Max was silent for a moment before he replied. “One: I didn’t like the waxing, but if you wanted it, I didn’t care. Two: You’re not clumsy—you’re absolutely adorable. I think I fell in love with you the moment you spilled your coffee on my favorite suit, which never did recover. But I got you out of the deal, so I didn’t give a shit about the suit. Three: All of your make-up was washed off when you jumped into the ocean last night, and your hair is wild like you’ve been well-satisfied. And you take my breath away. I’m all for the shorts and braless look, just know I might never leave the house after I see those incredible br**sts. Four: You don’t need to diet. Your figure was full and beautiful; you’re active and healthy. Most of the time, I was fighting for control. Five: I want you to wear whatever you want and be exactly who you are. If some uptight prick at a party pisses you off, tell him off. Six: I couldn’t care less if you curse. Especially if you want to talk dirty to me. But know that I’ll take you exactly where you happen to be at that moment if you do that,” he warned ominously. He brushed the hair from her face gently before adding, “I fell in love with you, Mia. I don’t need you to be anyone other than who you are. I felt the distance growing after we were married, but I thought it was me. I was trying too hard to be the sensible man I assumed you wanted.”
Mia had to admit, she was curious now. “What did you do? You told me about the trips to distance yourself. What else?”
“I did a lot of little things, like shaving twice a day, but leaving was the worst part. It nearly killed me to leave, but I always felt like I needed to get a grip because you wanted a steady husband instead of a maniacal beast who was obsessed with the woman he loved. To me, you’ve always been perfect, and I could never be good enough to deserve you. So instead, I ran away when I couldn’t get my emotions under control,” he said, his voice husky and dark. “I wasn’t raised to show my emotions openly. And what I felt for you wasn’t normal for me. I was terrified if you really knew how I felt…you’d run like hell. Most women would…or should.”
“I wouldn’t. I felt the same way, Max. I always have. But I guess I was convinced that you needed the perfect wife, and I was going to have to compromise or mold myself into that image to keep your love,” Mia admitted, feeling once again like two different women in one body. “You were worldly, sophisticated, and completely controlled. I didn’t want to smother you with emotion. And I felt…too much.”
Max moved over her, his hot, muscular body hovering over hers, holding most of his weight from her body with his arms. “Suffocate me, Mia. Let me drown in your love and affection. Touch me. Shower me with your laughter. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I need that from you. I just want to be close to you.” His face looked tortured but hopeful. “Please,” he added hoarsely.
Mia closed her eyes, her heart pounding, completely destroyed by the look on Max’s face. Her steady, calm, no-nonsense husband wanted to be loved. Really loved. He didn’t want the perfect woman. He just wanted her, and all of the craziness that went along with a love so intense that neither one of them had been able to handle it. “I think I’ve grown up, Max. I’m not sure what happened to me, but I don’t want to change anymore. If you think you can handle me, I’ll give you all the love I have and leave you begging for a reprieve,” she warned him playfully. “And I love you a whole hell of a lot. Can you handle that?”
His grin grew wicked as his gorgeous hazel eyes roved over her face. “Oh yeah.”
Oh crap. I’ll want to jump his bones every minute of every day if he keeps looking at me like this.
Their eyes met and held, and Mia lifted her hand to his rough jaw and caressed it softly as she pleaded, “Love me just like this forever. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, too.”
Max buried his face in her hair with a groan. “I will, sweetheart. I promise.”
Mia sighed and wrapped her arms around him, stroking her hands over his back and to his waist, absorbing the heady, masculine scent and feel of the man she loved.
At that moment, everything was perfect.
The next morning, Mia watched Max from across the hospital waiting room with a smile. Kara had been in labor since three a.m., and every friend and family member of Simon’s had shown up this morning in a show of support. Max and Helen Hudson, Sam and Simon’s mother, were currently consoling Sam, trying to convince him that when Maddie had her baby, it wasn’t going to be that bad. Maddie wasn’t Kara’s physician, but as a dear friend, Maddie had gone in to observe with the OB doctor. Nobody had seen Simon at all since he’d been unwilling to leave Kara’s side, but Maddie came out with periodic progress reports.
“How damn long does it take to have a baby? She’s been in labor forever,” Sam grumbled loud enough that Mia could hear him across the small waiting room.
Maddie’s last progress report about thirty minutes ago had been that Kara was getting ready to push. She’d also said that Simon swore he’d never touch Kara again. Maddie had delivered that comment with a snort, knowing Simon would forget that promise fairly quickly.
“It’s her first baby, Sam. It takes time,” Mia heard Helen tell her son patiently.
Looking to her right, Mia smiled weakly at Kade, not quite sure exactly why he was here, but glad that he was. She’d been able to give him the DNA results that had just come back from the lab.
“Do you hate me for having some doubts at first?” Kade asked quietly, his face solemn.
“You’re my brother. I love you. I was presumed dead. So no, I don’t hate you because you didn’t immediately accept me,” she replied honestly, although it had hurt a little. She’d always been close to her twin brothers, and she knew they had always protected her from the brunt of their father’s crazy behavior. Kade was the brother who made her smile, and needing to prove herself to him had pained her, even though she logically understood why it had needed to be done.
“I was an ass**le. I knew it was you from the moment you criticized my shirt and called me by name in the park, but all I could think about was what would happen if Max got attached and something happened. He was a mess, Squirt. He walked around like an empty shell, like he didn’t care if he lived or died. Honestly, I don’t think he did care. I didn’t want to see him suffer anymore,” Kade finished abruptly, as though he were uncomfortable talking about Max’s grief. Or his own.