Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

MAYA

“ A re you sure you don’t mind?” I ask Lacey.

Mom’s nurse waves a hand at me. “You look too pretty to stay in!”

“If you don’t go, I’ll kick you out that door!” Mom croaks, and she even manages a sort of half-smile. It gives me more hope than it should, but I’ll take every light-filled moment with her I can get.

“You deserve to enjoy yourself,” Lacey says. “It’s the weekend. Let your hair down.”

“I’ve got a shift at seven a.m., but I’ll do my best.”

After giving Mom the biggest kiss and cuddle ever—being careful not to hurt her because she’s so frail these days—I catch a cab to Riley’s house. Her mom smiles when she spots me, and we make small talk, mainly about Mom. When I get to Riley’s room, I can tell she’s started the party early immediately. She’s got that hazy, slightly detached, slightly amused look on her face.

“Maya,” she yells, throwing herself into my arms.

I laugh, catching her. “Easy there.”

“It feels like it’s been years.”

“It does,” I agree.

“You want a soda?”

“Sure.”

“Our ride will be here soon.”

We walk over to her bed. She sits down, shifting slightly, full of energy. Her bracelets rattle as she hops up and down.

“You’re excited to see your new man?” I ask.

“Is it that obvious?”

“I can’t believe you haven’t even mentioned this guy.” On the phone, she was being cagey. “Do I have the honor of knowing who his holiness is yet?”

Riley grins. “You’d talk circles around most of the kids at college, seriously. His holiness . I love your way with words.”

“Don’t distract me with a compliment.”

She leans in, lowering her voice as if anybody will hear us in here all alone. I humor her, enjoying her sense of drama. She’s always had that flair that let her see life as one continuous adventure and the ups and downs as something to celebrate, not avoid.

“He’s in the Mob,” she whispers.

“The Mob, as in the Mafia?” I say. I’m not sure what I expected, but this seems so far from it, so strange, I almost laugh. “Jeez, Rye.”

“I met him on Tinder. He’s our age, but he’s been with them since he was fifteen. He’s really tough and scary, honestly.”

“And this is the person we’re meeting?” I say doubtfully.

She darts her hand out, squeezing onto mine. “Do you think I’d ever take you somewhere if I thought you were going to get hurt?”

“Tell me about the party, then.”

“It’s called Vegas Varieties,” she says. “Matteo was telling me on the phone about them just before you got here. So don’t look at me like that. I only just found out!”

I roll my eyes as her theatrical voice shudders. Okay, I love her flair for the dramatic most of the time. “Okay, so why Vegas?”

“It’s a visiting company,” Riley goes on. “Apparently, they have all kinds of shows, motorbikes, circus acts, fights, loads of stuff.”

“So we’re going to a Mafia party where there’s basically no rules?”

“We can cancel,” Riley says, but the quiver in her voice gives her away, just like the way she snatches her phone when it buzzes.

“Matteo?” I ask.

“He’s going to be here soon.”

She’s practically buzzing with excitement. Though I’m not exactly dressed up , mostly because I’m not sure what that would look like for me, I have made somewhat of an effort.

“I can text him back,” she says, raising an eyebrow. I honestly believe she’d do it, too, but I don’t want to ruin her evening. Anyway, what’s the worst that can happen?

“No,” I say quickly, putting a smile on my face. “Don’t do that. I think—I know —it’s going to be fun.”

“Are you sure?” she asks doubtfully. “Not about the fun part … I know that, but if you don’t want to go. I would’ve told you sooner, I promise.”

“I know,” I say. “Yeah, I’m sure. I have to live a little sometimes.”

“Yay!” She throws her hands up. “Anyway, what about your love life?”

“My love life?” I say, shaking my head. “Shall we talk about flying pigs, too? Or how about pots of coffee that miraculously develop the ability to speak? Anything else?”

“There’s nobody at all?” she asks.

I shrug. “Not really.”

“Not really ? That’s more than you usually give me.”

“It’s nothing.”

There’s a pause, giving me time to think about that long look with Tristan. I haven’t seen him since then. He hasn’t been in the office for the past two days, not that I’ve been looking, searching, or wondering.

“It’s definitely not nothing,” she quickly says. “Oh my giddy aunt, there is somebody, isn’t there?”

“Did you just say, oh my giddy aunt ?”

“Do not change the subject.”

“Seriously, it’s … I don’t even know.”

“But it’s something. Some. Thing.” She enunciates each word. “That, my dear Maya, is a huge, huge development. So please don’t downplay it.”

“What is something, really, Rye?” I say. “If I look at my boss, and my boss looks at me, and he sort of shudders, and I read into it, does that count? Because I don’t think it should.”

“Steamy eye contact with your boss? Now we’re talking.”

“It wasn’t steamy.”

“But you like him?”

I shrug, trying not to make it seem like a big deal. Nothing has happened romantically. “He’s been so, so good to me. He basically saved Mom and me, but it’s not like that.”

“How old is he?” Riley asks in that way she has, which makes it seem like the most important question.

“I don’t know,” I mutter, getting that strange, heady feeling when I think about the creases near his eyes. “Maybe in his mid to late thirties.”

“Whoa.”

“I’ve always found it difficult to tell people’s ages anyway. Plus, there’s no need for that whoa , Rye. Nothing has happened. He’s just a nice guy doing a good thing.”

“Sorry, Maya, but that’s too na?ve to listen to. Do you seriously think a man will do something for a lady for the hell of it?”

I try not to shiver. The thought of him grabbing me from behind one day, his powerful hands on my shoulders, leaning in with his firm, commanding voice. “You belong to me now. You’ll do exactly what I say.” I could let go just for once. I wouldn’t have to be in charge or in control.

Yet it’s just not realistic.

“So I guess he’s banging the receptionist too, then,” I say sarcastically, “because Simone is way hotter than me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to ruin this for you.”

“The job is a handout. He wants to feel good about himself. All I can do is work hard and make sure I can look at myself in the mirror and honestly say I put real effort in.”

I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince, Riley or myself, but then her phone buzzes, and she almost leaps out of her skin. “He’s here,” she squeals. “If you still want to …”

I go to her window and look out onto the street. A limo is parked outside.

“Oh,” I mutter.

Riley walks up next to me. “What, did you think it would be a bunch of wasters in some beat-up junker? Matteo’s parents are loaded.”

“So that’s why you like him,” I say, nerves dancing in my belly.

“Ha, ha. Hey, are you okay?”

The nerves twist, every instinct in my body telling me not to do this. It’s not even because of the Mob thing, even if it should be. No, it’s just the social atmosphere, the unknown.

This feels like a big night—a wild night. I’ll be safe like I was in high school. I’ll retreat to the edge of the party, even leave if I have to, making sure Rye comes with me, again, like the old days.

“I’m fine,” I say. “Let’s get this party started.”

She takes my arm, letting a flurry of pure excited energy go. Before we leave, she gets semiserious again. “Listen, that stuff about your boss, I’m sorry. You’re probably right. I’m being pessimistic. I’m sure there are good men out there, men who actually want to help and aren’t perverts.”

“The messed-up part is, I wouldn’t exactly hate it if he felt that way about me.” I quickly put my hand over her mouth. “ Don’t say anything. Maybe I’ve got a workplace crush. Okay, that happens. It’s not a big deal.”

“For you, it is,” she says through my fingertips.

I lower my hand, smiling, trying to make light of it. Her words slam heavily into me. She’s right. For me, even having a crush is just craziness.

“Well, it’s not like you’re going to go and tell him, is it?”

“You don’t even have to ask that,” she says. “You know I’d never tell anybody anything about you. Ever .”

“I know.”