Chapter 21
Maya
"Company culture is toxic. They promise one thing in interviews, deliver another."
The more I read, the clearer it becomes that I was running toward a mirage. This isn't the dream job I thought it was. It's Seattle all over again, just with better marketing and a higher salary to justify the misery.
"Fuck," I mutter, closing the laptop. I've been so focused on running away from my problems that I almost ran straight into worse ones.
I check my phone and see a text from last night that I missed while deep in research mode. Unknown number:
Final interview prep materials attached. Looking forward to meeting you soon! - Jennifer
I stare at the message, feeling like an idiot. I'm supposed leave to get on a plane soon. To interview for a job that would make me miserable, leaving behind the place where I've finally found a slice of happiness again.
As I stare at the screen, another message pings. Lucas.
Sorry it took so long to respond. I was an ass yesterday and needed time to sort my head out. You're right, we should talk.
I read the message three times, my chest tight with relief and fear. He wants to talk. Which means I haven't completely destroyed everything with my job interview announcement.
But do I deserve a second chance? Am I brave enough to take it?
I wander into Harper's living room, where framed photos line the mantle. There's one from our high school graduation. Me, Harper, and June grinning like idiots, thinking we knew everything about the world.
When did I become this person who runs from good things? When did fear become my default setting?
My laptop chimes with an email notification.
Jennifer again, this time with a detailed itinerary for today's interview.
Interviews until 6 PM, dinner with senior leadership, then drinks with "the team" until who knows when.
A schedule that would leave me exhausted and overwhelmed before I even started the job.
I open a reply email to Jennifer, my fingers hovering over the keys. The smart thing would be to go through with the interview, keep my options open, make the "practical" choice. Derek would be so proud, I think with a mental eye roll.
But I'm tired of making choices Derek would approve of. Tired of letting fear disguise itself as logic.
Hi Jennifer, I type. Thank you for the opportunity, but I've decided to withdraw my application. I've realized this position isn't the right fit for my current life goals. Best regards, Maya
I hit send before I can second-guess myself, then immediately want to throw up. Did I just turn down a six-figure job to stay in a small town for a man who told me yesterday that my leaving was "inevitable"?
Yes. Yes, I did.
And for the first time in months, that feels like the smartest decision I've made.
Now I just have to figure out how to fix things with Lucas before I lose him for good.
Twenty minutes later, I'm standing at the top of the external stairs outside Lucas's apartment door in my pajamas and Harper's oversized coat, clutching two cups of coffee from the 24-hour gas station like a peace offering.
My hair is in yesterday's messy bun, I'm pretty sure I have mascara smudged under my eyes, and I've never felt more scared in my life.
But I'm done hiding behind screens and carefully crafted messages. Some conversations need to happen face-to-face.
I knock softly, then immediately panic. What if he's gone back to sleep? What if he doesn't want to see me? What if—
The door opens, and Lucas stands there in nothing but low-slung sweatpants, hair dishevelled, looking like every fantasy I've ever had about morning-after Lucas. Except we may not have anymore morning-afters because I'm an idiot who almost threw away the best thing in my life.
"Maya, thank God. I was just about to come find you." His voice is rough with emotion. "I'm sorry about yesterday, I was scared and I handled it terribly. I keep pushing you away when I get scared, and that's not fair to either of us."
The words I'd been rehearsing die in my throat. "You were coming to find me?"
"I brought coffee," I say, holding up the cups, suddenly feeling lighter. "And I have things to say. Important things."
"So do I." He steps aside. "But first, before Mrs. Henderson sees you in your pajamas and calls the whole town to report a scandal, get in here."
I let out a chuckle despite myself.
"Maya," he starts, but I hold up a hand.
"Let me talk first. Before I chicken out." I set down the coffee and turn to face him, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "I turned down the job."
His eyebrows shoot up. "You what?"
"I spent half the night researching Cascade Tech and realized it would be Seattle all over again.
Constant travel, toxic culture, everything I hated about my old life packaged with a bigger salary.
" I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly feeling exposed.
"I don't want that life anymore, Lucas. I want this life. Here. With you."
"Maya—"
"I'm not finished." I start pacing, nervous energy making it impossible to stand still.
"I know I freaked out and got angry yesterday.
I know I made you think I was planning to leave, that I was just looking for an excuse to run.
And honestly? You weren't entirely wrong. I was scared. Terrified, actually."
"Of what?"
"Of this." I gesture between us. "Of how much I love you.
Of how much I want this to work. Of the possibility that I might not be enough to make you happy long-term.
" The words tumble out. "Derek always said I was too much work, too complicated.
Part of me was waiting for you to realize the same thing. "
Lucas sets down his coffee and moves toward me, his expression intense. "Maya—"
"So when the job offer came, I panicked.
Started looking for exit strategies because it felt safer than risking my heart completely.
