by Hadley Quinn
“All good?” Jake asked as Max climbed into the back seat of the Escalade.
“I don’t know. Said what I wanted to say.”
“You mean you gave her another chance.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
Jake put the SUV in gear and pulled away from the street. “So revenge is not an option? Call me evil, but I was hoping for something more brutal.”
Max smiled at his humor. “My own redemption is my revenge.”
Jake nodded as he turned at the corner. “That’s got some depth to it. Way to take the high road.”
“This time, at least.”
Jake smiled. “Got it. No revenge for now.”
For now, Max agreed to himself.
Chapter Forty
It had only been eight hours since he last saw Anna and Chase, but it felt like days. There was nothing better in the world than coming home to them both, spending a quiet night in with a home cooked meal, a family movie, and carrying his little guy to his bed at the end of the night.
Max found Anna in the kitchen, putting away clean dishes. He paused for a minute, just to watch her. He remembered back to the first time he saw her; an unexpected meeting that had changed his life unknowingly. After spending so many years trying for the perfect outcome of success, he realized he never had all the ingredients to begin with.
There was obviously a time and a place for everything, and even the golden boy of Hollywood couldn’t rush it along.
When Anna noticed him standing there, she stopped to smile at him. There was something about that very moment that endorsed every dream he’d ever had. It wasn’t a particular success in his career he’d wanted to achieve…it was the actual happiness he wanted that came with it.
Happiness. He’d just wanted to be happy; to feel content with his life and have the people he could count on right there with him. He thought about how many times he felt he needed to achieve just one more thing in order to finally be satisfied. To be comfortable. To feel at peace.
To feel worthy of the life he’d been given.
But personal goals often changed, and Max was glad that his had. He truly did focus on the simple pleasures because that’s where he found the most joy. Upgrading to a bigger house, better cars, or to receiving more accolades was not how he wanted to measure his success. He wanted to make Anna happy, and he wanted Chase to grow into a responsible, thoughtful young man.
He wanted the rest of his family to learn to appreciate one another before it was too late.
“You seem a bit pensive right now,” Anna remarked. “What’s on your mind?”
He entered the kitchen further and leaned against the counter. Joining him, she slid her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.
“Just thinking about how much I love you,” he answered.
She lightly chuckled. “For real, or are you just buttering me up before grown-up time.”
He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her. “Both.”
“Hmm, okay. But before we get distracted with sweaty bodies slapping together…”
Max laughed, but he was also picturing it and felt his dick twitch automatically. “Damn, way to deflect my attention.”
“Yeah, I thought about that as soon as it came out of my mouth.”
“So what’s on your mind?”
She pulled away from him and answered, “Babies.”
He was sure he had that deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. It’s not like they hadn’t talked about it before, but she was getting this stuff all out of order.
“No, no more talk on babies yet,” he answered.
“What? But you said—”
He put his hand over her mouth. “I said we’ll discuss it when the time is right.”
She pulled his hand off her face and was clearly pissed. “Well I think the time is right and I wanna talk about it.”
“Hold up. Get rid of the angry eyes, babe. You’re getting way ahead of me. You’re not supposed to be mad at me right now because I’m trying to ask you to marry me first.”
Her eyes went from irritated to surprised and she just stood there staring at him. Finally she scoffed. “That’s the worst proposal I’ve ever heard!”
This time he laughed. “It was the worst because I wanted to lay with you out back on the hammock and ask you there, but I’m defenseless when you’re upset and just about offered to buy you a new car instead.”
She playfully smacked him in the chest. “You can’t buy my forgiveness. And you told me to put these sweats on and throw my hair up like this. You wanted me to look homeless when you proposed to me?”
Again he couldn’t help but laugh. “Anna, you gotta understand what I love about you. You have the purest, feistiest heart of anyone I’ve ever met, and this is how I like having you. I’ve never felt so at home than I am when we can just be like this together. And maybe I failed to see that you might prefer something a little more formal, but I’m pretty sure you don’t. Tell me I’m wrong.”
She narrowed her eyes at him for several seconds, but eventually answered, “You’re sort of wrong. Because yes, if I’d known that you were going to pop the question, I would have tried to look a bit nicer. You know, at least have mascara on,” she smirked, reminding him of their fancy-but-casual dinner up in Oregon. “But had we been out on the hammock and it happened that way and I looked like this and… Yeah, zero fucks if I was wearing sweats with messy hair.”
“Well okay then, because that’s how I want you,” he winked, taking her hand. He led her out back where they had a large hammock that hung between two trees.
Anna gasped. “When did you do this?”
The hammock was layered with blankets and pillows to make a cozy bed, and there were a few flickering candles sitting in a red Radio Flyer wagon.
“Well, Chase helped me before he went to bed. Hence, the wagon touch when I was deciding on where to put the candles.”
“Oh my gosh,” she cooed. “Don’t make me cry.”
