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They still hadn’t discussed the revelation of the lie in any detail; she’d had to hotfoot it to her class after their snogging session on the terrace.

“By the way,” Sam said. “I caught Brodie today, and apologized for being a dick at the race night.”

Maya flashed him a soft look. “Thank you. What did he say?”

Sam smiled. “He was very gracious.”

Once they arrived at the Tavern, Sam grabbed his waterproof sheet and they made their way into the woods, past the nook, and out into snow to reach their spot. Maya liked that she thought of it as “theirs,” as did he, even though they’d only been there together once before.

They spread out the sheet and sat on it, opening Maya’s large, thick blanket to snuggle underneath. Sam put his arm around her shoulders to tuck her in to his side as they did some star spotting.

“Which one’s that?” Maya asked. “Ursa Major?”

He grinned. “I have no idea.”

Maya chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Come on, Leonard. You need to up your game on the first date.”

Immediately she regretted calling it a date, when she’d not long had a word with herself about not rushing him.

Lifting a hand, he turned her face toward him, his fingers lingering on her cheek. “Is that what this is? Our first date?”

She swallowed, wishing she could reach out and grab the words in order to stuff them back into her mouth. “Not if you don’t want it to be. It’s too soon for you.”

“Too soon?” He raised his eyebrows. “I’ve been waiting eight years for a first date with you.”

Warm, delicious sensations flooded her as he drew her closer.

“I’m sorry that you thought I was an evil bastard who led you on, then fobbed you off.” He grimaced. “And then went off with your friend. I hate thinking about it.”

“Then don’t.” She brushed her lips against his. “It doesn’t matter right now. And for the record, I’m sorry too. That you thought I’d rejected you.” Grasping the front of his jacket, she met his eyes. “You know now that I’d never think you weren’t good enough, right?”

Sam nodded. “I do. I should’ve known, back then too. But I already felt so insecure about us.” He squeezed his eyes as if in discomfort. “Stupidly, I asked Cat about you when I got to the pub and told her what you’d said on the phone. Now I realize she used that against me.”

A hot spear of anger pierced Maya’s gut, and all she could manage was a grunt.

Sam glanced down. “I can’t believe she took me in. Well, maybe I can. I just can’t believe how much my own insecurities fueled it.”

Maya kissed his cheek. “It’s not your fault. It’s hers.”

“You sound like Liv.” He sighed. “My instinct had been to call you before you left for uni. But Cat told me you’d specifically asked me not to, and I didn’t want to come across like some crazed stalker.”

What an evil mastermind she was. Or, is.

Flashing her a soft smile, he touched the charms on her bracelet. “It was my idea to get you the moon charm, after you told me you liked it.” He swallowed. “You liked that other one too. The star.”

Smiling, she was flooded with warmth that he’d remembered. “I knew it was your idea.”

Rubbing his face, he flashed her a weak smile. “I wish I’d told you then. How I felt, I mean. On your birthday. Then none of this would’ve happened.” He sighed. “But I hadn’t quite plucked up the courage. I was too insecure, and worried about what your dad might think. I suppose giving you the charm was my way of conveying my feelings without actually saying it. But the message was probably diluted with it being a group gift.”

Shaking her head, she leaned over to kiss his cheek, enjoying the brush of his beard against her lips. “The message was lovely. I knew it was something significant.” Glancing down, she stroked the little moon. “I just lost sight of that message in all the hurt.”

Sam put his arms around her and drew her in, kissing her with an intensity that made her heart burst into life and her entire body come alive.

He leaned them both back to lie under the blanket as they looked at the stars. “I promise that I’d never hurt you.”

“I promise that I’d never reject you.” She snuggled into his chest, listening to the rise and fall of his breathing, and she could sense how much her saying that meant to him.

The significance of his reaction to what had happened between them, in the context of the rejection he’d received at the hands of his father, wasn’t lost on her. She wanted to kick Catriona’s arse for taking advantage of his vulnerability. Maya’s anger and protective instinct toward him made her own suffering at Cat’s hands pale into insignificance.