Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(80)

In the few weeks Phoebe had been in residence, she’d started making changes. Several of the walls had been painted a pale yellow. The layout of the open family room had been shifted so the sofas faced each other, instead of the fireplace. Gone was the big TV on the wall and in its place were bright paintings.

Her presence was felt in small ways, too. Cut flowers stood in pretty vases and fashion magazines nestled with a livestock quarterly. Just being in the house made it easier to breathe, Maya thought. Whatever happened, she had family. Should she need rescuing, there would be a contingent, if not a village. She wasn’t on her own.

Phoebe pointed to the sofa by the coffee table. A bottle of wine sat on a tray. There were two glasses along with a plate of cheese and crackers.

“Sit,” she said. “I’ll pour while you start talking. This is Del related. It has to be.”

Maya accepted the glass of wine and waited until Phoebe settled on the sofa opposite. She took a sip of wine, then drew in a breath and wondered where to start. Maybe with the most painful truth.

“Del’s not in love with me.”

Phoebe grabbed a piece of cheese. “I don’t believe that at all. He’s crazy about you. I can see it when you’re together. There’s serious sparkage.”

Despite everything, Maya laughed. “Sparkage? Because you’re twelve?”

“Sometimes. Now what happened?”

“Remember the commercials he and I shot? For the Lucky Lady Casino?”

“Uh-huh.”

Maya explained about the meeting with Ernesto and Robert and what they’d offered.

Phoebe waved her hands. “That’s fantastic. Did you say yes? You have to say yes. I mean, I’ll miss you desperately, but come on. You’d love doing that.”

“I would,” Maya admitted. “Of course I’m interested, but I was surprised. We both were.”

“And?”

Maya put down her wine and tucked her legs under her. “I’ve told you about the children’s series of videos Del and I have been talking about.”

Phoebe nodded. “You’d be able to do those, too. It’s perfect.”

“That’s what I thought. Del and I could do both. We’d work together...” She drew in a breath. “Actually, that’s what he offered. A business partnership. He has money from selling his business. I bring the technical ability to the table. We work well together. Share a vision. It’s all good.”

Phoebe looked at her. “So what’s the problem?”

“All he offered is a business partnership. I thought he’d say something else.” Had hoped for words that would make her giddy. “He never once said anything about his feelings.”

“Did you say anything about yours?”

“No.”

“Well, then. He could be feeling exactly what you are and be keeping it a secret.”

“Del’s not like that.” Maya would have told him the truth, only she couldn’t. Not until he found out about Elaine. Saturday, she told herself. If Elaine didn’t call her family meeting, Maya was going to be the one breaking the news. Just forty-eight more hours.

Only now she didn’t know if she wanted to say anything. To what end?

“If he had any romantic thoughts, he would have said something,” she insisted.

“You have no way of knowing that. You’re talking business. You know how guys get. They compartmentalize. Work is work and everything else is different.” Phoebe smiled at her. “I think you need to plan a romantic evening with Del and confess all. Tell him you’re interested in the business thing, but you want it to be more. He’s going to be so happy.”

Maya wished she shared her friend’s optimism. “I’m less sure about that. He’ll probably be horrified and then run for the hills. I’ll lose both him and the opportunity.”

“Do you want one without the other?”

A question for which Maya didn’t have an answer. She knew she wanted to travel with Del and film his videos. She also wanted to do the project for the hotels. But to only be business partners, friends—being around Del, but not a romantic part of his life. Did she want that?

“I don’t want to be left behind,” she admitted. “And I don’t want him falling in love with anyone else.” Talk about horrible. “I can’t believe I went so long thinking I would never trust a man to be there for me. I’ve finally found the man I trust with my heart and he’s not interested.”

“Stop saying that,” Phoebe told her. “You don’t know how he feels because you won’t talk about it.”

Maya heard footsteps in the hallway, then Zane walked into the family room. He approached the back of the sofa, but stayed carefully out of reach.

“Still talking girl stuff?” he asked, stroking the back of Phoebe’s neck.

Despite her confusion, Maya grinned. “Notice how he’s poised to bolt in case he doesn’t like the answer.”

“I’m not big on the emotional side of things,” he admitted. “It’s a guy thing.”

Phoebe leaned into his hand. “That’s okay. You have other, sterling qualities. We’re talking about Del and Maya. Do you want to voice an opinion?”

Maya was surprised when Zane looked at her and said, “I support whatever you want. If he breaks your heart, I break him.”