Chapter 20 Maia
CHAPTER TWENTY
MAIA
Ivery rarely ever took time to people-watch or take in my surroundings, but knowing I was about to face Baird for the first time since my freak-out over a song, I needed a minute.
Instead of eating lunch at my desk, I’d gone out onto Princes Street to a coffee shop just along from Pennington’s.
Now I stood outside that shop, my back to the window, sipping my to-go cup and watching the world pass by.
Trams and buses paused on the long stretch of wide road, temporarily blocking my view of the gardens and the rocky volcanic base of Edinburgh Castle, the medieval fortress perched over the city, a majestic, everyday reminder of the history here.
It drew the tourists who passed me, making Edinburgh the second-biggest tourist city in the UK after London.
It was even voted the fifth-most beautiful city in the world.
It made me proud to live here, to work here, and I knew the tourism was one of the few reasons Pennington’s had survived.
The sounds of chatter in multiple languages filled my ears, along with traffic, the beeping of crosswalks, and the distant wail of a bagpiper.
It was hot and humid today, and the locals were showing lots of skin in full summer wear, whereas the tourists, expecting Scotland’s typical mild climate, were caught unawares in their rain jackets and jeans. Especially as it had rained yesterday.
Deciding I wanted air-conditioning enough to face Baird, I sighed, chugged the last of my coffee, and dumped it into a recycling bin before heading back to Pennington’s.
My heeled sandals clicked on the pavement, and I dug in my purse for change to drop in the cup of the two homeless people who sat on their sleeping bags outside of an empty store.
“Thanks, gorgeous.” The guy grinned a yellowed smile at me after I dropped the money in.
I nodded and continued on my way. When I first moved to Edinburgh to be with my dad, there had been homeless people just like there were in any big city.
But it was definitely worse now. As were the graffiti tags, the litter, and many commercial buildings that sat empty.
It was a miracle Pennington’s had survived.
But I guess that’s what the campaign was for. To ensure they stayed relevant. To ensure their survival.
I felt heavy with emotion and knew it was partly hormonal.
I was on my period. However, I was also incredibly confused about Baird.
He’d looked after me without judgment—only care—and I found my crush deepening to disastrous levels.
I didn’t know what it meant or if I was reading too much into the way Baird treated me …
but it felt like things between us were shifting.
It felt like there might be something real developing between us.
I didn’t know if I could handle that.
Somehow, I knew that if Baird ever hurt me the way Will had … it would destroy me.
Therefore, I’d done what I was good at and pushed him away all week.
I wasn’t proud of my behavior. I knew I had to woman up and face him. He deserved better.
This afternoon, the marketing team wanted to talk to us both after the production team shot footage of us walking around the relevant departments of Pennington’s. They wanted footage of us picking out the items for our wedding registry.
This weekend, we were supposed to start our hunt for the wedding venue.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly as I walked into the store because it reminded me that in a few short months, I’d legally be married to Baird.
He texted to tell me he was on his way upstairs, so I waited for him at the lift. I’d already changed into a summer dress Christina and I had selected from the current season. With the air-conditioning on blast inside the offices, I was a little chilly in the strappy A-line.
My breath caught as Baird stepped out of the elevator. His forehead glistened with sweat, but it did nothing to detract from how hot he was in his short-sleeve shirt and navy chino shorts. If anything, the sweat made me think of sex.
Don’t think of sex!
Baird’s shorts revealed the tattooed dragon that wound around his left calf and ankle. The preppy look was incongruous to the tattooed muscular physique and unshaven face and shaggy hair.
Sexy as sin.
“Hey …” My greeting sounded a little breathless even to me.
His gaze washed over me with a thoroughness that made my skin tingle. “Oi, oi,” he said his trademark greeting, but this time with a husky quietness that caused a low flip deep in my belly.
We stared at each other. I felt like a fish on a hook as my body unconsciously pulled toward him.
“Good. You’re here.” The annoying voice jerked me out of my Baird daze.
Becky eyed my fake fiancé like he was the pair of Jimmy Choos she had on layaway. “Don’t you look the part.”
