Second Chances (3 page)

“I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate it.”

Arthur smirked.

“You don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Who told you such a thing?”

The glance he ran over her casual clothing, worn jeans and simple pullover, gave her a furious impulse to slap him.

“Colin.”

Maya took another mental note, this one to kill Colin. Tristan entered the restaurant and the red-haired waitress indicated their table.

“Well, Colin was mistaken.”

She walked swiftly toward her cousin with a brilliant smile, and wrapped her arms around his waist, tiptoeing to murmur in his ear “Please, play along…” before she pressed her mouth to his. Tristan returned her embrace for a few seconds, before he released her. Arthur stood in turn and approached them, extending one hand.

“Hi, Tristan, nice to see you again. How’s Ines?”

Busted. Maya felt the grip on her waist harden. Not only did Arthur remember Tristan, but he knew about his misfortune too. His comment was such a low blow…She wanted to snarl. However, Tristan reacted like the gentleman he was, shaking the offered hand. A certain someone should take lessons.

“Not around anymore, as you can see. Will you share lunch with us?”

“Maybe some other time. Maya, please give me a call later, will you? We need to work out the arrangement for Matthew. Tristan…”

Maya noticed her red scarf was carefully folded on her chair. But when she looked up to thank him, Arthur was already gone.

Chapter 4

Tristan sipped his drink and smiled at Maya who was playing with her fork.

“So the big show was just your ego getting in the way, huh?”

She blushed.

“Sorry about that…”

“I’m not complaining.”

Maya smiled at her cousin. Tristan was the vivid image of the romantic poet. Tall and serene, he wore his black hair shoulder-length and looked at the world with dark brown eyes. He was a fine musician and had a knack for mathematics. His easy smile revealed both a nice sense of humor, and an even softer heart, whose only fault had been to fall irrepressibly in love with a woman who had betrayed him, and loved her still.

“Apparently, dear Arthur didn’t buy your story.”

Arthur and Tristan had never got along well, the contest going way back to childhood when a stronger Arthur used to bully the slenderer boy her cousin was when he was younger. She sighed.

“I guess not.”

“Are you going to accept his offer?”

What she liked most about Tristan was this talent he had to push emotions aside when he needed to analyse things. A talent he failed to apply to Ines, unfortunately.

“Would you?”

“Would I play Arthur’s lover to save an eight-year-old boy? As long as he doesn’t put his tongue down my throat, anytime.”

She laughed and poked at his arm.

“Thanks! Now I’m going to have nightmares about the two of you snogging.”

Tristan rolled his eyes at the image, grinning. Then his handsome face became serious again.

“Maya, we need to discover what financial handling Robert noticed that decided him to freeze the Foundation’s account.”

She opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her.

“I know you still care for your godfather, but you have to accept Robert is only interested in power and money. If he saw a chance to increase his power because something is odd in the books, then there is a good chance he’s right. We have to find out what that is.”

Maya nodded. Tristan was right. They had to uncover what was wrong with the finances of the Foundation, before Robert found a way to close it for good. They changed the subject for the rest of the meal.

Tristan didn’t mention his former girlfriend once, and that was such an improvement—along with the renewed teasing and good humor—that Maya didn’t dare ask how he was feeling. They talked about the upcoming holiday, Christmas lists and common friends, future concerts they hoped to attend, or simply enjoyed each other’s company in comfortable silence.

***

Tristan stopped his car in front of the hospital.

“Are we still walking the Christmas Market next weekend?”

She smiled happily. “Definitely!”

“Excellent.”

Maya quickly hugged him and hurried toward the building, fighting the biting wind. She avoided going back to the administrative area and walked straight to the playroom the kids used by day hoping to find Matthew there. Reporting her conversation with Robert to Moira would wait; in addition, she had no desire to explain Arthur’s bargain. Her sister would probably fret or worse, try to dissuade her from accepting. Not that she had completely made up her mind yet…

The little boy was in a corner sitting on the floor and was playing with a stuffed animal; a horse she guessed, or it could also be a strange-looking camel. Her heart squeezed at the quiet image he made. The other kids welcomed her loudly with enthusiastic greetings and tons of hugs and kisses.

