“I’m really fucking nervous,” I mutter to Elliot, as he smirks back at me. It’s prom tonight, and the end of high school. I’m dressed in an expensive suit, Elliot is too, as we wait for the girls’ limo to turn up. Maisy is at Allie’s house with Lily, Elliot’s girlfriend, and the limo is getting them first.

“You guys look great,” Harley says, coming into the kitchen with a proud smile on his face.

“Don’t start getting all lovey dovey on us now, old man.” I smirk and wince as Elliot smacks the back of my head.

“I’m proud of you boys. I didn’t think we would see this day.” Harley clears his throat as he talks. “I’m not our father, but I’m proud to be your brother and to get to see you both being the men you are today,” Harleys says, clearly embarrassed as I pull him into a one-sided hug. Elliot pats his shoulder, and we both nod at each other. All of us pull away, and I chuckle.

“The girls are here,” Luke says as he walks in, eating a bag of crisps, not giving two shits that it’s awkward in here.

“Thanks, man.” I laugh with the rest of the guys as we walk out. I wait as the limo pulls up, and I open the door as the girls get out. Allie gets out first, in a stunning, red dress, and I watch as Elliot devours her with his eyes. Lily gets out wearing a small, black dress and walks up to Elliot as Allie walks into the house. Elliot watches her all the way, until she’s gone, before even saying hello to his girlfriend. Now that is fucking awkward.

“Hey,” Maisy whispers nervously as she gets out of the limo to stand in front of me.

My breath comes out in a whoosh, as I take in her tight-fitting dress that pulls in at her waist and flows out. It’s full of sparkly crystals, which are silver at the top near her breasts and flow down to gold at the bottom. It’s stunning along with her beautiful hair, which is up in some fancy twirls. My hands reach over without thinking, and I pull her by the back of her neck into a kiss. I lose all control as her taste overwhelms me, and her small hands hold onto my suit jacket.

The kiss deepens until I hear, “Give the girl some air, dude. Harley is waiting to take photos.” Luke’s shout makes me break away from Maisy, who blushes a bright red.

“So, so beautiful,” I whisper to her, making her blush more as I take her hand and lead her to the door where Luke is standing.

“You look great, Maisy,” Luke says with a wink at me, and I can’t help but grin at the fucker.

“You just missed the most awkward fucking thing ever. Harley made Elliot take a photo with Allie.” Luke laughs, as does Maisy. I wonder what the hell Harley was thinking, that must have been all levels of weird.

“He didn’t kick off?” I ask as we walk in.

“Nah. Honestly, Elliot seemed to almost want to be near her. The awkwardness was from Lily, who just glared at Harley as Elliot hugged Allie to his side,” Luke says quietly, and we walk into the lounge where Harley is waiting with a camera as big as his grin.

“Maisy, as lovely as ever. You’re a lucky man, Seb,” Harleys says with a small grin at me.

“Thank you,” Maisy says, turning a brighter-red now. Allie is standing by the other window, looking out at the gardens, and Elliot and Lily are nowhere to be seen.

“Stand in front of the window so I can take some pictures.” Harley waves toward the bay window facing the trees. The light is just dimming, and you can see the sun setting in the window above the trees; it’s perfect for pictures and almost looks like a fake background drop.

I pull Maisy into my arms until she’s standing in front of me, and I whisper as Harley takes photos. “I can’t wait to rip this dress off you later and kiss every inch of your sweet body.”

Maisy turns her head up to look at me with her bright-red cheeks, but before she can say anything, I kiss her. Harley snaps the picture, and I know it’s a moment I'll never forget.

I'm sitting on the porch when Maisy turns up. I smirk, remembering that night. It was one of the best nights of my life, and I have that picture in my room still. She slides out of her car, a little wobbly, and I run to get to her side. My arm wraps around her waist, and she smiles up at me. My heart beats faster when I see the cheeky smile she gives me. Who knew smiling could be hot as fuck?

"You okay?" I ask when she looks away.

"Yeah, I guess I forgot breakfast. I forget sometimes that I need to eat more." She smiles, while I get angry. 

"It’s midday, and you haven't eaten? Come on." I sweep her into my arms while she moans at me, my temper rising. The woman needs to eat for her and my son. I don’t know everything about pregnancy, but I do know that.

"Sebastian, I can walk," she says in a hushed whisper, but I ignore her and walk into the kitchen. The house is empty, so it’s just us as I sit her on a stool. 

"Don't move," I warn gently while getting stuff for sandwiches and grapes out of the fridge.

“I can’t get off these damn stools without help at the moment anyway.” She sulks as I try not to laugh.

I hand her the box of grapes, knowing she loves them, and she smiles at me.

I send a quick text to my estate agent, letting her know we will be a little late, before making two sandwiches for her and one for me. I place the plate in front her and her eyebrows rise in a silent question.

