Heads, we get married, tails, we break up.Heads, we see your movie, tails, we see mine.The words echoed in her ear, deafening her when the secret of the coin was revealed to her. The whole world stopped, leaving Maya in a vacuum, the only sound her rapidly pounding heart, which quickly filled with remorse.It couldn’t be.
She squeezed the coin in her hand, tighter and tighter until the coin pressed uncomfortably into her hand, and her nails dug into her skin. She opened her hand to verify the truth. She stared down at the coin and flipped it over, her head, her limbs, joining her heart, heavy with regret and opportunities lost.
On one side, the profile of a man who must’ve been of some importance to be immortalized on a coin. A head. On the flip side, the other profile of the same man. Another head.Heads, we do what you want, tails, we do what I want.Always.
Tears threatened again as a heavy sob built from her depths. What had she done? She quelled the sob before it broke, dragging her into a well of lament and despair. Tears would have to wait. She had a meeting with a bride in fifteen minutes. Maya tore her gaze away from the coin and fortified herself before heading into the bathroom. She needed this wedding contract. What was done was done.
She couldn’t change the past. Even if she wanted to.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
SAM
New York, 2012
SAMLEANEDAGAINSTthe cold brick building outside Maya’s apartment, letting his head fall hard against it. The crisp air was refreshing, but his stomach was in knots. So that was it. Sarcastic laughter built inside him. It was almost like sixteen years hadn’t even passed. She still drove him insane.
So Maya had kept Samantha from him because of that coin? No—it didn’t make sense. Something else must have happened during those two days. Unless...unless what she had said to him that day had been true.
She had never really loved him.
Sam stood upright and tried to shake the painful memory from his head. He needed to focus if he was going to meet Paige and his parents for that cake tasting. He checked the text from Paige and his whole body went rigid with disbelief. His heart hammered in his chest.How is that even possible?
Paige had texted him the address of Sweet Nothings. It took him a full sixty seconds to process that she wanted him to meet herhere.For a moment he considered returning upstairs, giving Maya a heads-up.
The moment passed in a wave of renewed anger at her. No, they would just have to deal with whatever happened in the next hour. He straightened his tie and put on his suit jacket and overcoat, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. The crisp air cooled his anger, but did nothing for the ache in his chest. No matter, he’d have to deal with that later.
Right now he had to deal with the fact that the cake designer his fiancée was enthralled with was none other than the mother of his child.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
SAM
Maryland, 1996
THESUNLIGHTWASpainful even through his eyelids. Thankfully, they seemed to be sealed shut. The fuzziness in his mouth would eventually demand to be taken care of, but there wasn’t any rush. He knew instinctively that if he moved, one thousandtabla players would use his head for a drum. Sam had always been mesmerized by the speed and accuracy of the tabla players’ hands; he just didn’t need them in his head right now. Rays of sharp light continued to bore through his eyelids, and from a distance, he heard someone calling out to him.
“Sammy! Ah, jeez, Sammy. What happened?”
Sam did not respond. Couldn’t, even if he’d wanted to.
“Sammy?” Even with his eyes closed, Sam could see the furrow between his father’s eyebrows grow with concern. “Sammy!”
His eyes were spared the sun’s needle rays as his father moved closer and blocked the light. Sam tried to open his eyes. Bad idea. He closed them again, but unfortunately that was enough to start the tabla players inside his head, and the fuzz in his mouth was growing. He tried to move his arm and was rewarded with aching pain all throughout his body, causing him to groan. He unglued his eyes and found he was on the sofa.
“There you are.” His father was shaking his head. He leaned down to give his son a hand to sit up. Sam’s every muscle protested this, but his stomach protested the most. “C’mon, now.” His father pulled an empty bottle from Sam’s grip and shoved a bucket in front of him, just in time.
Sam emptied the poisonous liquid contents of his stomach, much to the joy of the drummers in his head. He actually welcomed the rhythmic, pounding pain. It took away from the crater in his chest that just got bigger every time he thought about Maya. Which was constantly.
“Well, at least you drank the good stuff.” His dad forced a chuckle, but concern still laced his words. “I take it that it didn’t go well.”
Sam shook his head.Oohh. Big mistake. “The coin. She didn’t understand.” It was all he could do to get the words past the desert landscape of his throat.
His dad shoved a glass in front of him. “Drink this. Electrolytes.”
Sam drank down the whole glass, decreasing the fur in his mouth by a fraction. Images from the night before flashed before him. Maya had looked amazing. They had shared that amazing kiss, he put out the picnic dinner and proposed with the coin. The idea was that she would’ve picked it up, and seen the ring underneath—and she would also learn the secret of the coin. It had made sense in his head, was maybe even romantic, but now, it seemed a bit ridiculous. Especially since she’d flipped out and run. Tears burned again, putting his head in a vise. The crater grew bigger.
“Let’s go, Sammy.” His father grunted as he pulled Sam up by the armpits. “Let’s get you in the shower. Give it a day or so, then go explain. She’ll understand.”
