Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(91)

And she’d lied to him. She’d withheld significant information about his mother and her illness. He knew better than to trust her again. How could he—

He put in the last DVD. His computer screen filled with a shot of the town. The camera panned to him doing push-ups in the park. There was plenty of background noise, then Maya’s voice as she teased him.

“I’m not impressed by your push-ups,” she said, her voice picked up by the microphone he wore.

“Sure you are.”

She laughed.

There was a pause in the sound, then he heard her speaking—but not from that day. Instead, it was a voice-over.

He listened to the first couple of sentences, and then paused the video and leaned back in his chair. He remembered that day in the park and dozens of other days with her. He knew how she liked her coffee and how careful she was when she framed her shots. She would always take time to speak to a kid or pet a dog or make a couple of old ladies feel special. She was loyal and unshakable. She wouldn’t betray her friend...not even to her lover.

She’d lied to him, and he would bet anything that if the circumstances happened a second time, she would do it again. Which meant that if he needed to trust her absolutely, he couldn’t.

Or could he? Wouldn’t she be as loyal to him? Did what she’d been through with Elaine mean she would risk anger and loss to do the right thing?

He was tired and confused, and the truth that would change everything seemed just out of reach. She’d told him, and his mother had told him, and he’d stubbornly refused to believe either of them. Maya hadn’t wanted to keep the secret, but she had. She hadn’t been acting out of spite but out of love for his mother. For her friend.

That was what it came down to. He didn’t have to agree with what she’d done, nor did he have to like it. But if he accepted her reasons, then he had to admit that within that context, she’d done the right thing. Her intent hadn’t been to lie—it had been to protect.

He looked at the screen again and pushed the play button. He smiled as he saw Maya trying to read the light meter while he jostled her. She laughed and looked at him. He pushed the pause button again.

She was so beautiful, he thought absently. Her smile, her eyes. He wanted her—what man wouldn’t? But it was more than that. He respected her. He needed her. He wanted to work with her and—

The freight train of truth ran right through him then. It whistled and vibrated the house and left him shaken and feeling pretty damned stupid.

He didn’t want to just work with Maya. He didn’t want a business partner. He wanted to be with her always. Permanently. He wanted to marry her—because he loved her. That was why he was so pissed about his mom and everything else. He didn’t want her to be someone he couldn’t trust because she was everything to him.

How could he not have seen that before? How could he not have realized she was his world?

He stood and grabbed his truck keys, then ran outside. He hadn’t showered or eaten. At least he was dressed and wearing shoes. He drove the short distance to Maya’s quiet neighborhood.

It was still early. Kids had yet to leave for school, and most of the adults were getting ready for work. Maya was on her front porch, watering her yellowing plants. She looked up when he pulled into her driveway, but didn’t move from the porch. He stepped out of the truck. His chest was tight with nerves and fear. What if he’d waited too long to figure out what mattered?

“Stop watering,” he told her. “That’s why your plants are dying. They don’t need water every single day.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

He pointed to the can she held. “Let them get thirsty once in a while.”

“Oh. You think?”

She put down the can and moved to the stairs. He walked closer.

“You look awful,” she told him.

“I haven’t slept. I watched the videos. You did a great job.”

Something flared in her green eyes. An emotion he couldn’t read. Hope, maybe? “The last one,” she began.

“I didn’t finish it.”

She bit her lower lip. “That’s not why you’re here?”

“No. I’m here because I realized the truth.” He walked a couple of steps closer. “I don’t agree with what you did, Maya, but now I get why you did it. I understand it wasn’t about me at all, but about you and my mom.”

“It was, and I never wanted to keep the truth from you.”

“I know. You’re a good person. A loyal friend. You’re a lot of things. Beautiful, smart, funny.” Damn. He was doing this all wrong. The words all crowded up inside of him, and he didn’t know which ones to say first.

“I want us to work together,” he told her. “Do the commercials, then start on the other projects we talked about. We’re a good team.”

He frowned. That wasn’t right at all. Why didn’t he get to the point?

“But not as a business.” He crossed the last few feet separating them, then climbed the two steps to join her on the porch. He took her hands in his. “I love you, Maya. Maybe I never stopped. I was so angry, and I know now it’s because I had thought we’d be together always. We belong together. I hope I can make you see that. I want us to be partners in everything. We’ll make a home here in Fool’s Gold. A home base. Can we do that? Is there a chance, or have I hurt you too much?”