Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Will

W aiting for a message from a woman and wondering what your teenage daughter was getting up to did not contribute to a relaxed Sunday afternoon. My nerves were shot to pieces. I'd spent most of the day checking my phone, turning it on and off to ensure it was working, even sending myself an email and a WhatsApp message from my PC.

When I wasn't doing that, I was considering all sorts of scenarios between Maddy and Zak and none of them were good, especially as she'd messaged me earlier to say she didn't need a lift. I had to keep reminding myself that Maddy was sensible, and Zak seemed like a respectful kid. As much as I adored my daughter and would give my life for her, I didn't want her to have to go through what I had. It hadn't been a struggle because of Miriam, and I'd make sure it wouldn't be a struggle for Maddy. That didn't mean I wanted her to have to make choices that hadn't even been a consideration before. I loved my life, and I fucking adored my daughter, but would I have chosen to run a bar if she hadn't come along?

That probably made me sound ungrateful, and I most definitely wasn't. I had so much to thank Miriam for. I had my own bar because of her. I was a respected member of our community because of her. I just felt at times, if I hadn't needed to do that for Maddy, I might have explored other things. I might have actually kicked my arse into gear and travelled or even studied to find my perfect career. I might have spent time to consider what would benefit me the most.

Suddenly, guilt swilled like poison in my stomach. I was a stupid idiot because who was I kidding? Without her, I would probably still be serving behind someone else's bar. I knew, as she had, that I would never have changed my life if it hadn't been for the responsibility of Maddy. My daughter was a lot brighter than me, though. More driven, more courageous, and more ambitious. Even if she did find herself with a kid, she'd be fine. That didn't mean that I wanted some cocky new kid doing things to her that shouldn't be allowed until she was at least thirty. Better still, once I was dead and gone and didn't have to know about it.

Glancing at the clock on the cooker, I was surprised to see it was almost five. Funny how quickly an afternoon of worrying and pacing went by. I looked at my phone again. There was still a signal and still no message.

The noise of the front door opening took my attention away from the phone. I didn't want to crowd her or come on too strong, so just called out to her.

"In the kitchen, sweetheart."

"Hey, Dad."

Instantly, my body sagged with relief. She sounded happy and relaxed, not like she was hiding anything from me. When she walked in, with a huge smile, I knew that I was right, especially when she came over and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Did you enjoy your peace and quiet?" she asked.

"Not bad. I finished off some paperwork," I lied. "How was your afternoon." I stiffened in anticipation.

"Good. Played on the trampoline, watched a film, and then had pizza with his mum and dad." Maddy pushed out of my arms and slapped at my chest. "You thought I'd had sex with him, didn't you?"

"No."

"Liar." She frowned and shook her head. "Give me some credit, Dad ."

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am having this conversation, Maddy ."

"Seriously?" she asked, stepping back a couple of paces and crossing her arms over her chest. There was a determined jut to her chin, just like when she was a little girl who didn't want to wear a coat when it was cold outside. "We've always talked about this stuff, ever since you took me to buy sanitary towels when I was thirteen."

"Sanitary products are different from sex."

"You gave me the talk, Dad. You even showed me how to put a condom on a banana when you said school hadn't done it properly. So, how come now you don't feel comfortable talking about it?"

I shrugged. "Because now it seems real."

"Well, it hasn't happened." Her eyes were narrow. "It's not even like I've had a date with him. We're not even talking, Dad."

"What the hell does that mean? I thought you'd been there all afternoon. Did you spend the day in silence or something?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for goodness sake, Dad. It's what we do. We talk, then we date, and then we become boyfriend and girlfriend. What's so difficult to understand about that?"

"In my day, you asked a girl out, and if you liked each other, you then you became girlfriend and boyfriend. If you didn't, then one of you came up with an excuse not to see each other again."

"Ugh," Maddy groaned. "So Neanderthal."

"The point is, Maddy, if you spent an afternoon with a girl in a house, where there were no parents, you did a lot more than watch a film."

"Well, we didn't. And did you miss the part where I said we had pizza with his mum and dad?"

"Yeah, I did." I blinked slowly. "So, breakfast with me and then lunch with his mum and dad. When's the wedding?"

"Ugh, you're so annoying." She turned around and headed for the door. "I'm going upstairs to do some homework, give me a shout when tea is ready."

Then she was gone.

"Bloody kids," I muttered, going over to the fridge to decide what to cook.

