Page 84 of Tide and Seek
“You already do, Max.”
“You’re right.I already do,” he said softly.
I kissed him and then said, “You know what?We need more champagne.”I climbed out of the bed and went into the bathroom to grab the bottle.Then I climbed back under the covers with Max, and we drank the rest of the champagne, talking about the future.
At one point, a tipsy Max insisted on calling Girdy so she’d be the first to know.I could hear her excited squeal from where I sat next to him.She even put Grumpy on the phone so he could hear my voice, but all I got on my end was a lot of sniffing and whining.
“You should call your mom,” Max said after hanging up with Girdy.His voice was slightly slurred, and his cheeks rosy from the booze.“It’s fun telling people.”
I grimaced.“I think I’ll call her tomorrow, when I’m sober.”I didn’t want to call her with Max listening in because I knew she’d be less enthusiastic than Girdy had been.
His face fell.“Does she hate me?Will she be upset about the engagement?”
“Nah, she doesn’t hate you, Max.”I sighed, taking his hand in mine.“She’s just a protective mom, and she worries about me too much.We had that little hiccup with Thanksgiving, and because she doesn’t know you, she’ll be wary.But she’ll come around when she meets you.I’m sure of it.”
He winced.“Or I’ll fumble so horribly, she’ll really hate me.”
“Impossible.”
“You saw how horribly I handled the proposal.”His eyes flickered.“Can you even imagine the disaster I’ll be when I have to meet your mom?”
I chuckled.“It’ll probably be awkward at first, but then it’ll all go okay.Once you relax, you’re pretty likeable, Max.”
“If you say so.”
I shrugged.“You do realize even if Mom says she doesn’t want me to marry you, I’ll still marry you, right?”
“I hope so,” he said softly.
“It’s a fact.”
He exhaled roughly.“You know what?I’m not going to worry about it right now.This is a celebration.Let’s drink some more.I’m hungry too.I have a frozen pizza in the freezer.Should I go cook it?”
“Sure.That sounds perfect.I don’t want to go out.I just want to stay here with you.”
He smiled.“Same.”
We ended up spending the whole day in bed, eating frozen pizza and drinking some of Max’s expensive wine.Max was in such a good mood he didn’t even comment on the high sodium content of the pizza.I drank way too much, spurred on by how happy I was, knowing full well I’d regret it in the morning.But I was just so danged contented I didn’t care about the consequences.
However, the next morning, I cared a lot.As expected, my head was pounding like an elephant was dancing the polka inside my skull.Max didn’t seem to be as hung over, which didn’t seem fair, but then again, I had gone a little crazy with the champagne and the wine.
Freshly showered, Max sat on the side of the bed as I helped myself to some pain medication.I lay back down onto the fluffy pillow with a groan, and he gently stroked his fingers through my hair.
“Should I stay here with you and nurse you back to health?”he asked softly, looking guilty.“I can call C.J.and tell her I can’t make it.”
I grimaced.“No, don’t do that.There’s nothing you can really do for me.I’ll just stay hydrated and sleep.I’ll be fine in a few hours.I forgot that champagne can give me a headache.”I gave a wry smile.“Especially when I drink almost a full bottle by myself.”
He laughed.“Hey, I helped.”
I pressed my fingers to my throbbing temples.“Not enough, it would seem.”
He touched the rose-gold band on my finger.“I can’t get over how much I love seeing that on your hand.”
I smiled, examining the jewelry.“Can’t wait to get my ring on your finger too.”I especially looked forward to James seeing my ring on Max’s finger.
Asshole.
“Me too.”Max stood.“Well, if you’re sure I should go, I’ll probably only be a couple of hours, unless C.J.wants to go to lunch or something.Then it might be more like four hours.”He gnawed on his lip, watching me.“You’re sure you don’t want me to cancel?”