Baird stared at her with uncharacteristic stoniness. “Who are you again?”
I struggled to swallow a laugh because I knew he knew very well who she was.
Becky’s flirtatious expression faltered. “Becky. From marketing. We met … before.”
He looked at me, cocking an eyebrow. “Did we?”
Biting back a laugh, I nodded.
Baird winked and I grinned, relieved he wasn’t holding the past week against me.
My colleague cleared her throat in annoyance, and I had to unlock my eyes from Baird’s dreamy dark ones. Becky’s expression was all pinched and uptight. “This way. Both of you.”
We fell into step behind her, and I reached out to slow Baird down. As soon as we were far enough behind her, I whispered, “I’m sorry I’ve been MIA. When it … when it comes to my mum, I tend to get stuck in my head about it. But I’ve been a shit … friend. Especially after you were so good to me.”
Baird shrugged. “Hey, no worries, babe. I get it. You do what you gotta do.” He gestured with his head for us to continue after Becky.
I frowned because there was something off about his blasé response. Something almost dismissive—and Baird was never dismissive with me.
Then again, I supposed I deserved it. I’d been dismissive with him.
Feeling even more out of sorts, I forced myself to smile as we strode into the marketing meeting room to find Hilary and two other assistants.
“You both look great.” Hilary straightened from tapping at her tablet screen.
“We want you to know how delighted Pennington’s is with how successful the campaign has been so far.
We dropped the link for the preorder for the dress you were wearing at the nightclub, Maia, and we’re sold out before it even hits the store. ”
I raised an eyebrow. “Wow.”
“Exactly. Wow.”
“It helps you made the dress look like a million dollars.” The male marketing assistant, Kal, I think his name was, gave me a shy, boyish smile.
“True.” Hilary studied us. “Now … are you sure you won’t engage with some of these chat show requests? Not even a podcast?”
I shook my head.
Baird gave an impatient jerk of his chin. “Where’s the production team? I’ve got shit to do.”
Surprised by his agitated tone, I searched his profile, trying to read him. Was he still mad at me?
“The team are filming footage of the outside and inside of the store. While they do that, we wanted to run over some things.” Becky tapped on a tablet and then turned the screen to us.
There was an image of a stunning ivy-covered castle.
“This is Almondbrae Castle just outside of Kirkliston. It’s where you two are getting married. ”
Confused, I tentatively took the tablet to scroll through the photos. The venue was absolutely stunning but way more over the top than I’d ever pictured for my wedding. “I thought we were supposed to film our hunt for a venue.”
“You will.” Becky shrugged. “But you don’t actually get to choose.
Almondbrae is the only luxury wedding venue that has an opening in August. They had a cancellation, so we got a discount.
Your wedding date is August 27, by the way.
” There was a spiteful glint in her eyes, like she was enjoying the fact that I didn’t have a say in my wedding date or venue.
Honestly, what the hell had I done to piss her off so much?
I looked down at the tablet, my throat tight, because suddenly this was all so very real. I was going to marry a man who didn’t love me, all for the sake of my career because my colleague was quite possibly a sociopath and had chosen me as her target for destruction.
If someone else had told me this was happening to them, I wouldn’t believe it.
“All good.” Baird shrugged. “Now can we get on with it?”
“We also want to discuss adding a few more filming dates to the schedule.” Hilary perched her elegant bum on the desk and crossed her arms over her chest. “Our team and the film production team feel like with the level of interest in you two, we should throw in some fun stuff to keep people engaged. Not just blatant promotion of our products.”
“Like?” I asked warily.
“Like footage of you living your lives together. Perhaps we could film you on dates.”
“But interesting ones,” Becky threw in unnecessarily.
“Bungee jumping.” Baird suddenly looked animated. “Why don’t we film us going bungee jumping together? I’ve always wanted to do it, and you said you wanted to have a bit of adventure.”
I gaped at him. What the hell? “Bungee jumping?”
“Or skydiving.” He waggled his eyebrows at me a wee bit maniacally.
What the … okay, something was going on with him.
