Chapter Nine
Derek
It was the best weekend of my bloody life.
I feel closer to Maya than I ever have with anyone, and I’m not ready to go back to real life and let everything else interfere with our perfect little bubble.
“What are you thinking?” she asks as she glides her fingers up and down my naked torso. We woke an hour ago, and I couldn’t resist taking her again. She offered to make breakfast, and I’ve discovered that I enjoy seeing Maya cooking in my kitchen, but I wanted to lie here with her for a while first.
“That I’m not ready to share you with the world again.”
“Well, I’d say we should take the day off—since you’re the boss and everything—but we have work to do.”
I smirk at that and kiss her forehead. “What do you want out of life, Maya?”
She looks up at me in surprise and frowns. “What do you mean?”
“What do you want ? Not just today or this year, but long term.”
She swallows hard and sits up. “I think I’ll go ahead and start breakfast. Hey—”
She yelps as I tug her back onto the bed and cover her with my body, pinning her there.
“Answer my question. Please.”
She licks her lips, those amazing blue-gray eyes watching me. “I don’t want to.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll probably send you running for the hills, and I kind of like this.”
I kiss her lips, the touch soft and slow. “I’m not going anywhere. I live here, remember?”
“You know what I mean.” She sighs and traces her finger over my collarbone, not meeting my eyes. “Okay, well, I didn’t know what I wanted. For a long time, I thought I was lost. But I had a conversation with Stella not long ago that brought some things into focus for me.”
“Go on,” I urge when she pauses.
“Well, I like to work, and that’s fine for now.”
“Okay.”
“But”—she finally looks up, meeting my gaze, and there’s so much vulnerability there it takes my breath away—“really, in the grand scheme of things, I want to have a family.”
My stomach clenches at her admission, and I wait as she continues.
“I like taking care of people. I love the idea of raising babies, caring for a home and a husband, and helping out at school. I like to cook. I don’t hate to clean, but if I had help with that, I wouldn’t complain.”
I never had that growing up. My mum was so distant and preoccupied with her work and my father that I didn’t have a doting parent. I realize that if I were to have a family, I’d want that for them.
And the only person I can see filling that role is the one currently in my bed.
“You’re quiet. See, I told you it would make you uncomfortable.”
“Not at all.” I clear my throat. “I think it’s admirable that you know yourself well enough to understand that you want a family.”
“You don’t think it screams 1950?”
“No, I think it screams lovely.” I chuckle and kiss her nose and then roll away from her before I do something stupid like ask her to marry me right here and now.
I’ll have to wait a while for that.
“ Now , can we have breakfast?” she asks with a laugh. “I’m starving. I’m making pancakes.”
“I will never turn down pancakes.”
She hops from the bed, finding one of my button-down shirts to wrap around her. That’s been her uniform all weekend, and it’s sexy as fuck on her.
Maya shimmies into some panties, then pads out of the bedroom.
While she cooks, I take my time in the shower. I need a minute to get my head on straight. This weekend was better than I’d hoped. She fits here. I want her here all the time, not just on the weekends.
Buggering hell, I’m gone over her.
When I come out of the bathroom, I can smell the pancakes and bacon cooking downstairs, so I dress and pad down there. I stop cold when I reach the kitchen, my hand flying to my chest to cover the instant ache there.
She’s dancing.
A Taylor Swift song plays from her phone, and Maya’s hips move as she sings along, using the spatula as a microphone. That’s it.
I’m completely in love with this woman.
“You’re fired.”
That has her twirling in surprise. When she sees the scowl on my face, her eyes widen.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“You’re not coming into work today or any other day. You’re done.”
She turns off the burner and music, then sets the spatula aside before propping her hands on her hips and scowling at me. “What in the world did I do to get fired in the past fifteen minutes?”
“I can’t work with you anymore.”
“You’re being so… you. Why? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t work with the woman I’ve fallen in love with. It’s a conflict of interest. It’s too fucking distracting. If I’m going to get a bloody thing done in that office, I can’t have you there.”
Her hands fall off her hips, and she just blinks at me.
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me.” I cross to her and wrap my arms around the small of her back as she tips her head up so she can see me. “You’re fired.”
“No, the other part.”
I drag my fingers down her soft cheek. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Maya Sterling.”
“You have?” It’s a whisper.
“Yes.”
She swallows hard, takes a deep breath, and frowns up at me as if searching my eyes for the answer to a question she hasn’t asked. Finally, her face clears. “You mean that.”
“I bloody well do, yes. And if you don’t feel the same—”
She jumps up, wraps her arms and legs around me, and kisses me with everything she has. Her fingers dive into my hair, and I walk her to the counter, where I sit her arse down and happily plunder her mouth.
When we come up for air, she brushes a lock of my hair off my forehead.
“I love you, too.”
I tip my head to hers. “Thank Christ.”
Maya laughs and then scowls.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sitting in eggs,” she says, and I can’t help but laugh. That makes her grin. “ Broken eggs.”
“Come on, then.” I lift her again and head for the stairs. “Let’s clean you up.”
“What about breakfast?”
“It’ll keep.”