“You can say it out loud.” Maya rolled her eyes.
“No, I can’t.” Gabe nodded his head to the table to his left where a family were having breakfast. The two younger kids were making a mess with maple syrup and pancakes, a teenager slumped over a mug of black coffee, and two tired-looking parents who seemed more in need of the coffee than the teen, sat staring into space. “They don’t look like they have the energy to explain what Ican’tsay.”
“Oooooh, naughty.” Maya giggled. Nudging Gabe’s arm she winked. “I bet I can guess what it is you can’t say.”
Laughing, Gabe stood up. He slipped into his wool coat, his smile warm. “I bet you can. I’ve got to go. Catch up later?”
Maya nodded.
Sam watched the interaction with interest. She waited until Gabe had left the restaurant to turn to Maya, a quizzical smile on her face. “Okay, you have got to fill me in on what is going on between you two.”
“Nothing.” Maya took a sip of her matcha. “Nothing at all.”
“Oh, come off it,” Sam said. “It doesn’t look like nothing.”
Maya leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “So, he’s gorgeous, he’s kind, he’s sexy and has a wicked sense of humor,” she said. “But he’s far too serious for me, honestly. I’m here for fun, I’m messy, I’m loud and he’s …” she paused and gave a slight shrug “… he’s looking for love, Sam. And it’s complicated, I think.”
“Oh.” Sam sat back. “Poor Gabe.”
“He’ll be fine,” Maya said. “And so will I, honestly. I’m too busy right now. I need to make a name for myself, you know.”
“I do know,” Sam said.
“Yeah, you get it.” Maya laughed. “It’s not like this job is gonna last forever. The Winter Olympics is almost over … I need to line up some more work for after.”
“Oh,” Sam said with a tiny laugh. “It really is nearly all over. It feels so strange. Like, this has been my ultimate goal, and now, now it’s all over. Just a few more days and the closing ceremony and then … then what?”
“I know, right?” Maya pouted. “It feels like a dream, doesn’t it?”
Sam nodded. There was something pulling her back to Gabe though. Thoughts of the years she and Finn had wasted lay heavily on her heart, but at least she’d been able to see Finn almost every day. It wouldn’t be the same for Maya and Gabe. She was a freelancer; he wasn’t the easiest person to pin down either. “Maya.” She hesitated, then carried on. She owed it to her friend to say something. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to happen with Gabe? Lord knows where your jobs will take both of you next—you might not see each other again.”
Maya wrinkled her nose and nodded. She leaned in, a softness in her eyes that made Sam sit up. Maya was about to drop some tea. “Look, we all have them, the guys we can’t stop thinking about. And girl, it’s come as a huge surprise to me that he’s the one I can’t get out of my mind. I mean look at him, he’s a hottie—and heaven forgive me, he looks like he was carved out of marble by the gods and made to go all night long—imagine the stamina.” She chuckled before getting serious again. “But he’s not for me, not really. The real plot twist is that I know I won’t walk away with my heart intact—cos, Sam, underneath all that perfection, Gabe is the kind of man I could love so hard, I’d never recover. And let’s face it, I don’t really know him, but I do know that he’s too serious for me—and I’m not ready for that.”
Sam’s breath caught in her throat. It was the way Maya said it—not teasing, not gossipy, just … knowing.
“Maya, I never expected all that,” Sam said softly.
Maya’s smile was warm, but a hint of sadness reached her eyes. “Yeah, I know. But rest assured, I’m fine.” She swirled her matcha and grinned with her trademark Maya sparkle.“Anyway, you know me. I’d break up with him in a week. I couldn’t do that to him—he’s a good man, a really good man. And those are like unicorns—almost impossible to find.”
“Almost.” Sam’s chest pinched as Maya gazed down into the remnants of her matcha. “You look like you need a fresh cup.”
Maya brightened. “I do, please. It’s been exhausting being Gabe’s emotional support hot mess but what can I say? He needed me.”
A bubble of laughter burst from Sam. “You! An emotional support—what!”
“Oh yeah,” Maya said, her head bobbling with mischief. “I’m basically Florence Nightingale … with better tits.”
“That you are.” Sam laughed. She smiled at the waitress who was making her way over to them before ordering her breakfast and a fresh matcha.
Maya smirked at her. “So, you’re gonna fill me in on what the hot hell is going on between you and Leo—and then, the real stuff—you and Finn?”
“Looks like I don’t have a choice!”
“Good.” Maya flicked her eyebrows up a little.
“What—what are you looking at me like that for?” Sam pushed the menu to one side. A tiny shimmer of regret in her chest. Like maybe she’d underestimated everything just a little. “I get it. I should have seen it before—I should have listened to you way back at prom when you told me to go for it.”
Maya shook her head, her smile wise. “You weren’t meant to do that back then, don’t you see? You were meant to find him now. And he was meant to wait for you. It was fate.”