“I’m not—”
“My type of guy.” Becky’s hot eyes raked over Baird. “I bungee jumped at the one in Perthshire. I’d suggest we do the shoot there”—her eyes flicked to me—“but Maia looks a little green around the gills at the thought.”
“I’m not green around the gills.” If she eye-fucked my fake fiancé one more time …
“It’s okay, Maia.” Her smile was saccharine sweet. “We’re not all adrenaline junkies. It’s okay to be too scared for adventure. We’ll figure out something else for the date.”
“You don’t know Maia.” Baird shot Becky an annoyed glower before he turned to me, expression softening. Yet there was still that wild glint in his dark eyes I didn’t understand, or like, because I’d seen it before—weeks ago, when he was chasing chaos.
Damn.
Were we back there again?
“I can bungee jump.” The words were out of my mouth before I really processed what I’d agreed to.
Baird let out a whoop, twirling me in his arms in his excitement. I would have been happy to see the return of fun-loving Baird McMillan if I didn’t feel so uneasy.
“Save it for the camera.” Hilary chuckled as Baird placed me back on my feet. “Now let’s go over a few more things before the team is ready for you.”
Three hours later, hungry, tired, and growing increasingly pissed off, I was glad when Bruno finally called a wrap for the day.
Between having to share shivery soft kisses with Baird all afternoon, feeling his hand pressed firmly on my lower back, or having him cuddle into me as we selected products from the home department for our registry, all the while feeling alarmed about his current mental state, I was a mess.
Not only that, but I also hadn’t realized how difficult filming us picking our wedding gifts out would be. Though I would never have a wedding registry, I had imagined a moment in my life where I picked out plates and glasses and appliances and soft furnishings with my future partner.
To do it for the first time and have it all be fake …
I mean, Pennington’s was donating all this stuff to us (and believe me, I had guilt about that too), and we’d have to live with it for at least a year.
Together? We hadn’t planned to live together, but now we were under all this scrutiny.
Would that go away after the wedding, or would the media continue to follow us?
Would we have to pretend to live together?
How could two intelligent people seriously have not thought this through?
Moreover, there was definitely something up with Baird.
He was giving me the front-cover version of his personality. On steroids.
Fake smiles, shallow conversation, constant jokes. The deeper, more serious side of him that I loved was buried beneath something frantic and frayed.
There was still work to be done at the office, so I walked Baird out of the staff entrance where he’d parked his motorbike.
“I’ll see you soon.” He bent his head to press a barely there kiss to my cheek, and I grabbed his arm, halting him.
“Bear …” I searched his face for answers. “What is going on?”
He frowned, gently tugging his arm out of my hold. Then he flashed me a cocky smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Nothing. I need to get going. Got shit to do.”
“Aye, you said that … before you suggested we go bungee jumping on film.”
“It’ll be fun.” He retreated, walking back toward the motorbike. “C’mon, My, live a little. You could do with a wee push off a cliff.”
I flinched. “What does that mean?”
Baird grimaced. “Not the way you’re taking it. Just, you could loosen up a bit. Even Becky’s bungee jumped.”
Hurt, I stepped back toward the building.
Baird’s gaze dropped, watching me as I retreated. A muscle in his jaw ticked and he turned abruptly, picking up his helmet.
“Are you … Did something happen?”
He threw a smirk over his shoulder. “Nothing happened, babe. Nothing’s wrong. Isn’t that what you’ve been telling me all week?”
Another stab of hurt flared across my chest, and I turned around and pushed inside the building before he could even get on his bike. Way to throw my apology in my face by passively aggressively telling me he did not accept said apology.
I leaned against the door as soon as it slammed shut, tears burning my eyes.
The hope that I’d stupidly let build alongside my moronic crush began to evaporate.
Baird’s inability to accept my apology when he knew how much damage my mum had done, and then to lash out at me for being distant this past week, was proof that he wasn’t mature enough for a relationship.
Damn it, he wasn’t even mature enough for our friendship.
I thought I knew him … but today … I didn’t know that guy.
Feeling crushed by the demise of my crush, I pushed off the door and marched back to work, throwing myself into it because it had to be worth it. My job had to be worth the seemingly inevitable destruction of me and Baird.