I removed my hand from the table and fisted it against my thigh.
“Did you fix the production issue?” Maya broke the silence first, her expression unreadable.
I gave a short nod. “I’ve also finalized the menu for the launch party. The starred courses are the frozen foods; the non-starred ones are the regular meals.” I slid the paper across the table.
While she studied it, my gaze dipped unconsciously to her neck. No locket.
A pang hit my chest before I brushed it off. It wasn’t like I’d expected her to wear it after I’d abandoned her at the bar.
Perhaps I could’ve handled my departure more tactfully, but I’d been a heartbeat away from falling apart. If the bartender hadn’t interrupted us, I would’ve tossed away years of careful restraint for one taste of her. My pride, the delicate balance of our relationship—all gone out the window.
Maybe it would’ve been worth it if she hadn’t been drunk, but if I was going to take that risk, I wanted her to know exactly what she was doing and who she was doing it with. Ineededto know what, if anything, had changed. Otherwise, I was simply setting myself up for hurt again.
She couldn’t give me an answer, so here we were.
My shoulders tensed again when she glanced up from themenu. “Looks good.”
We discussed a few outstanding items regarding the launch party before we lapsed into silence again. The clicking of our keyboards filled the room, but the underlying quiet was so oppressive, it was hard to breathe.
I stared at the screen, trying to focus on the guest list instead of the subtle whiff of Maya’s perfume. I was acutely aware of her presence even without looking at her—the slight tilt of her head, the periodic pause in her movements. She would stop typing, and I’d have to clamp down on my desire to speak.
“That’s it.” Maya slammed her laptop shut halfway through the session, her face etched with frustration. “We have to talk.”
I raised a questioning brow even as my chest loosened with relief.
Thank God.If I had to sit through one more minute of this torture, I’d combust.
“Last week at the bar.” A hint of color darkened her cheekbones before she gathered her composure again. “What were you talking about when you asked me what changed?”
The question took me aback. I’d assumed she hadn’t remembered at the time because she’d been intoxicated, but when I searched her face, true confusion shone through.
My teeth ground together. I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more—the fact that she was lying, because I had concrete proof she knew what I was talking about, or the prospect that she really had forgotten, and that it’d meant so little to her when it’d meant so much to me.
“If you have to ask, then it doesn’t matter.” I shrugged even as something inside me cracked. I covered it up with a cool smile, my mask firmly in place.
I didn’t enjoy making a fool out of myself, and I certainly wouldn’t do it twice, especially not in front of Maya.
I still remembered how I’d felt the first and only time I’d allowedmyself to be that vulnerable with her—raw and exposed, like someone had peeled back my skin to reveal that I was made of flesh and bone like everyone else. I wasn’t special, and I wasn’t immortal. When someone rubbed salt in my wounds, the sting was equally sharp—perhaps even more so, because I had to pretend it wasn’t.
Maya’s face tightened. “We’re too grown to be playing these games, Sebastian. You and I both know—” She stopped, her cheeks flushing again. “You know what? Never mind. If you want to continue this hot-and-cold act like a child, then fine. But don’t expect me to indulge you anymore.”
I barked out a laugh. “That’s rich, coming from you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Itmeansyou keep going on these dates with these insipid men, pretending you give a shit about any of them, when you know deep down that you don’t. You accuse me of blowing hot and cold? Fine. But at least I’m not the one stringing people along because I’m afraid I’m falling behind in some invisible race that I never signed up for in the first place. You can use your parents’ ultimatum as an excuse, but you’ve been fooling yourself long before that.”
Maya’s nostrils flared. “They’re not insipid, and I’m not stringing people along. I’mtryingto find someone who’s a good match. It’s called stepping out of my comfort zone. You should try it sometime.”
I have, and it didn’t work out too fucking well, did it?
“That’s not hard when your comfort zone is two feet wide,” I said. “Are you honestly trying to tell me that Zeke is your idea of a ‘good match’?”
I couldn’t hear their conversation at the bar, but I could tell just by looking at him that he had the spine of a jellyfish. Maya would eat him alive.
“His name isZack, and that’s exactly what I’m saying.Otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to a second date with him.” Her chin jutted out with defiance. “In fact, I’m bringing him to Radhika’s wedding.”
This time, the spike of jealousy was so sharp, it pierced clean through my armor. My smile flickered for a second before I recovered. “I guess I’ll see him there. I can’t wait to meet him.”
