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CHAPTER 16
Maya had been surprised to see the text from Sam on Friday evening. She hadn’t known what to reply, and was then so busy messaging Pierce in between catching up with admin for her business, she had totally forgotten to text Sam back. Did she want to have a day out with him, the five of them? It would mean Lewis wouldn’t get left out. It wasn’t as if Sam was bad company. Would Pierce be okay with it?
Pierce and Maya had been out together a few times, and they texted regularly-ish. He would go quiet at times, but she assumed he was busy at work. She didn’t like to keep constantly texting him, so she’d usually wait for him to message before replying. She didn’t want to scare him off by appearing needy. It was too early to say if she was his girlfriend, but they were certainly intimate with one another — and exclusive.
Sam was just a friend, the father of her daughter’s best friend. Pierce would understand. Carefully wording her text, so it couldn’t be misconstrued, she replied:
Hi Sam, apologies for the late reply. It would be lovely to go out for the day. Sounds like a great plan.
The kids were off school for the Easter holidays, so today Emma had come over so the four children could play and she and Maya could have their usual Monday catch-up. Emma had brought lemon drizzle cake, while Maya had baked white chocolate and cranberry cookies for the kids.
She always scaled down her workload during the holidays, as it wasn’t fair to expect her parents to babysit all the time. She usually booked Amber and Lewis into kids’ clubs for a couple of days and fitted clients in for then. But the amount she earned on these days usually only covered the cost of the childcare, and proved not very profitable for Maya. She’d rather not work at all during the school holidays and enjoy the quality time with her children.
The day was sunny, although chillier than it had been over the weekend, which meant the four children could play outside on their bikes and scooters in the close where Maya lived. She kept the front door open, so she and Emma could keep a beady eye on them. A couple of the neighbours’ kids had joined them, by the sound of it. Somehow, the conversation turned to Sam when Maya let slip about going out with him for the day. Emma raised her eyebrows inquiringly.
“It’s not like that. We’re friends — just like you and I.”
“I bet you find him hotter than me,” Emma said with a wink.
Maya shook her head. “Honestly, the day trip is for Amber and Chloe.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
Wanting to change the subject, Maya filled Emma in on how things were going with Pierce. She decided not to mention any doubts she felt. She was probably just worried because it was all new and she’d forgotten how dating a new man felt.
“Check you out, with two men on the go!” Emma exclaimed.
“You’re so not helping me.” Maya sipped her coffee, giving Emma a stern look. She was feeling a niggle of guilt that she would be spending a day with Sam — and wondered if Pierce would have a problem with it. But it was hardly a date with three children surrounding them. “Pierce has asked me out on Wednesday evening. Any chance you could babysit?”
“Of course I’ll babysit. I promised you I would, otherwise you’ll never meet anyone,” Emma said, grinning from ear to ear. The deal was Maya had to share every minute detail about her dates. “But you know, all I’m saying is it’s good to have a back-up, so don’t rule out Sam.”
“He’s just a friend. And I really, really like Pierce. Besides, imagine how awkward it would be, dating the dad of Amber’s best friend. What if it went wrong?”
“I know. I’m teasing. Honestly, I’m so happy for you, Maya. Let’s hope it works out.”
“Thanks, honey. It’s early days yet.”
Pierce’s texting had been sporadic for most of the day — probably due to his work being hectic. Later that evening, once the children were worn out and in bed, Maya texted him to confirm she had a babysitter for Wednesday evening. She smiled when he responded quickly, saying he couldn’t wait. Knowing his sense of humour, and how they liked to joke, Maya decided to reply with something cheeky.
Fancy a threesome with an Italian?
Her phone pinged back almost immediately: Yes! Would love a threesome :D
Great! I’ll book Bottelino’s for 7.30pm Wednesday! She followed up with a winky smiley face.
Oh, that kind of Italian! Sounds great, Pierce replied.
Maya giggled. She was about to put her phone on charge and go to bed when she spotted a chat bubble from PeterPan26, showing she had an unread message:
Hey, W, just checking how things are. Hope you’re okay? P
Things were good. But did she tell PeterPan26 why? Now she was dating Pierce, she didn’t feel the need to chat to Peter like she used to. But she still didn’t want to completely ignore him, so she decided to reply tomorrow, fearing she’d get caught in a messaging marathon and never get to sleep.