Deciding on a chicken with all the trimmings, I gathered everything together. I was halfway through peeling potatoes when my phone buzzed in my pocket. Considering that I'd been on high alert all day, I took my time taking it out and looking at it. Disappointment had shadowed me for almost twenty-four hours, so expected it to be Marcus or Sam. When I saw it was an unsaved number, hope soared. It might be Maya, and if it was someone asking me about an accident I'd never had, I'd go ballistic. Answering, I almost dropped the damn thing with the nerves of anticipation.

"Hello." My heart was hammering so hard, I wondered if I might be having some sort of attack—panic or fatal, I wasn't sure.

"Hey, it's Maya."

Finally. My nerves turned to excitement.

What the hell had happened to me?

"Hey, Maya." I tried to sound calm, but doubted I'd succeeded.

"Hi, how are you? Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you."

I'd forgotten how sexy her voice was. Like every word was a dirty secret, told only to me.

"No problem at all," I lied. "It's great to hear from you, though. Glad the Uber driver got you home safe. He did, didn't he?"

Her laugh tinkled down the line. "Yeah, he did. He was a bit grumpy and I'm pretty sure he gave me a bad rating, but never mind."

"And what about your friends? Were they okay with not seeing much of you last night?"

"They were fine. Wanted all the gory details, though."

"Gory?" I pulled out a chair at the table and settled down. The smile I had was hurting my cheeks. Just hearing her voice had my stomach swooping like I was riding a rollercoaster. It was pathetic, but I was already mad about her. Barely knew her, yet I already liked her a lot and knew I wanted to see her again—more than once.

"You know what I mean." She laughed again, and it hit me in the right spot. Unlike a teenage boy, it was in my chest rather than my dick. That surprised me, because sex had always been my natural instinct when I was attracted to someone. My dick was a bit like a divining rod, but instead of twitching when water was around, mine stood to attention at the sight of a great pair of tits or a perky arse. Butterflies were not my usual reaction.

"I agree. There was nothing gory about it," I assured her. "I had a great time, and I hope you did, too."

"I think you know that I did. I wouldn't have called you otherwise."

"To be honest, I was beginning to think you weren't going to bother." I grimaced wondering if I sounded whiny and needy. "I mean it wasn't like I was waiting or anything."

I closed my eyes and groaned silently. I sounded pathetic, like I'd been crying into my hankie for the last twenty or so hours. Admittedly, I'd had my phone stuck to my hand, but I didn't want to sound desperate.

"I hope you were," Maya replied with a laugh. "I did something wrong if you weren't."

Laughing felt good. Laughing with her felt better. It was stupid, but it felt like I'd never laughed before.

"I can promise you, you did absolutely nothing wrong." I ran my hand through my hair, wondering what the hell had come over me. Why was my heart beating out of my chest? Why was I struggling to breathe? Why the hell was my mouth so dry?

"That's good to know." Maya exhaled, and I wondered whether it was from relief. I hoped it was and not frustration or boredom from talking to me. "Anyway, I was erm…"

"If you need to go then it's fine. Thanks for checking in." I didn't want her to go. What I really wanted to do was yell at her to just talk to me for a little longer. Then she could go back to her own life and forget about me.

"No. No. I have nothing to do except watch last night's telly that I recorded and eat a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate." She cleared her throat. "No, I was wondering whether you'd like to meet up."

I sat up straight, gripping my phone so tight I thought I might shatter the screen. It was not what I'd been expecting. The brush-off yes, but definitely not the suggestion we meet up.

"When?" I shook my head at how quickly I'd responded.

Maya didn't pause, though. "I happen to be off work for the next week."

"A software developer, right?"

"You remembered?"

"I remembered. In fact," I said, lowering my voice, "I remember a lot of things about you." As I thought about her soft skin, her smell, her gorgeous eyes, my natural instinct kicked in. I shifted my chair closer to the table, petrified that Maddy might walk in and see what was happening in my kecks. "You're unforgettable, Maya."

There was another soft sigh on the other end of the line, and then silence. Like we were both knew it could be the start of something but didn't want to spoil it with words. Didn't want to ruin the perfection of it.

After a few moments, I was the first to speak. "When and where?"

"Like I said, I'm free all week," Maya replied, her voice strong and confident because she knew I would go wherever and whenever to see her again.

"Tomorrow. I can come to you. I can be in Leeds for eleven."

"That's good for me. I'll message you the address of a coffee shop close to me." Voice strong and confident. Assured and certain.

"See you then."

When the line went dead, I wondered whether I should have played it differently. If I should have suggested later in the week, not come across so desperate. Then I realised that I was desperate, so why bother lying?