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She pursed her lips. “Do you actually have a friend called Bobby?”

He couldn’t help but laugh, and she joined in, the both of them getting more and more hysterical until Maya held her middle.

“Stop it!” she said. “My stomach hurts.”

Sam wiped his eyes. “You started it.”

“Wasn’t my fault. It was Bobby’s.”

That got him going again, and it took another minute to stop.

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath and clearly trying to keep the giggles at bay. “What definition do you prefer?”

He took her hand again, his heart rate picking up. “I like the sound of girlfriend.”

“Me too.”

The fact that she hadn’t hesitated swelled his heart.

She smiled. “The only thing is, I’d like us to chat to Liv about it first, before it’s properly official.”

He gave her hand a squeeze. “Is this the equivalent of a guy asking his girlfriend’s dad’s permission to marry her? You asking my twin sister if you can be my girlfriend?”

“Well, not permission exactly. More like getting her blessing.” She glanced down. “It’s important to me, you know? She’s my best friend, and I want her to know she can trust me.” She swallowed, and met his eyes.

He knew exactly what she meant. Liv hadn’t liked Cat. At all. And they’d started out as friends. Although this situation was entirely different, with Maya and Liv being so close and the fact that Maya wasn’t manipulative as hell. There was no way that Liv wouldn’t love their making things official. But it meant the world to him that seeking his sister’s approval was so important to Maya.

Sam pulled her close, kissing her forehead and holding her against his chest. “We’ll speak to her about it today.”

“Thank you,” Maya said softly. “Oh.” She lifted her head. “Speaking of ski instructors–cum–naked butlers, have you got any more gigs coming up?”

For a moment he wasn’t sure what to say. Would it make a difference to Maya’s opinion of that job now that they were together, or at least, about to be together, pending Liv’s stamp of approval? What if Maya didn’t like the idea of her boyfriend parading around nearly naked in front of a load of women? There was no way he’d lie about it, but he didn’t want to anger her.

“I . . . I’ve got one more booked, yeah,” he said, aware that he was stumbling over his words. “It’s been on the cards for a while, from before Ben’s bonus and my pay rise. He also wants me to keep all the money from the one-to-one lessons with Emma, so I’ve got plenty to give Arran for the studio light and still have loads left over but it’s too late to cancel the booking now and—”

Maya squeezed his hand. “Whoa there.” She stroked his face. “What’s up? You’re freaking out.”

Taking a breath, he tried to form his words a little less quickly. “I don’t want you to be mad.”

Maya studied him with a curious air. “Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know,” he said slowly, mulling it over. “I suppose I just assumed that’s how a girlfriend would react.”

Maya hesitated, then something seemed to click for her, and she gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m not mad. I don’t mind, same as I didn’t mind when I was just your friend.” She cleared her throat. “Remember that there’s a lot of stuff that Cat did that you shouldn’t take for granted any girlfriend would do. It’s just what Cat would’ve done. Okay?”

He nodded, relief warming his insides.

Maya leaned in to kiss his cheek. “The one thing I do mind, is that I still think you’re overdoing it. I’d like it if you could speak to Arran, get it all out in the open now that you don’t have to worry about Catriona finding out. Hopefully, once you’ve given him some money for the light, he can manage without any more cash. But if he can’t, we’ll help him together. Then you don’t need to do any more butler gigs. Not unless you want to.”

A weird sensation overwhelmed him. Not a bad one, but alien nonetheless. Was this too easy? She wasn’t acting jealous or possessive, plus she seemed to be putting his needs first.

Sam took a breath. This was a good thing. No, a great thing. He just needed to get used to being in a functional relationship. The problem was it was uncharted terrain for him.

The other night at their stargazing spot, she’d said that she would never think he wasn’t good enough. But the real problem was, he still wasn’t sure he was good enough. Not in a financial manner, at least, not any longer. He’d made his own way in the world and was proud of it. But her family was so different from his, and his relationship baggage was revealing that he was damaged goods. What if Maya reflected on that and decided he wasn’t worth it? He glanced at her, absorbing the affection in her eyes, and told himself to stop being so paranoid.

Liv’s voice sounded from the driveway. “Miss Maya, what a delight!”

He lifted his gaze and she was walking toward them, Elise in tow.