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Reaching Tony and Maya's place, I head inside.
To my surprise, Maya is home today, and her stomach bumps into me when she hugs me in greeting.
"You took a day off from university?" I ask, surprised. "You're not feeling sick, are you?"
"No, no." Maya smiles. "We have the week off. I have a case to present, so I'm working from home. Tony and Riya are in the kitchen. He's teaching her how to bake a cake."
I set my bag on the floor, rolling my eyes. "He does get that she's three, right? The fact that she can form full sentences is no small feat."
Maya snickers. "He's been telling her that she should run for president. Teaching her politics. Half the stuff flies over her head, but you should see how cute she looks trying to understand it all."
"Don't laugh," I warn her. "When you pop, he's going to be so much worse."
Maya sighs heavily. "Twins. Can you imagine? I'm going to go crazy."
I laugh. "I'll help as much as I can."
"Oh, you bet your ass you will." Maya grins.
Her smile fades as we reach the kitchen door, and she lowers her voice. "Hey, has Tony said anything to you?"
"About what?" I ask, taken aback by her shift in attitude.
Maya looks concerned. "I don't know. He's just been acting really strange these days. He's getting phone calls and he's stepping out of the room to take them. I'm just worried."
I stare at her. "You're not thinking… He's not… I mean, he loves you!"
It takes Maya two seconds to grasp my line of thought, and she looks horrified. "Absolutely not! I would never think that. I just feel it's something else. He always shares everything with me, and it's just bothering me."
"Have you tried talking to him?" I ask.
"I did," Maya admits, "but he looks really unhappy when I broach the topic, and I don't want to add to his stress."
"It could be work-related, and perhaps he just doesn't want to stress you out in the condition that you are in." I pat her arm. "I'm sure it's nothing. But if you want, I can try and talk to him."
Maya hesitates and then shakes her head. "No. I'll give him some time. Come on. Let's go see the disaster inside."
There's not a lot of mess, but I can sense the tension in Tony's jaw as he gives me a strained smile.
"Everything okay?" I ask him, scooping Riya up in my arms and smothering her flour-covered face with kisses.
"Yeah, how's work going?"
I shrug, setting my daughter on the floor. "Go wash up. We're leaving in five minutes."
Once she rushes away, I look at Tony. "We have a new CEO coming tomorrow. I'm a little skeptical about how that's going to go."
"It'll be fine." He looks away from me. "I'll have a few days off this week, so if you want me to pick up and drop Riya, let me know. She can even sleep over."
I blink.
I don't have a problem with Riya sleeping over at Maya and Tony's, but for some reason, his words seem to have a double meaning.
"Sure," I murmur. "I'll let you know."
Riya comes back just then, and I bundle her up and we begin the journey home. However, throughout dinner and her bathtime, Ifeel a little distracted. Tony's offer is itching in the back of my brain. Pair that with how Maya told me he was acting strange, something is definitely up.
I put Riya to bed and pick up one of the books I've been reading.
