"I was going to say that I'll be your girlfriend." She rounds the island to stand next to me. "I don't want anyone else, Julian. I want it to be just the two of us."
"You'll keep your clothes on when you show the penthouse?" I cock a brow.
"Is that part of the promise because I don't know if I can agree to that?"
I slide my hand over the curve of her ass. "You agree to it. You want it just as much as I do."
"I want you." She turns to face me. "I just want you."
"You have me." I tap my chest with my hand. "I'm yours. Do whatever you want to me, Maya. I mean that."
"I'm going to take you up on that offer." She picks up the pizza box. "Let's trash this and head out. I've seen enough of this penthouse for one day."
"So you have two twin sisters?"
Maya laughs as she swings her legs into my lap. We're at my place. We took the subway here after we disposed of the pizza box and left the hotel.
"I have twin sisters. It's kind of implied that there are two of them." She scrolls through the images on her phone. "This is Tilly."
I catch a glimpse of an attractive brunette with a smile like Maya's.
She turns the phone back around so it's facing her. "This is Frannie."
She shows me another image, but the woman looks identical to the one in the other image. "How do you tell them apart?"
"They look different to me. Tilly's nose is a tiny bit smaller. One of Frannie's bottom teeth has a chip in it."
"What was it like growing up with twin sisters?" I run my fingertip over the smooth skin of her leg.
"Wonderful. Horrible."
"Wonderful how?"
Her eyes sweep over my face. I can't tell if she's comfortable talking about this or not. I'm not pushing. It's general curiosity that is feeding this conversation.
"I can call them if I ever need someone to talk to and they'll both drop everything to be there for me. I know they have my back regardless of what's going on. I love that about them."
I have the same dynamic in my relationship with Brynn. We may not see each other that often anymore now that her work on the hotel is complete, but she's a phone call away if I ever need her. That's a type of reassurance that is hard to come by in this world.
"Tell me why it's horrible, Maya."
She purses her lips together. "That might have been the wrong word. It's not exactly horrible, but when you have younger sisters who are adorable, you fade into the background."
I glance down at her arm and the tattoo that is once again hidden beneath the band of a watch. "Is that why you didn't feel like you were enough?"
She hangs her head. "That's part of it. After the twins came I was the helper. I was always the helper and they were always thecenter of attention. I wouldn't trade any of it, but once I had the chance to venture out and do my own thing, I finally figured out who I was."
"A beautiful woman who is going to claim a spot as one of the top brokers in Manhattan?"
Her smile lights her entire face. "It's something like that. I like taking care of me now. Buying my own place and making decisions about my business. It feels good to put myself first. I like it."
To anyone else it may sound selfish or self-centered, but that's not how I take it. Maya's bold and unapologetic. She wants to succeed in a business that is tough as nails. She's doing it, with grace and kindness.
"I admire you, Maya."
"You admire me?" She wraps her arms around my neck. "You'll need to explain that to me, Julian."
"You followed your own path. You didn't feel the pressure of a family business bearing down on you."