Maya admired each doll and countless toy cars, praised the shaky LEGO constructions and marvelled at several modern art sketches that would have made Picasso jealous. Matthew looked up at the turmoil and briefly smiled at her before returning his attention to his toy.

Finally, Maya managed to extract herself from her entourage and went to kneel near him.

“Hello Matthew, are you feeling okay today?”

The little boy vaguely bobbed his head. Questions he could answer with a nod or shake were better so he didn’t have to speak. Maya caressed the stuffed animal.

“This is a beautiful horse you’ve got. Do you think I can guess his name?”

Matthew shook his head; his mischievous smile warmed her slightly.

“Let’s see. You called him…Flicka.”

A shake of the head. Apparently not...Maya frowned as if in concentration.

“Black. Like in the horse in the Black Stallion story.”

Another silent “no”. The animal was a vivid brown with a flaming mane, after all.

“Hum…You like making things difficult. Is his name Flame?”

Matthew grinned broadly and nodded vigorously.

“It’s a beautiful name. You like horses, don’t you?”

The little boy was making the animal jump on her knees. He nodded again. Maya moved to lean on the wall beside him.

“We have something special here; it’s a Make-a-Wish list. Children make a wish, and if they behave really well, obey the doctors and all, sometimes the wish is granted. Do you want to make a wish too? Of course you’ll have to be very very good…”

“Hor…”

The half-mouthed syllable turned into a cough. The young woman waited patiently for the boy to get his breath back, not touching him when all she wanted was to take him in her arms and hug him tight.

After a few excruciating minutes, Matthew plunged brilliant eyes into her own aquamarine ones and gestured at the horse, pushing the animal into her grasp. Maya swallowed, hoping her voice would sound as normal as possible. It broke her heart, to see the little boy fighting for every breath like he did.

“You have a wish about horses?”

Matthew nodded again. She slipped one arm around the frail shoulders gently.

“So this is the deal. You will do your best to get well, and I’ll take you to a stud farm. You’ll see horses, you’ll learn how to tend to them, and we’ll go on a long ride together. What do you think?”

The kid sighed quietly, and cuddled against her, eyes closed. Maya kissed his head before enfolding him in her arms completely. If entering Arthur’s games meant saving Matthew, it was absolutely worth it. And if she sold her soul to the devil in doing so, then so be it.

***

The door of her apartment thankfully closed behind her, protecting her from the icy wind and the already fallen darkness. It took her less than a minute to take off her coat and light some lamps to create a cheerful glow in the room.

Glancing around, she spotted the box with her Christmas decorations. Maybe she would put some up tonight. Christmas was her favorite time of the year, with all the joy and goodwill sparkling in even the most sombre places. Even Moira’s very special and horribly out-of-tune interpretation (execution was Tristan’s definition) of Christmas carols couldn’t spoil her fun. She just loved Christmas.

She had yet to buy a Christmas tree. Her friends and family always tried to convince her to buy an artificial one, but she preferred the real thing. Maya didn’t care about the inconvenience of buying a new one every year, or the trouble of bringing it to her place. She didn’t even mind the constant need to vacuum fallen needles. A real tree was better. It smelled different, it had charm, and especially it was not perfectly formed.

In fact, she made a point every year of finding the ugliest tree she could find and she covered it with all the decorations she had. The poor thing usually turned out to be even more pitiful afterwards, and she totally adored it.

Smiling at the thought, Maya sat to look into the box that contained her Christmas decorations. Most came from her parents. Moira had handed them over gladly, saying that they brought back too many memories which Maya didn’t have because she had been very young when their parents had died. Maya suspected her sister just wanted some excuse to buy new ones, instead of using the kaleidoscopic balls and old tinsel.

