Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(30)

No more canceled trips, she thought. She could take an actual vacation. Go somewhere interesting. Not that a two-week trip was the same as really immersing yourself a place, but it was a start.

Her cell phone rang. Phoebe’s face appeared on the screen.

Maya smiled as she answered. “What’s up?” she said when she pushed the green button. “Wedding crisis?”

Phoebe laughed. “Okay, so you’re not watching Eddie and Gladys’s show.”

Maya held in a groan. She reached for the remote and turned on her TV. “What are they doing now? Tell me it’s not frontal nudity.”

“It’s not. You’ll see. And then you’ll have some explaining to do. How come I didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

The TV came on. Maya flipped to the Fool’s Gold cable access channel. Eddie filled the screen.

“I know,” the old woman was saying. “You want to see it again. Here goes.”

As Maya watched, a video came on. It was blurry at first, then came into focus.

Her mouth dropped open as she saw Del and herself standing in a meadow. The meadow. Where they’d done the intro shoot. Where they’d kissed. Where she’d accidentally left the camera on and hadn’t bothered to erase the footage.

“No,” she moaned. “No, no, no.”

“Yup,” Phoebe said cheerfully. “First you tell each other you were in love and then you kiss. It’s very hot.”

Sure enough, that was exactly what happened.

She watched her videoed self say, “I did love you.”

“I loved you, too. Talk about a lot of confessions for an early-morning shoot.”

And then it happened. In front of God and the entire town. Del leaned in and kissed her.

Maya dropped her head to her free hand. “Kill me now,” she murmured.

“I think it’s too late for that. At least it’s not frontal nudity. That has to be something, right?”

Maya curled up in a ball and wondered if it was possible for the earth to swallow her whole. “You think anyone else has seen this?”

“Just, you know, the entire town.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

MAYA TOLD HERSELF that having a private moment of her life go viral was a good thing. It distracted her from worrying about Elaine.

The waiting area of the surgery center was pleasant enough. Lots of comfortable chairs, a huge aquarium filled with serene fish, free Wi-Fi and a big television currently tuned to Good Morning America. The hosts had already teased the clip of the video that apparently had exploded on social media overnight.

Maya had been fielding text messages and was also getting calls, although not taking them. She didn’t want to leave the surgery center until she knew Elaine was okay and she wasn’t about to talk on the phone in front of other people.

She glanced up at the screen just in time to see the video being played. On a personal level the whole thing was cringeworthy. She didn’t like having a private moment exposed to the world. She felt vulnerable and exposed—not that anyone was paying attention to the show or her. No doubt they were as worried about their loved ones as she was about Elaine.

But professionally, she had to admit that the shot was framed perfectly. The wildflowers, the trees—it was beautiful. It was also her kissing Del.

For a second, she could feel his mouth on hers. The tender pressure, the heat. Yearning filled her. In part for who they had been back then and in part for what could never be now. Whatever friendship they’d found, the romance had been lost. All heat and tingles aside, they weren’t going back. There was only forward, and that path seemed to be leading directly to friendship land. Despite those sweet kisses.

She hadn’t heard from him yet, so wasn’t sure if he knew. Although it wasn’t as if she’d reached out to him, either. She knew he wouldn’t be thrilled, but she also wondered how much he would care.

“Maya?” The nurse smiled at her. “You can come back now.”

Maya followed her to the recovery area and found Elaine sitting up. Her friend was pale, but otherwise looked okay.

Maya took her free hand and squeezed. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad.” Elaine smiled. “The doctor says the tumor was very localized. So we can stick with the original plan. A few days to recover, then six weeks of radiation.”

Maya squeezed her fingers, thinking a hug right now wasn’t going to be the best thing. “That’s exactly what we wanted to hear.”

“I know. I’m so grateful.”

The nurse turned to Maya. “Elaine tells me you’ll be taking care of her tonight.”

“Yes. She’s staying with me.”

“Good. The postsurgical instructions are pretty simple. I’ll go over them with you. I gave them to Elaine before her procedure, but it’s always good to have someone else following along. Plus, we’ll send her home with written instructions.”

“I’ll make sure she does everything she’s told.”

* * *

BY NOON, ELAINE was settled in Maya’s guest room. She’d had some soup and crackers and taken her pain medication. Sophie jumped up onto the bed, then curled up next to Elaine, as if understanding this was a time to be quiet.

“I’m fine,” Elaine said firmly as she stroked her dog. “Exhausted, but fine. I didn’t sleep at all last night. In fact, I haven’t slept for a couple of nights. So I’m going to stay right here and rest. I want you to leave.”