Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Will

I 'd heard Maddy leave the house much earlier than usual. When I jumped out of bed, worried I'd overslept, I was surprised to see it wasn't even eight. Then looking out of the window, I spotted her walking towards a Mini. Just about to lose it at the idea of her getting into a strange car, Zak got out and ran around to open the door for her. They both burst out laughing, and then he dropped a quick kiss to her lips. I bristled, but it was strictly PG, so I let myself relax.

Moving back to the bed, I flopped down on the edge and ran a hand over my head. I'd got to bed earlier than normal the night before, but I couldn't say I'd got a great night's sleep. The first hour I'd tossed and turned knowing that Maya was in the room next door, yet she might as well have been a thousand miles away. I heard her walking around and then the duvet rustle as she got into bed. Imaging her in a pair of tiny shorty pyjamas made my dick rock hard, but the idea of knocking one off with her so close didn't seem right—especially as I would be thinking about her while I did it.

There wasn't a sound coming from her room, so maybe she was still sleeping. Or maybe she'd already gone.

"Fuck." I shot back to the bedroom window and craned my neck to look down the driveway. My shoulders sagged in relief when I saw her Kia was still parked behind my Range Rover.

As if someone knew I needed help, noise came from the bedroom. A chuckle rolled up from my throat at how pathetic I'd become, and decided I needed to man up. Pushing off the bed, I was determined that I was going to show Maya how good I could be for her.

"Nice," Maya said as we pulled up on the bar's car park. "The Jumping Frog? Where did that name come from?"

I smiled, recalling how the name came about. "Maddy was about ten, and I didn't know what to call the place, so I asked her, and she yelled out ‘Jumping Frog.' I quite liked the idea—it was quirky—but then she pointed at this bloody big frog that was jumping around the kitchen. She screamed and ran out of the house, leaving me to catch the bloody thing."

"And the name stuck?"

"The name stuck."

Maya smiled on an inhale, her gaze moving back to the outside of the bar, painted in a deep forest green with gold lettering. Funny how it suddenly reminded me of the colours in her eyes. Those deep greens with hints of amber had kept me awake for days.

"Right, let's get inside, but don't expect anything spectacular like those posh bars in Leeds."

"Posh bars! In Leeds!" she cried, incredulous. "If there are any I don't go into them."

"I'm sure you'd look at home in there if you did."

Her brow furrowed as she stared at me. "You didn't really say that, did you?"

I groaned. "Too cheesy?"

"Err, yeah."

We both burst out laughing, and I wondered what the hell she'd done to me. I wasn't cheesy. I was the cool, smart, always-had-a-clever-answer kind of man. Not one who cracked shitty jokes or said lame comments just to try and impress a woman.

"I apologise and swear I will never say anything so puke inducing again."

She shook her head. "No. Never, ever, again."

Shit, I had to kiss her. Immediately, my lips were on hers and my hands were threaded into the thick strands of her hair. My tongue urged her to open her mouth so that I could deepen the kiss. She knew what I wanted and flicked out her tongue to dual with mine. My grip on her hair tightened.

Maya's hands tugged on my jacket, and as she pulled me closer, everything in the world disappeared except for me and her. We weren't in the small confines of my car; we weren't sitting outside my bar that no doubt had a whole load of problems the other side of the door. It was just us in a bubble of hope and expectancy for what might be.

My chest clenched at the amount of feelings that I had running through my body—how much desire I had for the woman in my arms. I'd felt love before. For Mrs Powell, for Sam, Louise, Darcy and Liam. It was nothing like that I had for my daughter. That love was on another level. That was a love I couldn't explain. That was a love that sometimes felt far too big. The swirling in my stomach, the way my heart was catapulting around my chest, the shake in my hands—it made me feel like maybe another big kind of love was on its way. A life defining love. One for a lifetime.

"We need to stop," I eventually said, dropping my forehead against Maya's.

Her chest was heaving heavily underneath the thick jumper that she was wearing with thin leggings. It almost came to her knees, hiding her pert arse and slim thighs, but she looked sexy as hell.

"I think maybe we should take a minute, though, before we go inside." She nodded down at my crotch. There was more than a slight bulge in my jeans.

Her giggle chimed around the inside of the car as we stared at each other, huge grins on both our faces. I knew instantly that we were on the same page as to where we were going, about what we wanted for our future.

"Come on, let's go." I took my phone from the centre console and then opened my door. "Oh, and please ignore Marcus' flirting. He thinks he's irresistible."