"One for both of you." I wink and start eating, while she looks at me for a second before eating hers. 

"Thank you," she says when I take her plate and put them on the counter.

I return all of the stuff to the fridge before we leave for my car. We don't talk, but it's not uncomfortable in the car. I'm still mad she didn't eat, so I decide to use the car journey to calm down. The first house is about ten minutes away; it looked nice in the photos, but it's not the one I really like. 

I get out of the car and open Maisy’s door before taking her hand. She tries to pull her hand away but gives up, and we walk toward the cottage with four bedrooms. It's a modern cottage from the outside, as it’s clearly been built in the last ten years. It has three other similar cottages nearby, but they’re not attached. It's not private, but I'm unsure what May wants in a house.

We knock on the door. It’s a small door for me, and I have to lower my head when I walk in, which isn't a good sign, and Maisy can't help but laugh when I scowl at her. 

"Hi, I'm Lucy. Would you like me to give you a tour, or you can look around yourself if you’d like?" she asks with a big smile. Lucy looks to be in her mid-thirties with pale-blond hair, which is cut short into a bob. She seems very professional in a suit. She is someone I would imagine Harley fucking; he likes the older girls.

"No, thank you. Can we go to the next house, Sebastian?” Maisy says, still laughing, and I can’t help the little smirk I have at her looking so happy.

"Sure, we will meet you there, Lucy," I say, and she nods.

"Why didn't you want to look?" I ask as we get into the car, as I’m little confused.

"Seb, it doesn't suit you or me. The front door is too small, and I just didn’t think you liked it." She shrugs, but I can’t help but grin as I realize she is thinking of us living together.

"No, I didn't like it, but I want you to like it more. I don't care if I have to get hit in the head every time I walk in," I say, and she laughs.

"It might have knocked some sense into you. We should go back." She winks at me before we both start laughing. 

We pull up to the next house around ten minutes later. This is the one I really like. The great thing is that it's only about five minutes away from home. It has its own drive, which has been newly tiled in blue and cream stones. The house is a barn conversion, which in a way looks like a barn still. It's beautiful with the red bricks outside, and the doors and window are done in an old, brown wood, which I read online is the original wood the barn was made with years ago.

"Wow," May mutters when I pull up in front of the house.

It has a garage to the left, which is not attached to the house, and if I remember right, it has an attic game room. I let Maisy out of the car and hold her hand again, and she doesn't seem to notice as she looks at the house.

A moment later, the estate agent pulls in and opens the door for us while we follow. We enter a small entrance hall with a shoe cabinet built right into the left wall. There’s enough cubbies to hold all of Maisy’s shoe collection, and then some.

"Would you like me to give a tour?" Lucy asks. 

"No, I’ll show her around," I say, walking May into the room on the right.

It's a lounge, I’m guessing, as the house has no furniture because the owners aren't living here. There’s a massive window seat on the side that overlooks the woods surrounding the house. On the one wall, a massive, wooden fireplace sits, which I’m sure is the original. The walls are all done in white, and it has that newly painted smell throughout the house. The main reason I like this house already is how bright and airy it is.

We walk through the sliding glass door to the dining room, which has a study on the one side and the other door leads into the kitchen. The kitchen has stairs going off it and a small toilet tucked under the stairs.

"I love the cabinets," May says as she runs her hands over the granite worktops that match the sparkling, black-tiled floor. The kitchen has an American fridge-freezer and a large cooker built-in, but the original, wooden cabinets really showcase the place.

"It's a four bedroom, and two of the bedrooms have ensuites," I say, stepping closer and tilting her chin so that she looks at me. Maisy leans into me, and I can smell her sweet perfume while her lips are close to mine. 

"Do you like it?" I ask, brushing a kiss to her cheek next to her lips. Her skin is always so soft, and it feels like an old friend as I brush my fingers down her cheek.

She lets out a sigh before saying, "Yes, but it’s way too expensive, I bet." She looks up at me with a worried face.

I never told her how much I would inherit because I never wanted to. It reminded me of my dad, but now I'm using it to help my family, putting it to good use. 

"I have a lot of money, believe me, and what is mine is yours because I've always been yours," I tell her as her eyes soften.

Maisy shocks me by kissing me. She presses her lips to mine gently, as if she’s afraid I would say no. I would never reject her. It's the first time she has kissed me first, and it makes me want her so damn much. Her hands weave into my hair, and I grab her hips to tilt her more into me, as much as I can with the bump pressing into my stomach. My phone rings twice before she stops the kiss.

"You should answer that." She smiles, and I can't help but grin. 

I pull it out, realizing my mistake too late. It's Elena, and her contact photo is one of us in bed, which she took and set as her contact photo on my phone. You can see she has no top on, and I don't in the photo, either.

