Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(57)

“Nice-looking man,” Jo said, her voice very matter-of-fact. “Nothing as good as my Will, but still. Broad shoulders.”

Destiny nodded slowly. “He’s taller than I expected.”

“A lot of muscle,” Shelby added.

Maya smiled. “I like his eyes.”

“What is wrong with all of you?” Madeline asked, her voice low and breathy. “It’s Jonny Blaze. You can’t separate him into parts. He’s... He’s...”

“You should go say hi,” Maya teased.

Madeline glared at her. “I should not. Speak to him? Are you crazy?”

“Why not?” Destiny asked. “He’s just a person.”

“There’s no just. Don’t say just.” Madeline looked away, and then immediately swung her head back. “I can’t breathe.”

“If you can talk, you can breathe,” Jo told her. “What’s the big deal? Maybe he’d like to meet a local girl. You’re single, he’s single.”

Madeline put her hands on the table, then rested her head on them. “Kill. Me. Now.”

Maya patted her friend on the back. “You don’t want to die before you’ve slept with him, do you?” she asked teasingly. “Isn’t there a song about heaven only being a kiss away?”

Madeline straightened. “Ha, ha. Very funny. I get it. Totally. I’m basing my reaction to him on his looks, how he is in his movies and nothing real. But you know what? I’m okay with that. It’s fun. The reason I don’t want to meet him is that he might be a jerk. That would spoil everything.”

Shelby grinned. “You’re adorable when you go for logic.”

“You are.” Maya hugged her. “For what it’s worth, Phoebe says Jonny’s actually a very nice man. You sure you don’t want to go say hi?”

“I’m sure. Why on earth do I feel this way when I’m around him?” Madeline asked.

“It’s the movie-star thing,” Shelby told her. “The power in the tribe. We want to be close to the most powerful tribe member. It means survival. At least it did, you know, back when we still lived in caves. Whoever was the best hunter or soldier got the best lodgings and most food. That meant not dying when...” Her voice trailed off. “What?”

Maya saw they were all staring at Shelby. “You sort of morphed into someone else just then.”

“I know. I sounded so smart.” Shelby grinned. “Felicia comes into the bakery and we talk. She’s always interesting. We talked about Jonny Blaze a couple of weeks ago. She finds celebrity fascinating. Not because she cares about them but because of how other people react to them. So she told me about tribes.”

“Gotta love Felicia,” Jo said as their server came up and took their drink orders.

Except for Destiny, they all ordered the special. A martini made with ginger, coconut and a hint of lemon. Maya had a feeling it would go down very easily, which made her glad she was walking home.

After they’d placed their orders, conversation shifted to things happening around town. No one could believe how fast summer had flown by.

“Have you seen the changing leaves up in the mountains?” Destiny asked. “The year is going to be over before we know it.” She turned to Maya. “You and Del would look adorable kissing against a background of red-and-orange leaves,” she joked. “Any more kissing videos planned?”

Maya laughed. “No. We’re holding out for the movie release.”

Everyone chuckled. Jo mentioned the upcoming Fall Festival, and Shelby talked about orders at the bakery for Thanksgiving. Maya listened, but in the back of her mind she kept seeing herself kissing Del. They’d looked good together. Right. Funny how she’d never realized her feelings for him before. Maybe the love had become such a part of her, she’d been unable to see it for what it was.

She glanced around at the bar. It was crowded, but in a friendly way. Conversation was pleasant. No one was too drunk or too loud. Jonny Blaze sat at a table with a group of guys, acting like everyone else.

It was the town, she thought. Fool’s Gold had a way of sucking people in and changing them for the better. Making them who they were meant to be. Maya was grateful she’d come back.

Back, she thought as their drinks arrived. Back, not home. Because the restlessness she’d been feeling hadn’t gone away. If anything, it was growing inside of her.

She was going to have to figure out the cause, she told herself. And then an antidote. Or at the very least a way to mitigate the need. Because wandering the world wasn’t in her future. She was going to settle down here. She could only hope settling down wasn’t the same as settling.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MAYA MOVED THE cursor quickly across the screen, clicked the left button on the mouse and watched the footage merge seamlessly together. She hit Play, and together she and Del watched the eight seconds become seventeen.

“Add that shot with Priscilla against the sun,” Del suggested. “You know the one?”

“Where she fills the screen.” Maya was already clicking through what they had. She found the clip and added it to the segment, then hit Play again.

“Nice.” He leaned back in his chair. “These are getting better and better.”

As he spoke, he put his arm around her. She was pretty sure the gesture was meant to be friendly. Team-like, even. But just sitting close to him was enough to make her aware of his body right next to hers. She liked being around him, even though he was a big distraction.