The young woman took one tinsel garland out of the box and sighed. The first duty for Christmas decorating was untangling the garlands…

Chapter 5

“Hold on a sec!”

The bell rang again and Maya hurried to the door; the Christmas lights she was trying to untangle clung to her jersey.

Her smile faded under Arthur’s stare and crooked eyebrow.

“Do I want to know why you’ve got glitter all over you?”

“Good evening to you, too. Please close the door; it’s cold outside.”

Without acknowledging him any further, Maya returned to her previous position in front of the sofa, twisting the free ends of her ornament to untie it. Arthur took off his coat and glanced around with undisguised curiosity.

So this was where she lived. He had expected her to share a flat with Moira, but apparently that was not the case. Save for the Christmas decorations, which had invaded the room, the place was relatively tidy and neat; and small. He would never be able to live with so little space around, especially after growing up at the Manor. Maya’s flat was located in a peaceful neighborhood and looked snug, but being inside he felt trapped. Who could bear to stay in an apartment where only ten steps or so were required to reach the next room?

Arthur looked for a seat. Every flat surface seemed occupied by garlands, some gleaming ornament, or aggressively colored stockings. He picked up one figurine and Maya squealed.

“Be careful!”

Putting down the collectible, he shrugged his shoulders and resigned to stay on his feet.

“You left a message?”

Maya temporarily glanced up.

“Yes; yes I did.”

She returned her attention to her work. Arthur repressed a grunt. She was going to make this difficult. He glared at the loose bun on her neck and her thick-framed glasses. Her jeans let guessed long toned legs but her baggy pullover ran well past her hips and hid her body unattractively. This was a bad idea. It was not going to work. He liked his women stylish and ladylike, not covered in torn old clothes and crouched on the floor.

He internally cursed Colin. His friend should have talked him out of it, instead of approving of the ridiculous plan. “She’s not one of your usual bimbos, so people will wonder if it’s serious this time. And with Maya, you don’t risk her confusing fake feelings with real interest. She knows you.” Of course, Colin didn’t know all of it.

As for knowing him, yes, she knew him well. They had grown up together, after all. As children they had bantered all the time before they definitely fell apart during their teens. They had stopped paying attention to each other then. Arthur was the popular guy, captain of his sports team, dating cheerleaders one after another, and Maya walked the opposite path: science club, charities, et cetera. He tried to remember if she had ever brought a boyfriend home. Probably not; his father would have had a stroke. His reaction now would be something else altogether.

“I’ll do it, but I have conditions.”

He reported his attention to the floor.

“I’m listening.”

Maya finally consented to lever herself to the sofa.

“First, we are not going public until I’m sure Matthew’s operation is paid for.”

“You will sign a receipt for the check and hand me over guardianship.”

She frowned.

“What do you mean guardianship?”

“No decision is to be taken about the treatment without my approval.”

“But…”

Arthur dismissed her demur.

“P&A is underwriting the loan, so I want to make sure the money is well spent.”

Maya gritted her teeth. He was regarding the child as an investment, just like his father would.

“Fine.”

The smirk on his face was insufferable.

“Anything else?”

The mocking tone annoyed her, and Maya stood to face him. She was not a petite woman, but he towered over her by a couple of inches. She refused to let the difference in height impress her, and glared.

“How long is this…pretence supposed to last?”

“As long as is necessary. I want my father off my back.”

The reply astonished her. She had yet to question his motivations. Arthur’s mention of his father hinted there was more to his plot than just scaring some girl away. Maya asked: “What? Why?”

He seemed to relax for a second when he sighed, his shoulders moving down a little; then he stiffened again.

“Arranged marriage is not in my upcoming plans.”

She grinned and a small laugh escaped her.

“You have to admit, Arthur, your father trying to marry you off is funny.”

“I fail to see how this is amusing.”

The flat tone sobered her at once.

“Obviously.”

Maya stepped back, arms crossed over her chest.

“Kissing stays chaste. No unnecessary flirting or touching.”

The young man sneered.