“So come on, my beautiful surfer girl.” Max held out his hand as he sat, and after Anna slipped off her flip-flops, he helped her on the hammock with him.
She nestled against him when he held her close and sighed. “This is so amazing. Even if you changed your mind and didn’t ask me, I’d still love this night.”
“Mmhmm.”
“And if you didn’t even have a ring or anything, I’d be okay with that too.”
“Gotcha.”
“And even if you didn’t say a word, I’d still say yes.”
“Okay.”
She paused. “You’re killing me.”
He finally laughed. “No, I’m just loving you so hard I need to watch my heart rate right now. I only want to ask this question once, so which language would you like it to be in?”
She shoved him and the hammock started swaying. “Okay, I realize how really annoying I am right now, so I’ll just shut up and be patient. I never even expected this from you, so I guess I’m just really wound up right now.”
“Never expected what?”
“A proposal. To get married. I mean I hoped maybe someday, but didn’t think you were willing any time soon. We’ve talked about babies more.”
He could have been surprised, but he wasn’t. It was true. A few months ago, no way. He never even saw himself dating the right person let alone being married to her. But it did bother him that they’d discussed kids and the whole domesticated situation so many times without the mention of actually getting married. He supposed they just avoided it so no one felt pressured one way or the other, or maybe he just assumed one came with the other.
“Anna, I’m sorry I made you feel that way. That was never my intention.”
“You’re too afraid to jinx anything.”
He considered that for a moment. “You’re right. I want us to be happy, but maybe it also scares me because that means I have more to lose. I let you in, and not only fell in love with you, but you loved me back.”
“Sounds about right.”
“I don’t want to fail you.”
“I don’t want to fail you either. So why don’t we have a zero failure policy and just be happy no matter what. As long as there is happiness, there is no failure.”
That sounded logical.
“And Max, you don’t have to marry me to keep me, if that’s what you’re thinking. I hope that’s not what—”
“No, that’s not it at all. I’m kind of an old fashioned guy. I believe in marrying your best friend, someone who you want to spend the rest of your life with. I’ve found that with you, so I’d be an idiot if I didn’t honor my feelings.” Her left hand was conveniently placed on top of his chest, so after he slid the ring out of his pocket, he put it directly on her finger. “Will you marry me, Anna?”
She moved so she was partially propped on top of his body. Placing her hand against his face, she answered, “You bet your ass I’ll marry you, McCallan.”
Max slid his fingers to the back of her neck and gently pulled her lips to his. “So can we start making that baby now?”
Epilogue
April, three months later…
“Whoa, good job, buddy! You did it!”
Anna let go of Chase’s hand as he slowly coasted in on his surfboard. She’d been assisting him on the baby waves for the past hour until he could stand on a board by himself and coast inland. Max had initially been the third wheel, but Anna was a much better teacher than he was.
“See, Daddy?” Chase asked as he made his way to the edge of the water.
“I see that you’re going to be much better than me at this surfing stuff.”
“Nuh uh!” His laughter jolted his concentration and he jumped off the board before he fell. Anna was right there to pick up his surfboard and they walked the rest of the way in.
“I think we’re cutting it close to party time,” Anna said. She glanced up at Wade and Lucy, who were standing guard nearby, and pointed to her wrist. Lucy replied, “Five,” with her fingers.
“Meh, they can get along without us for a bit,” Max answered. He told Chase to go ahead with Lucy to the truck. Facing Anna again, he added, “I mean who doesn’t get married and then go surfing as a family?” He leaned down and kissed her salty lips. “I love you, babe. This was my favorite wedding day ever.”
She laughed and slugged him in the arm. “It better be your only wedding day, McCallan!”
They’d taken a page out of Kellie and Tate’s playbook and had a private ceremony; only it wasn’t in Vegas but officiated by a former judge that Max knew. It was simple and stress free, and most importantly, joined them as husband and wife.
They no longer made choices to please anyone else but each other.
They began walking, passing a few people who stopped to stare at him in recognition. Max kept trekking until they made it to Anna’s SUV that was parked at a friend’s beachfront property. Lucy already had Chase loaded with his sweats on, so Max and Anna slid the boards on top and did the same. Wade stood guard, but the house was private enough they didn’t have to worry about anyone gawking unless they’d followed them up from the beach.
Thankfully that wasn’t the case this time.
By the time they made it home to shower and change and make it to Teague’s house, it was after seven. Most of the family was already there, and because they knew Max and Anna had gotten married that morning, everyone offered their congratulations. Or offered jokes about “Maxanna,” the newest celeb couple.
Even his father and grandfather were there for a little while; long enough to say hi to everyone, eat some food, and give Chase some attention. Max’s relationship with his father had remained neutral for the past several months, which was good. They rarely spoke unless it was basic business talk, but Max felt that his dad just needed some time to adjust.
“Congratulations, son,” Craig told him just before he was about to leave. “I’m happy for you and Anna.”
Max slowly nodded as he processed those words. “Thanks, Dad. It’s been the best decision of my life.”
