Chapter 15 Dinner with Maya
Chapter 15 Dinner with Maya
Nora Lane’s POV
I opened my eyes slowly and remembered last night and how hot it was. Daniel kissed so hot yesterday as his hands ran all over my body and how he pinched my already hard nipples. I shivered at the thought of it. He was going to take me to his bedroom if not for Pickles who had come running and barking towards us. We had to stop because he wouldn't stop barking at us.
I thought of how big his dick was when my legs were wrapped behind him and how it would be so big inside me when he fucks me.
Then my phone buzzed as I groaned lazily not wanting to wake up from my fantasy.
My phone has been buzzing for days.
I’ve been pretending it isn’t.
I groaned again as I dragged myself from bed.
My phone lights up again while I’m standing by the kitchen sink, rinsing a mug I already washed twice. Maya flashes across the screen like a warning label.
I stare at it until it stops.
Then it buzzes again.
I sigh and answer. “Hi.”
“Oh, now you answer?” Maya snaps. “Wow. I was starting to think you got kidnapped by a billionaire or joined a cult.”
“I’ve just been busy.”
“Busy not returning calls for a week?”
“I needed space.”
“From me?”
I wince. “From everything.”
There’s a pause on the line. I can almost see her pinching the bridge of her nose. “You don’t get to disappear like that, Nora. Not after everything that happened.”
“I know,” I say softly. “I’m sorry.”
Another pause. Then, quieter, “Are you okay?”
That question cracks something open in my chest. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But I’m not in danger. Promise.”
She exhales. “Good. Because if you were, I’d already be in my car.”
I smile slowly. “Come over for dinner.”
“You cooking?”
“No,” I say quickly. “Daniel is. I'll send the address.”
“Even better. I’ll be there in thirty.”
Maya arrives with wine and an expression that says she’s already taken inventory of the house, the driveway, and the new security man opening the door for her.
Daniel is polite, reserved, almost painfully careful. He shakes her hand, thanks her for coming. As Maya just looks at him like he was an alien or something. Pickles suddenly comes out running towards Maya as she grinned with happiness.
“Pickles….” She called out as she hugs him and plants kisses all over him. Pickles barks as he wags his tail happily. “I missed you.”
Dinner is surprisingly normal. Conversations around work, gossip, the weather. Daniel listens more than he talks. When he does speak, it’s measured, thoughtful. I watch Maya watching him, curiously and closely.
After dessert, Daniel excuses himself to take a call. Maya and I clear the dishes together and head to the kitchen.
“So,” she says casually, stacking plates. “Are you two a thing now?”
I nearly dropped a fork. “What?”
“Don’t what me,” she says. “You live together. You look at him like he's the only one that matters to you.He looks at you like he’s afraid of breaking something between you guys.”
I rinse a plate too aggressively. “I don’t know.”
She raises a brow. “That wasn’t a no.”
“It’s complicated,” I say. “He’s going through a lot. I just… want to help.”
Maya turns to face me fully, drying her hands. “Nora.”
I meet her gaze. The kitchen light makes her eyes soft but serious–the look she gets when she’s about to say something that matters.
“You can help someone without attaching your heart to them,” she says gently. “Especially someone who isn’t ready to hold it.”
I swallow. “I know.”
“Do you?”
I don’t answer right away. The silence does it for me.
She steps closer. “I’m not saying he’s a bad guy. I actually kind of like him. But I see the signs. He’s drowning, and you’re the kind of person who jumps into deep water without checking how cold it is.”
“I can handle it.”
“That’s what you said last time.”
The words land softly but they still hurt.
She continues, quieter now. “I don’t want you losing yourself again. You remember how long it took to put the pieces of yourself back together.”
I nod, my throat tight. “I do.”
“I just want you happy,” she says. “Not patient. Not understanding. Happy.”
I lean against the counter, feeling the weight of it. “What if helping him makes me happy?”
She studies me for a long moment. Then she sighs. “Then I hope he learns how to meet you halfway.”
From the hallway, we heard Daniel’s voice– and hushed. He's probably dealing with the press or board management. Maya glances toward the sound, then back at me. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“That you won’t stay if it starts costing you to lose yourself.”
I nod slowly. “I promise.”
She pulls me into a hug, tight and grounding. “Good. Because I’m not rescuing you from another emotionally unavailable man.”
I laugh softly against her shoulder. “Fair.”
When we pull apart, Daniel steps back into the kitchen. His eyes flicked between us, unsure.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yes,” Maya says smoothly. “I'm here just reminding Nora that she’s loved.”
His gaze shifts to me, something unreadable passing through it. “She is.”
The word hangs there–simple and sincere.
Maya smiles, satisfied. “I’ll see myself out then.”
At the door, she squeezes my hand one last time. “Call me. And don’t disappear again.”
“I won’t,” I promise as she hugs me quickly before heading out.
After she leaves, the house settles back into quiet.
Daniel stands there, hands in his pockets. “She cares about you.”
“She always has.”
He hesitates. “She’s right, you know.”
“About what?”
“Not getting pulled into something that might hurt you.”
I look at him. “That depends on whether you plan to push me away again.”
He doesn’t answer.
But he doesn’t walk away either.
And for now, that feels like enough.