“Intriguing.” Maya smiled. “First off, no one will know this is a fake situationship. Second—what is going on with Coach Harrington?”
Finn pursed his lips for a moment before coming clean. “Sam doesn’t know this, Maya, and she can’t find out.”
Maya nodded. Finn continued, “Coach warned me to stay away from Sam.”
Maya’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “I’m sorry?! What? When?”
“Funnily enough, it was the first time Sam and I were in a hot tub together.”
“Okay, what is happening here?” Maya gasped. “I can’t keep up.”
“It’s nothing,” Finn said. “It was after my first session with Coach—he caught us in the hot tub and ordered Sam out, then he pretty much told me to keep my hands off his daughter as she was, and I quote:the best of the best. And that he’d drop me if I even thought of crossing the line with her.”
“Wow.” Maya leaned against the hot tub wall. “I bet that was scary—Coach is terrifying.”
“Scariest thing ever, Maya.” Finn breathed out. “The man is a legend and built like a tank. I was seventeen and hadn’t a clue. I almost walked away then and there.”
“If you had, you could’ve dated her back then,” Maya said.
“But then I wouldn’t be here now.”
Maya’s brows knit together. She looked right at him and half smiled. “Does this mean you have always had a thing for our girl?”
Finn nodded miserably.
“Oh my God.” Maya’s eyebrows rose. “Finn, you poor baby—all these years?”
“Don’t say anything,” he said quietly. “I’d rather be her friend than lose her. And if Coach finds out—or even gets a whiff of what we’re doing—I’m screwed six ways from The Rockies.”
Maya gave a low whistle and then mimed zipping her lips before words tumbled from her mouth. “Okay, first up, that man gives everyone the fear. Second of all, we’ve got this—you and me.”
Finn nodded.
“Hey, listen up, you’re not the only one who wants to help Sam. If this plan works, and she gets the sponsorship she deserves … then you’ll get the chance to show her how you really feel.”
“Without losing everything?” Finn looked at Maya.
“Yes. We do this smart,” Maya said, eyes lighting up with purpose. “We control the narrative. We make it bulletproof—well, I will—I am the best content creator for this job, and you … you’ve got the digital skills of a potato in airplane mode.”
“Thanks, I think,” Finn snorted.
“You are welcome!” Maya laughed. She grew serious. “Listen, I will make this so perfect, Finn. I’ve got all the angles, captions, filters and hashtags to make this whole fake dating thing lookchef’s kissbelievable. By the time I’m done the world’s gonna be shipping #FinnAndSam harder than a FedEx truck in a snowstorm.” She leaned in, her voice dropping conspiratorially. “And what’s more, I’ll make it so airtight that even Coach Harrington couldn’t call it out without totally exposing himself.”
Finn frowned. “Exposing himself—how?”
Maya smirked. “Basically, I will make every post of you guys look spicy hot but also ambiguous—it’ll be hard for him to say anything because we let the fans do the talking—let them make it happen. And after that, if he kicks off, he’ll have to admit that he’s got a personal problem with you and Sam being together.” She tossed her hair. “Trust me, he’ll look like the bad guy if he says anything—and he knows it. And you and Sam—you guys can go and live happily ever after.”
“Wow. I love it, but hell, Maya—I wouldn’t want to cross you. You are far more conniving than I ever realized.” Finn shook his head.
“Honey, you know nothing,” Maya said as her tummy rumbled. She rubbed her belly. “I really shouldn’t have had all that Prosecco last night.”
“You should eat,” Finn said. “There’s plenty of food in the kitchen.”
“I saw that,” Maya said. “Coach Harrington likes his stars well fed, so it seems.”
“You could say that,” Finn replied, he glanced over Maya’s shoulders to the dressing room door. Was Sam still in there—possibly upset? He was so stupid, now that he thought of it. He’d basically pushed her away. No wonder she’d gotten out of the tub. What kind of an idiot was he? How could he, of all people, he who was the biggest flirt he knew, not have seen it for what it was when it happened? Sam had made a move on him. He squinted. The truth was hehadknown, and he’d been scared. A fool. His attention was drawn back to Maya as she turned to see what he was looking at.
“I’m going to make a sandwich, toasted. Yes, I think that’ll help.” Her stomach grumbled again as she turned back to him, shrugging at the empty hallway. She laughed. “Want one?”
