Maya
Maya couldn’t fathom how on a day that was arguably one of the worst of her life, she’d had the best sex of her life by far. She was still waiting to wake up and discover it had all been a dream. After all, men as great as Cole didn’t exist in real life, did they? She felt as if she was floating on a cloud of euphoria and she didn’t want to ever come down.
After the first time they’d made love, Cole had taken her twice more. Maya didn’t know where he got his stamina from, but she wasn’t about to question it—not when the sex was that great. Afterward, he’d pulled her into the warm embrace of his arms and held her until she fell asleep, which had been in about two minutes flat.
The following morning, Cole shook her awake gently then told her he was going to work.
“Sleep in for as long as you want,” he said. “And when you get up, make yourself at home. Help yourself to whatever you find in the fridge.”
“Mmm, okay, thanks,” she murmured, still half asleep.
He chuckled as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Okay, get some more rest, sleepyhead. I’ll see you when I get home.”
Then he was gone and Maya had fallen instantly back to sleep. When she next woke up, she truly believed she’d dreamed it all. But then she opened her eyes and realized she wasn’t in her own bedroom. A smile slid into place on her lips. Real. He was real. It wasallreal. Including the incredible sex. And the man who’d tried to kill her. A frown pressed down on her forehead, and she quickly forced the thought aside as she got up.
When they’d arrived back at Cole’s house last night, he had asked her to take a couple of days off work until they’d had a chance to question the man who had broken into her house to determine if he was just a burglar, or if someone had sent him there. Maya had agreed that would be the best course of action, so she’d called Harper and asked her to open up. She hadn’t given her employee any details about what had gone down, but she said if anyone came in the store and asked after her to tell them she was visiting family out west for a couple of days.
After she showered, she went down to the kitchen in search of coffee. She found everything she needed, right up until she peered into the coffee jar, her upper lip curling in disgust. She would have brought her coffee machine with her if it had been easy to transport. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The behemoth of a machine had cost an arm and a leg and took up half of the space in her tiny kitchen, but it was worth it. She’d have to talk Cole into getting one.
The thought stopped Maya in her tracks. It implied that in her mind, she believed this ‘thing’ between her and Cole was something more than a one-night stand or a casual relationship that would only last for the next few days until she went back to her apartment. She hoped that wasn’t the case because now that she’d experienced what it was like to be with Cole, it was hard to imagine any other man even coming close. She shook her head at her own ridiculous thoughts and spooned some of the granules into a mug.
Cole certainly didn’t come across as a player. He was kind and sincere and genuinely seemed to like Maya. She was usually a good judge of character. She really hoped that this time above all others, her senses didn’t prove to be on the fritz. She didn’t want to be wrong about him.
After she’d made herself a cup of coffee, she sat at the kitchen table to drink it, intending to scroll through Facebook for a little while. But before she could pull up the app, her cell started ringing. She peered at the display. Harper. Maya swiped her finger across the screen, then held the cellphone to her ear.
“Harper, is everything okay at the store?” she said by way of a greeting.
“Um, actually, I haven’t gone in yet,” Harper replied.
“Oh.” Maya checked her watch. It had gone eight thirty and for the bakery to open at nine, someone had to be in by six to make the bread and breakfast pastries.
“I’m sorry,” Harper said. “I, um, I slept late.”
Maya frowned. That wasn’t like her friend at all—she was always on time.
“Is everything okay? Are you feeling under the weather?”
Harper was quiet for a moment before replying. “I’m fine,” she said at last. “I just didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Oh, all right. Well, thanks for letting me know.”
“Um, actually,” Harper said, “I’m calling because I’ve misplaced my keys. They’re around here somewhere, but I’ve already spent too much time looking for them. Can I come and get your set?”
“Of course. I’m not at home at the moment though, I stayed at…at a friend’s house last night and I haven’t got my car to bring them to you, so can you come here to pick them up?”
“Yes, that would be great. I’ll, um, I’ll send my um, myboyfriendto come and collect them.”
“Okay, sure.”
Maya gave Harper Cole’s address then ended the call. She frowned. Harper hadn’t told her that she’d got back with her ex or mentioned that she was seeing someone new. She hoped that wasn’t the reason Harper hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before. She didn’t usually get involved in her employees’ love lives, but if their romantic entanglements affected their abilities to do their jobs properly, that was a different story. When she got back into work, she’d pull Harper to one side and have a word with her, try to get to the bottom of what, exactly, was going on with her. It wasn’t just about work, Harper had become a friend and her ex was bad news.
Maya finished her coffee then went upstairs to change out of her dressing gown and slip on a pair of jeans. She supposed she’d soon get to see who this mystery man was, old or new.
