Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(53)

“They would want to know. To help.”

“There’s nothing they can do. You and Sophie are all the support I need.”

Maya wasn’t sure that was true. She was also worried about what was going to happen when Del found out the truth. Because he would. They all would. While she could honestly say she was doing what her friend had asked, she couldn’t shake the sense of being in the wrong. At least where he was concerned. Del would want to know, and she suspected the rest of the Mitchell men would share his feelings.

“You’re not giving them enough credit,” she said firmly. “Trust in how much they love you.”

“I don’t doubt their feelings, but I know their limitations. I suppose it’s my fault. At least with the boys. I wasn’t a very good mother.”

Maya couldn’t believe it. She’d had a horrible mother, and by any comparison, Elaine had been extraordinary. “What are you talking about? You were a fantastic mother. You took care of them, loved them, supported them. They’re all lucky to have you as their mom.”

Elaine smiled. “You’re very sweet, but you’re giving me too much credit. I didn’t protect my sons from their father the way I should have. He’s a brilliant man, but difficult. There were times when I took his side instead of theirs.”

“You made choices. I’m sure some of them weren’t what you’d do now, but no one is perfect. You’re not giving yourself enough credit.” Maya wondered if that came from feeling run-down from the treatment. “They adore you. Even more important, they’re happy, kind, successful men you can be proud of. Don’t you dare forget that.”

Elaine smiled. “You’re very good to me.”

“And you’re good to me. You’re my friend and I love you.”

“I love you, too. Don’t tell the boys, but I always wanted a daughter. I was so happy when you started dating Del and we became friends. I appreciate that you never cut those ties.”

“You’re family,” Maya told her. “There were a lot of times that the only thing that got me through was wondering how you would handle a situation. I wanted to be strong like you.”

Elaine drew her eyebrows together. “Strong? I’m not.”

“You are. You just don’t see it.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

“YOU’RE BEING VERY MYSTERIOUS,” Maya teased as she walked into Del’s temporary office.

He’d texted her earlier and asked her to meet at the studio. All he’d said was that it was important, he hadn’t given any other clues.

He stood by his desk. There was a stack of DVD cases next to him. She was about to joke that if he was volunteering his butt for Eddie and Gladys’s show, she was going to lose all respect for him, when she realized he wasn’t smiling. He didn’t look upset, exactly, but he was obviously not playing.

“What?” she asked, hoping whatever it was, he didn’t have a medical issue. She wasn’t sure she had one more secret in her. Not when she was struggling to keep Elaine’s.

“It’s no big deal.”

“You have big-deal face,” she said.

His tense expression relaxed. “No one has big-deal face.”

“You do, and it’s a little strange with the sexy stubble.”

Crap, she thought. Double crap. Had she said sexy? It wasn’t her fault. The man looked good in jeans and a worn shirt. The three-days’ growth only added to his appeal. Hmm, the last time they’d kissed he’d been clean shaven for the wedding. Would it feel different now?

She decided it would, but wasn’t sure if it would be a good scratchy way or a bad scratchy way.

“Sexy?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.

She pointed to the stack of DVDs. “Explain.”

He looked from her to the discs and back. “We’ve talked about doing that project,” he began. “You know, a day in the life kind of thing.”

“Right.” She studied the DVDs. “Did you start it already?”

“Not exactly. These are videos I’ve done. Interviews with a lot of people—many of them children. I’m on-screen some, talking about where I am and what’s happening there economically or politically.”

She looked at him. “You want me to watch them?”

“No, I want to know if you can fix them.” He shoved his hands in his front pockets. “I know what I see in my head, but I can’t make it happen on the screen. After working with you, I’m sure I totally screwed up the settings. The eye line’s going to be all wrong.”

She’d seen his raw footage from their shoots. “You’re probably missing establishing shots, and there might be issues with the audio.”

“Thanks for that vote of support.”

“You’re not a professional. You do a good job with the training you have.”

“You’re right. Sorry. I don’t mean to be defensive. It’s just this project... It’s important to me.” He pulled his hands free and tapped the stack. “These are what I put together. I have the raw footage on my computer. I know the mistakes I made filming can’t be corrected, but if you could maybe take what I did and work your editing magic.”

“Of course.”

“I’d pay you,” he added.