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“Yep,” she replied. “Later.”

Sam hesitated for a moment, as if wrestling with something. Then he opened the door and was gone.

Sitting in the ski center café at lunch, Maya stirred her coffee as she scrolled through the lesson plan on her tablet. She had a few new ideas to keep the kids engaged, and was on a roll with her class.

Unable to keep the smile from her face, she pondered that she hadn’t even completed a full week and being there was already mending her broken soul. Pity working at a desk doing accounting didn’t make her feel like that.

Sighing, she lifted her mug. She’d confided in her mum about taking the post, but sworn her to secrecy in case Dad got pissed off that she was distracting herself from her job search. Omar hadn’t suspected as yet, being out at work all day during the week and home late. But Maya was aware that she’d need to speak to him sooner rather than later, because he was bound to find out otherwise. She’d just have to emphasize that it was only a short-term thing until she found something else in her field.

Movement caught the corner of her eye, and she lifted her gaze to find that Sam was approaching. Her heart spiraled downward. Wasn’t it enough that she had to put up with his bad attitude on the way to and from work, without having to speak to the guy during the working day? And she’d already had that cringeworthy run-in at the steam room this morning to contend with.

The unwelcome memory of him sitting partially clothed and dripping wet entered her mind, and she frowned into her coffee as she stirred it vigorously.

He was still wearing his ski boots, and it irked her that everyone else moved awkwardly like a stormtrooper in them, while Sam managed to pull off a cool kind of swagger. If she were honest, then she would have described his gait as sexy, but even thinking that annoyed the hell out of her.

Sam took a seat beside her, appearing distracted and running a hand through his hair.

“No, that’s okay, the seat isn’t taken,” she said, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

“What?” he said, meeting her gaze as if he hadn’t even heard what she’d said.

Maya rolled her eyes. “Nothing.”

She hadn’t had the guts to admit to him that she’d arranged to get his car towed to the Glenavie garage. But she’d need to soon, because once it arrived the next day, they’d phone him about it. However, it was difficult to open the conversation when they were barely talking. Speaking of which, why was he here sitting next to her?

Sam let out a breath, which sounded as if he’d been holding it since the age of the dinosaurs. “Ben says that I have to interview you.”

Maya hesitated. “Pardon?”

Sam huffed out another breath. “Ben says that—”

“Yeah,” Maya said, her pulse spiking. “I heard you. I just don’t get it.”

He ran a hand through his hair again, and Maya wished she could stop watching him whenever he did that.

“Apparently, even though it’s a short-term thing, HR say we need an interview for everything to be aboveboard. And it’s part of my remit as the head of the instructing team.”

Maya tried not to curl her lip. Having any sort of longer conversation with him, over and above their brief, tense exchanges, was a painful thought. “Can we do it now? Seeing as we’re in each other’s company already.”

He shook his head. “I haven’t got time.” He let out another short, sharp breath, and Maya wondered if he’d been pumped full of air right before this conversation. “My working day is chock-full for the foreseeable because there’s so much left to do for the charity sled race.”

Ugh. That’s right. Throw in that you’re organizing a charity thing to make me feel bad. Maya tried to physically kick herself under the table for feeling impressed by his altruism.

“What’s that wobbling the table?” he asked, moving to peer underneath.

“Nothing,” Maya said quickly. “What do you want to do? About the interview?”

He met her eyes, and she could tell that whatever he was about to say pained him. “Can we meet after work?”

Maya hesitated. She didn’t relish the idea, but she couldn’t say no, for Ben’s sake. Not if the interview was needed to keep things aboveboard. “Fine. When?”

“Tonight? Get it out of the way?”

He clearly didn’t want it hanging over him for any longer than was necessary. Finally, something they could agree upon. “Where?”

Sam looked as though he hadn’t thought that part through. “We can stay here after hours, do it in my office? Or I suppose we could meet at the pub. I’m meant to be meeting Arran there anyway.”

Maya thought quickly. Being alone with him in his office was not an attractive prospect. She wasn’t keen on meeting him out and about either, but at least there would be other people around. Plus, she could have a drink afterward, or perhaps even during, in order to soothe her nerves. “Let’s meet at the pub. Which one are you going to? And I assume the Arran you’re meeting is Arran Adebayo, from school?”