Craig looked across the room at Anna, who was in a very animated conversation with Sarah and Camryn. Her laughter alone made Max smile.
“She seems to fit in well,” Craig observed. “I hope I can have the chance to get to know her better.”
Max considered that. Initially he felt suspicious, but ultimately he realized his father was actually being honest. “She might like to get to know you, too. Grandpa is already telling her the worst stories about me, maybe you can jump in and help a guy out.”
That made Craig smile, and then he chuckled. “I don’t know about that. We’re committed to being more open and honest as a family, right?”
“Nice timing to use that one.”
“Hey, I’m on board, what more do you want?”
Max could see the humor in his father’s eyes when he told him goodbye. That was a rare sight. They’d shared a moment, as brief as it was, but Max could accept that. He only hoped that this time it would last. It seemed to be a recurring cycle to fall back into old habits.
When his grandfather came to say goodbye, he asked Max about Kate. There really wasn’t much to share about her since she tried to sue him for joint custody last month and the judge denied her. Kate hadn’t been interested in coming to his house to see Chase, either. She insisted on having him to herself for an entire day and Max wouldn’t have it.
She had, however, remained behind the scenes since her arrest. And the random rumors and tabloid stories seemed to have slowed down for the time being. He hoped she was done with the ridiculous games, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath.
“And Olivia Douglas?” Neil asked, almost knowingly.
Max paused for a few seconds, just to organize his thoughts. Olivia had made her bed and was forced to sleep in it. He wasn’t proud of what he’d done, but she’d pushed him too far and for the last time. He felt like he didn’t even know her anymore. She left six years ago for a new life, claiming she would never return to Hollywood again. According to Cole, she was flat broke, even having spent his father’s bribe like she insisted she hadn’t. And now she just happens to want Max back, and is still insisting that she’d always been in love with him?
It was the last time he would ever look like a fool at her expense.
“I refuse to let people like that have a job in my industry,” Max answered, taking a swig of his beer. “She did it to herself.”
“I agree,” Neil nodded. “I’m not condemning you for it.”
“I’m no longer going to overlook bad decisions or behavior. And you and Dad’s dealings with her are your business, not mine. I only blacklisted her from anything I’m a part of.”
“Which catches the attention of any other notable figure in the industry. You wounded the rebirth of her career to nearly terminal.”
Max carefully nodded. “Good. And anyone else who approaches my wife directly to talk shit to her face, or say things about my son, will get the same treatment.”
Neil gave him a squeeze on the shoulder. To a McCallan, it was a form of approval. And no, Max didn’t like the fact that he’d had to blacklist Olivia Douglas, but she’d crossed the line.
When his grandfather left, Sarah was the next to approach him. He didn’t know how to navigate a conversation with her, but he was pretty sure she’d just heard what he’d said about her sister. He eyed her warily as she stood there.
“I don’t blame you, you know,” she finally said. “And I wish you wouldn’t treat me like my sister because she and I are nothing alike. I was there, Max. I was there when she verbally attacked Anna and said all of that garbage. Camryn was the one who made her leave, but I was the one about to jump her ass and rip her hair out. Especially when she said Chase was another bastard child in Hollywood. I’m so sorry for that.”
Max took in a silent breath of air, using a full five seconds to exhale. “You don’t have to apologize for someone else’s behavior, but thank you.”<
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“I was trying to spend time with her, to see where her head is lately, to see what I could do for her, to find out why she’d made so many bad decisions. Running into Anna and the other girls was unexpected. But I just want you to know I understand a lot more than I used to, and I’m truly sorry Olivia has had such a negative impact on your life.”
Sarah truly did look remorseful, but she was in no way responsible for her sister’s actions. Max shook it off and said, “I’m glad we could get that behind us.”
“Did we? Because I really hope it’s behind us. There are a lot more family gatherings we’re both going to be at, and a lot more baby births.”
She was smiling, so Max smiled too. It was true. Melanie and Jay had their baby a few weeks ago—a little boy they named Elias—Camryn and Teague were due in another month with a girl, and Kellie and Tate’s little Phoenix was growing like a weed and already trying to crawl. That tiny girl had spent four weeks in intensive care until she gained enough weight to go home. She’d been a little fighter ever since, especially when it came to refusing to go to sleep.
“Yeah, plenty of family accomplishments to celebrate,” he agreed. “I look forward to more.”
He also looked forward to his own growing family with Anna, who was still trying to be patient in this baby making process. Being around all the other babies was hard on her sometimes, and he had to admit, sometimes he felt impatient about it too. Trying for a baby was certainly fun, though, and just the thought of some of their nonstop sex made him smile to himself.
Baby making was a lot of fun.
“I have an announcement to make.” Melanie hollered loudly to get everyone’s attention, but cradled the baby’s ears against her chest.
“Oh God, another kid on the way?” Kellie scoffed, looking at both Mel and Jay.
“No,” Melanie rolled her eyes.