Sam loosened his grip on her arm, and almost imperceptibly, nudged her forward with his body. Maya straightened her shoulders and took the last step onto the porch. “Good night, Sam.”
His lip twitched. “Good night, Maya.”
Maya turned back and glared at her uncle as she passed him into the house. Deepak-mama followed her and shut the door without a word to Sam. He attempted to stare Maya down. “I’ll call your mother in the morning. Go to bed.”
“I went on a date, Deepak-mama. What did you think was going to happen?” Maya didn’t care how mad he was. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
“I thought you would conduct yourself in a respectable manner.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “There was nothing not respectable about that.”
“What will your mother say?”
Maya was silent. Her mother was going to be pissed. And not just because kissing was “not respectable,” but because Maya was breaking her cardinal rule: no boys. Her mom was going to get a bunch of news in the morning.
Sejal tugged at her arm. Maya followed her up the stairs and into the room they shared. Sejal shut the door and sat down next to the window. “Well?” Her eyes twinkled as if nothing had just happened downstairs.
Maya could not suppress her smile. “Looks like I’m in trouble—but totally worth it!”
Sejal glanced out the window, and then stood up to get closer. “Maya-didi, come.”
Maya peeked over Sejal’s shoulder. Sam was leaning against his car, flipping his coin in the air. He looked up and saw them in the window. Maya wiggled her fingers at him. He waved back and watched her for a minute before getting into his car.
Sejal displayed all her teeth and all her sass, as she turned to Maya. “Itoldyou he didn’t have a prayer.”
CHAPTER TEN
SAM
New York, 2012
SAMSTUFFEDHISgloved hands into the pockets of his woolen coat, buried his chin inside his scarf and headed out into the blustery cold. Suddenly, October was behaving as if it were January. He decided against using the company car and instead walked a good five to six blocks from his office before hailing a cab.
Sam removed his gloves and loosened his scarf to settle in for the trip from Manhattan to Queens. He hadn’t told Paige about his daughter yet. He just wasn’t sure how she would take it. He gazed through the window as the city passed in a haze of buildings and cars and his thoughts drifted back, once again, to that summer in Maryland.
The cab ride to Queens was surprisingly uneventful, and before he knew it, Sam was drawn back to the present. He paid the driver and traded the warmth of the cab for the bitter cold of the day.
Sam found himself standing in the cold, a smile plastered on his face. Of course this was the place. Though there was no real reason to be surprised. He’d had faith that anything Maya was involved with would be incredible. But it was so much more. Sweet Nothings was classy and refined, not just a place you’d go for a simple treat. This was where you came because you required something extraordinary.
He fingered the coin in his pocket, barely even aware that he did so. What would Arjun have said of this particular predicament? Sam would’ve given anything to have his brother to talk to right now, as opposed to just his coin.
In place of a door jingle when he entered, a soft bell chimed. The rich aroma of roasting coffee beans, mingled with the enticing scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, was overwhelming, creating a pit in Sam’s stomach he thought he had long ago eliminated. Familiar orange undertones in the coffee jolted him back to a time of flickering candles and soft sheets. He shook his head as if to dislodge the memory.Thiswas the coffee she served here? He should have just called her.
“Hello! Welcome to Sweet Nothings! How can I help you?” A young woman with a bounce in her voice and a lovely smile greeted him pleasantly from behind the counter.
Sam started at the girl’s voice as he was once more pulled back to the present. “I’m here to see Maya Rao.” He flashed a warm smile, attempting to hide his distraction. She blushed as she turned to get her boss.
Behind her was an observation window that allowed customers to watch the artistry in progress. An automatic coffee bean roaster took up a corner of the window, the small brown gems tumbling about—proof that the roasting was done on the premises. The rest of the window revealed two women in hairnets and chef’s whites, working on a three-tiered cake. The woman with her back to him was painting a city scene on the side of the cake, while the other attached some kind of flower to a higher layer. Maya had always worked well with her mother.
Maya caught his eye, and nodded in the direction of the door. She quickly put aside the flower, and appeared behind the counter.
“Sam!” Maya was breathy and panicked, her eyes darting toward the window. “What are you doing here?” Rather than wait for his reply, she turned to the young girl at the counter. “Julie, can you see if the cupcake order for the Kantharias has been boxed yet?”
Julie flicked a quick look at Sam before excusing herself, leaving Sam and Maya alone.
Maya grabbed a paper towel from behind the counter and wiped her hands as she came around the front of the counter, leading Sam to a table in the far corner. When she finally spoke, it was almost a hiss. “I thought we decided not to meet at workplaces.”
“Well.” Sam turned his back on the observation window and followed her as he took off his gloves. “Since you went ahead and left me a voice mail, I figured we were ignoring the rules.”
