I blurt out.
He arches a brow and grins. “That she is.”
“Y’all seem to have hit it off.”
He smirks. “Something like that.” I’ve always appreciated Max and his simple, no bullshit talks, but he’s holding something back and it’s irritating me.
I nod and go back to concentrating on dancing. I look around, even though I still feel his eyes on me. Finally, I glance at him. “What, Max? Just say it.”
“You’ll be mad at me.” Whatever he thinks I’ll be mad at doesn’t stop him from flashing a Cheshire Cat grin.
“Max, I could never be mad at you.” He looks down at me, and I shrug. Okay, that’s a lie. “Tell me.”
He leans down and whispers in my ear, “Congratulations.”
I whisper back in his ear, “Thanks.” I shake my head at the weird conversation we’re having.
“I’m talking about being pregnant.”
What the ever-loving hell? My foot stumbles, and I trip on Max’s foot. He catches me and continues two-stepping without missing a beat. I regain my footing and stare up at him.
“Max, how in the world do you know that?” I say through gritted teeth. I am going to kill someone. I asked for one night of secrecy. One. Fucking. Night.
“Calm down there, Annie Oakley,” he chuckles. Using the nickname he gave me the day we met doesn’t calm my rage. “I heard Harper at the dinner table.”
“You did not. She didn’t say it loud enough.” I narrow my eyes at him. His smirk tells me everything. “Asshole. You read her lips.” Goddammit. At this rate, everyone is going to know I’m pregnant except Aiden. “You’re a Nosey Nelly, Max.” He laughs out loud.
“I promise I wasn’t trying to be nosey. I just happened to look over when Harper leaned forward. I still wasn’t sure but then remembered you running to a trashcan to lose your shit, so I put it together.”
I sigh and look up to the white tent ceiling, lights twinkling all around. I tap my finger against Max’s back, wondering if I should just go find Aiden and tell him right now. If he hears it from someone else, I’ll feel like the worst wife ever.
“Addison,” Max says, pulling me from my thoughts. When our eyes lock, he softly smiles. “He doesn’t know. And I’m sure as hell not going to tell him.”
“Dammit, Max. I was planning on telling him tonight, but my plan was also for him to be the first to know and now the whole place seems to know.”
“No, they don’t.” That’s easy for him to say. He’s not the one going to let Aiden down when he hears the news secondhand. “You only have an hour left. Keep to the plan.”
I nod and take in a deep breath. “Thank you,” I say, looking at him. He winks and smiles.
“Remember, you said you’d name your first son Maximus.”
I laugh, remembering the first time we met and how that wasn’t how the conversation went. “I think that was your idea, and I don’t remember agreeing to it,” I say.
He shrugs. “I knew you two would end up together. There was never a doubt in my mind. I never saw Aiden look at someone the way he looked at you. I’m glad someone finally made the asshole wake up.”
I lean my head down on his chest. “I can’t say that I never doubted that we would be here, because…well, you know. But I knew that I had never felt like this for anyone else from the moment I saw him as Jett.” He chuckles at the name.
“I think the love you have for each other will outlast anything thrown your way. Just don’t forget that.” He leans down and kisses the top of my head. “Congratulations, Addison.” My heart warms from his tender touch. Max and I have forged a deep bond from a dark place in my life. He will always be my hero.
“Thanks, Max…for everything. It makes my heart happy that you’re part of the package deal with Aiden. And you’re going to be the best uncle to our kids.” He squeezes his arm around my waist and softly nods.
As soon as the song ends, Aiden stands behind me. “Alright, I think you’ve taken enough of my wife’s time.”