I look up into Maisy’s eyes, but to my horror, she is staring at the photo, paler than I’ve ever seen her. Fuck, no. I can’t believe I forgot about the damn photo.

"I have to go," Maisy says before running away from me as quickly as she can, and I swear under my breath before following her.

I manage to stop her in the lounge; I'm lucky she is pregnant and can't run that fast.

"I'm so fucking sorry, I forgot she put that on there. I told her yesterday to leave me alone, but she clearly didn't understand," I blurt out, feeling as desperate as I’m sure I look.

"It's just a reminder why we won't work. You can be in the baby’s life, but not mine. If it was anyone but her, I think I could have forgiven you, but why her?” Maisy shouts as she paces in front of me. “She destroyed us, and you let her!" she screams at me as she stops right in front of me. The pain all over her face is hard to look at.

"I lost you, May. You left; the love of my life left without even seeing me. You were my best friend, and I went crazy. I wasn't thinking,” I shout back, losing my own temper, but she doesn’t flinch.

“I just wanted to forget my fucking life and not live it. I know I messed this all up, but please give me a chance," I say gently this time, but she still looks so angry, and I’m actually surprised she hasn’t hit me. Most girls likely would have.

"No, why would I? I want a man who will put me first and doesn't have pictures of him with a girl–who I hate–in bed, on his phone!" she shouts.

Maisy just leaves this time. I let her, knowing she needs to calm down. I'm getting a new phone and a new number tomorrow. I should have deleted her number and that fucking picture. I'm an idiot. 

"Can you take me home, please?" Maisy asks Lucy as I walk into the room.

"I'm buying the house,” I tell Lucy, whose eyes widen as she nods and looks back at Maisy.

“Let me take you home, May," I say, and she shuts her eyes like she is trying to wish herself out of here.

"Fine, I'll wait outside," Maisy says before walking out. It hurts to see her walk away from me like that. She is right, she deserves a better man than me. But I couldn't walk away if I tried. I need her. I don’t care how fucking selfish it makes me, no one will ever love Maisy as much as I do.

"I want the house by the end of the week, and tell the owners I will give them twenty thousand more for the keys this week," I say, and she nods before opening her phone. 

"I'll call you after I have spoken to the owners, Mr. King." She nods, looking a little awkward. I know she must have heard the fight. 

“Bye, and I’m sorry you had to witness all that,” I say.

“I’ve heard worse in my job.” She shudders, and I wave goodbye and leave her to it.

I shake my head before walking out to see Maisy standing by my car. I unlock it, and she gets in. I try to speak to her on the way home, but she ignores me. I was so close to getting her back, and Elena fucked it up again. It seems like a regular thing right now, but I guess it's my fault for not deleting her number. 

When we pull up, Izzy is getting out of her car. She runs to Maisy when she gets out and hugs her as a greeting. 

"What's wrong? Is the baby okay?" she asks, frowning at the tears streaking down Maisy’s face, and Maisy pulls away.

"The baby is fine. I just have to go," she tells Izzy, who then glares at me as she figures out I’ve done something.

“What did you do, you idiot?” Izzy asks, standing with her arms crossed. I don’t reply as I run to stand in front of Maisy’s car door. 

"I'm a fucking idiot, May. Please let me fix this," I plead as she looks at me with an empty stare.

"You can't fix what is completely fucked-up, Sebastian." My heart breaks at her words, more than from seeing her empty stare aimed at me.

"Let her go, Sebastian. The stress isn't good for the baby. Your son can hear you now, and it's not fair," Izzy says, gently pulling me out of the way. She is right, and that makes me feel worse. 

"I'll call you later, May," I say and try to kiss her forehead, but she moves away. 

"Bye," is all she says as tears run down her face while she gets into the car. I don't want her to drive home in that state, but she will never let me take her home. She doesn't need her parents on her back too. 

"What happened? Should I get alcohol while you explain why you’re an idiot and I help you fix it?" Izzy jokes, trying to lighten my mood as she wraps her arm around my waist.

I smile sadly at her and explain what happened. When I'm finished, we are sitting in the kitchen. I have a beer, and she has a coke.

"You messed up, and you have to see it from her point of view, Seb. She is in a vulnerable situation, and you hurt her with the girl who broke you guys up." She looks away for a second before continuing as I continue to panic because I may have lost Maisy once again.

"Right, you need to get rid of her number. Show Maisy it's her you want, and not because of the baby. I don't know if you can move past this, but I know that girl loves you. And she put up with you being an idiot for years already." Izzy takes my hand, giving it a squeeze.

"You’re right. I'm getting a new phone and number. I'm changing everything because May deserves that. Thanks, sis."

I give her a brief hug, and she complains that I'm squashing her. I make plans to change my life for the better. It's time I become the father, and boyfriend, Maisy needs in her life.