"Don't worry," she said, brushing soft fingertips down my cheek, "there's nothing that could sway me."

"Nothing?" I asked tentatively.

She chewed on her bottom lip and with her gaze pinned to mine, shook her head. And suddenly, my heart felt fuller.

Showing Maya around the bar, introducing her to Marcus, Robbie, and the regular customers made me feel proud. Incredibly proud of what I'd achieved in my life and for the fact that the woman by my side hadn't stopped smiling. A true, real, huge smile.

Marcus had tried to flirt with her, but like she said, she hadn't been swayed. Her hand had clutched mine the whole time, and if for any reason we had to let go, it was at the small of my back, holding softly onto my t-shirt.

"And you've never thought of doing proper meals?" she asked as Marcus placed a plate of bacon sandwiches in front of us.

"We'd need to update the kitchen," I replied, taking a quick swig of my tea. "And that takes money that I don't have."

"We could do more sandwiches," Marcus offered.

"Yeah, I guess, but people know what they get here—bacon butties and chips. We do alright with that." I was also scared of expanding and it not working out. Losing everything for the sake of wanting more.

"Well, these are perfect," Maya said around a bite of her sandwich.

"Robbie our dishwasher made them." Marcus grinned at me. "I told you he made a good sandwich."

"Maybe we should promote him," I suggested. "Increase that variety of sandwiches like you said."

"Fuck no." His head whipped towards Maya, and he held up a hand. "Sorry for the language, Maya, but I need a dishwasher more than a sandwich maker. He can manage to do both."

"Well let's at least give him a bit more money." I reached for the notepad on my desk and scribbled a note to remind myself to increase Robbie's wages. It wouldn't be much, but if he was doing extra stuff he deserved to be paid for it.

Marcus pulled out the chair from the table that we cashed up on and placed it next to Maya. I knew what he was doing, and he was a little shit, but I wasn't worried. His charm wasn't working on her.

"What do you do again, Maya?" he asked her.

"I'm a software developer. For doctor's surgeries and health authorities. Nothing exciting, I'm afraid."

"I always wanted to work with computers," Marcus said with a sigh. "If only I'd not bunked off school so often." He gave a deep laugh, one that was overly loud. I groaned inwardly, because it was the one he used when he was trying to impress a woman. It rarely worked.

"I think it would take more than a few extra days at school, mate." I reached for one of the sandwiches and took a bite. They were good.

"Really? Do you need a degree?"

Maya smiled. "Yes, you do."

"Where did you get yours?" he asked, reaching past her for a sandwich.

"Sheffield, because it was close to home."

"Which is…" He looked at her with one eye closed. "Leeds, right?"

Marcus lifted his ankle to rest on the opposite knee and leaned his head on a curled-up fist. He had a huge grin, and I wanted to punch him on the nose. My stomach felt like it was chewing up my insides and my chest was going to explode. It was Marcus. I had nothing to worry about with him. It was his usual behaviour, and Maya wasn't interested anyway, but I couldn't help it. I was jealous. I'd never been jealous over a woman before, especially with Marcus. He was a good friend and wouldn't overstep, it was how he was, but it was making me angry in a way I'd never felt before. I could even taste the bitterness on my tongue.

"Yes, I live in Leeds. It's a great city," Maya replied. She turned to me. "Talking of which, fancy showing me around town?"

"Yes, sure." I stood up and reached out a hand for her. "Let's show you the sites of Norford."

"That'll take ten minutes," Marcus quipped.

"Maybe not even that long," I added.

"Lovely to meet you, Marcus," Maya said, getting up and moving to my side. "Hopefully see you again soon."

My heart missed a single beat, and Marcus raised an eyebrow at what I hoped was a promise. If I had anything to do with it, she would definitely be back and maybe for longer next time.

As I led her outside, her fingers still entwined with mine, the late January day was grey and damp, with a coldness that chilled your bones. I didn't feel it, though. I could feel nothing but warmth. Any scars from childhood, the ones beneath my skin, in my head, were slowly being salved with each moment I spent with her. It wasn't like they were deep or had defined me, but I knew my childhood was what had made me wary of relationships. Yet, Maya made me want to change. She had already started to take away the fear.

"Right," I said, pulling her towards the pavement. "First stop, Bennetts for some takeout for dinner. Their food is brilliant, but their hot chocolate is incredible."

Maya responded with a warm smile, and I knew I wanted more of that every day.