" I stop pacing and look at him directly.
"But I don't want safe anymore. I want you.
I want us. I want to build something real together, even if it scares the hell out of me. "
"Are you done?" His voice is low, controlled.
"I think so. Unless you want me to grovel more, because I can totally grovel. I'm an excellent groveler when properly motivated."
He laughs, and the sound sends relief flooding through me. "Come here."
I take a tentative step toward him. "Are you still mad at me?"
"I was never mad at you." His hands come up to frame my face, thumbs brushing across my cheekbones. "I was scared too. Scared that you'd realize you were settling, that you'd wake up one day and regret choosing this small-town life."
"Never," I whisper. "Lucas, you're not small-town anything. You're everything."
"So are you," he murmurs, leaning down until his forehead rests against mine. "God, Maya, when you said you might leave, I thought I was going to lose my mind."
"Well, I'm staying. And I'm fighting for us, even when it gets scary."
"Promise me," he says quietly.
"I promise."
And then he's kissing me, soft and sweet and full of all the words we've been too scared to say. When we break apart, I can see the want in his eyes, the same hunger I know he sees reflected in mine.
"I love you," I whisper against his lips.
"I love you too," he replies, and then he's lifting me, carrying me toward his bedroom. "Let me show you how much."
His bed is unmade, sheets twisted from what was probably a sleepless night, and I have about two seconds to take in the masculine chaos before he sets me down and his mouth is on mine again.
This kiss is different from the gentle reconciliation moments before. Hungrier, more desperate, full of relief after almost losing each other.
"I thought I'd lost you," he murmurs against my throat, his hands sliding under Harper's coat to push it off my shoulders.
"Never," I breathe, my fingers finding the waistband of his sweatpants. "You're stuck with me, Mason. Better get used to it."
He laughs, low and rough, then tugs my pajama top over my head. "Planning to drive me crazy in my own bedroom, Bennett?"
"That's the idea," I say, reaching for him, but he catches my hands.
"My turn first." His eyes full of intent. "I need to remind myself that you're real, that you're here. I want to taste you."
He backs me toward the bed, his hands mapping every inch of exposed skin. When the backs of my knees hit the mattress, I fall back with a soft gasp, and he follows me down, covering my body with his.
"God, Maya," he groans against my collarbone. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"
"Show me," I challenge, arching beneath him.
Making quick work of removing my pajama pants and lacy panties, he does just that with his hands, his mouth, his entire focus dedicated to proving that I'm wanted. Cherished. Completely his.
He trails kisses lower, worshiping me with his tongue until I cry out with pleasure.
Every touch burns away the fear and doubt from yesterday, replacing it with certainty and heat and the absolute knowledge that this is where I belong.
When he moves back up to kiss me, I taste my desire on his lips as he positions himself between my thighs.
I welcome him inside me, letting him stretch and fill me completely.
When he moves inside me, both of us breathing hard and desperate, he pauses to look into my eyes.
"You're sure?" he asks quietly. "About staying? About us?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," I pant, pulling him down for another kiss before continuing our frenzied pace.
"Forever," he grinds out, taking my nipple in his mouth before rolling us over so I'm straddling him, the new angle allowing him deeper as we lose ourselves in each other.
"I feel my orgasm building low in my core before it crashes over me and I see stars, coming with an intensity I never knew possible. Lucas follows close behind, gripping my hips as he finds his own release."
Afterward, we lie tangled in his sheets, completely spent. The morning sun streams through his windows, turning everything golden and peaceful in the afterglow.
"We should probably get up," I murmur against his skin, but make no move to actually leave his arms.
"Should we?" His hand traces lazy patterns on my bare shoulder. "I was thinking we could stay right here for the rest of the day. Maybe the rest of the week."
"Mmm, tempting. But the festival committee would probably send a search party." I press a kiss to his sternum.
Lucas groans. "I want to keep you all to myself a bit longer."
"Possessive much?" But I'm smiling as I say it.
"When it comes to you? Absolutely."
I'm about to make some smartass comment about caveman behavior when my phone buzzes. We both freeze, and I feel Lucas tense beneath me.
"It's likely Harper wondering where I disappeared to," I say, reaching for the phone.
But when I check the screen, the blood drains from my face. Unknown number, with a message that makes my hands start to shake:
Lovely photo of you two in the window. Enjoying your little love nest? Don't get too comfortable. -E
Attached is a photo taken from the street below—Lucas and me silhouetted against his bedroom window, clearly intimate, completely unaware we were being watched.
"Lucas," I whisper, showing him the screen.
His expression goes deadly serious as he reads the message. "Son of a bitch!"
The peaceful bubble of our morning together shatters completely. Evan isn't just back—he's been close enough to photograph us. This very morning, no less.
He's clearly not done with us yet.