Girls giggled around him all the time. They had high-pitched squeals and covered their mouths to hide their real laughter. Maia’s giggle was low, throaty, attractive, and it stirred all sorts of enjoyable feelings inside ofhim.
He placed his large hand over the top of her hand, resting on his cheek. “Do you ever wish you were someoneelse?”
Her cheeks colored and she glanced away. He couldn’t tell if it was his touch or his question that produced her blush. “I used to, when I waslittle.”
“I do all thetime.”
Her right eyebrow quirked. “Why?”
There wasn’t much he could say. To the outside world, he had it all—the talent, the college scouts sending emails, a father who cheered him on, and a mom who smiled through it all. He couldn’t break the carnival mirror, and so he said, “Because if I were anyone else, I’d kiss you rightnow.”
A small gasp escaped her lips, and her hand began to tremble under his. She stared deep into his eyes, deeper than anyone had ever looked. No one dove past his size, his abilities, or his grades. No one except Maia. She’d done the same dive in the tunnel, and it had touched a part of his soul he’d kept locked away for a long time. Despite his better judgment, he let her in, allowed all the darkest parts of himself to reflect in hisgaze.
And she took it all in. Every last bit ofhim.
The ugly, the pain, the triumphs, the hopes, all ofit.
He was the one short on breath now. She slowly lowered the ice pack and it ker-plopped to the floor. “What if I don’t want to kiss someone else? What if I want to kissyou?”
He brushed her hair over her shoulder, searching her face for some sign that she was joking, toying with him to see how far she could push before yanking away. She stared at him with an openness that spoke of safety and a love unlike any he’d everknown.
He tugged her off the stool, wrapping his arm around her lower back. Even through all their clothing, he could feel her warmth, like lying on a heated massage table. Only there would be no painful kneading of muscle or stretching of sinew with Maia. Maia was the promise of all thingsdesirable.
With the sweet scent of her peppermint gum filling his senses, he brushed his lips against hers. A slow one-two-three count, and then he broke contact. With other girls, he might have gone for more, but with Maia, he wanted to savor thejourney.
Chapter Five
Maia triedto relax into the leather recliner in the alcove outside of her bedroom. She’d turned the space into a small styling area. She used to use the master bathroom, but as her fame grew, her privacy lessened, and she needed boundaries. Her suite was off limits to everyone but the cleaning woman and sometimes April, and Maia cherished herspace.
Kristi, her stylist, worked dye into her eyebrows using a tiny brush. Because of Maia’s naturally dark hair, her brows, which were several shades lighter, tended to blend into her olive skin. Dying them, periodically, made her blah-brown eyes stand out more than if she allowed her face to become monochromatic. The premiere party for the princess movie was only a few days away, and she wanted to look herbest.
“Maia!” Kristi scolded. Inspired by a vampire romance she’d read over the weekend, Kristi dyed her blonde hair gray and wore blood-red lipstick. Maia was still trying to acclimate from beauty next door to theundead.
“Stop kinking your eyebrows. I can’t get the lines straight,” Kristiscolded.
“Sorry.” Maia covered her mouth as another yawnescaped.
“What are you stressed about?” Kristi asked as she dipped the brush in thedye.
“I’m notstressed.”
“Honey, you can’t hide those bags under your eyes from me. No matter how much concealer youapply.”
“You’re catty—you knowthat?”
She frowned in sympathy. “Tellme.”
“I ran into an old b—” She’d almost said boyfriend. “Friend, and it brought up a lot of issues from my oldlife.”
“Ah.” She made short, quick movements with the brush, and the skin under Maia’s eyebrows grew cold. “We all have parts of us we wish we couldforget.”
Maia ran her thumb across the tips of her just-filed and primedfingernails.
Kristi paused. “Or maybe this is someone you don’t want toforget.”
She sighed. “I thought I had already forgottenhim.”
“Him? Hmm, spillit.”
