brother, there isn’t much left you can say to top you’re back home, engaged to a real woman and leaving the DEA to be a small-town sheriff news.”
But her heart pounded anyway. Maya shoved a hand through her hair, wincing when she hit sleep-roughened snarls.
Overcome, she threw the covers back, not realizing until she heard an angry meow that she’d buried the cat in down and silk. She flipped the covers off Dottie and stormed out of her room toward the kitchen. She needed a drink.
“Well, here’s the thing. I’m hoping you’ll come home. Just to visit. I know you have no reason to want to see Dad, or anyone in Black Oak. But I hope you’ll consider it. Pandora’s mom is throwing a party. Some big to-do to celebrate our engagement. I don’t want it. Pandora doesn’t want it, but Cassiopeia is insisting and Dad’s backing her.”
Conflicted over the idea of going home—of seeing her family for the first time in years—Maya paused in the act of squeezing the chocolate syrup into a tall glass of full-fat milk to frown. “Cassiopeia? The psychic?”
Caleb’s sigh was so loud she was surprised it didn’t ruffle her hair through the phone.
“Is your fiancée woo-woo, too?” Maya teased. Then, realizing her glass was now half chocolate to half milk, she quickly uprighted the squeeze bottle and closed the lid. She considered the glass of sugar-overload, then considered this phone call and grabbed a spoon to stir.
“Pandora’s more a student of human nature with woo-woo overtones,” he said. Her glass halfway to her lips, Maya lowered it and sighed as a wave of happiness enveloped her. He sounded so in love. Not gooey, but just really happy and filled with a joy she’d never thought her big, tough brother could feel.
“So, you know, I get it if you don’t want to come back for the party. I don’t blame you and honestly don’t know if I’d come back if the situation was reversed. But I wanted to tell you about it.”
Blinking fast to keep the tears at bay, Maya set her glass back on the counter, untouched. No point ruining fabulously chocolate milk with salt.
“You’d have come back,” she said quietly. “A chance to play big brother, flex those muscles and boss me around a little? You’d have done it in a heartbeat.”
He laughed, but didn’t deny her words. Because for all that Caleb had spent a whole bunch of years lying for a living, he was a painfully honest man.
And he was her big brother. Getting married. Maya grabbed the glass and took a big gulp, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Is Gabriel coming?” she hedged.
“Can’t reach him. You know how it is, he’s probably in the middle of some big scam and flying under the radar.”
Unlike Caleb, who’d taken the complete opposite route as their con-artist father and gone into law enforcement, and Maya, who tried to pretend her father and his criminal habits didn’t exist, Gabriel embraced his heritage. She was pretty sure he was determined to outdo their father’s rep before he was thirty.
“Look, you’re still pissed at Dad,” Caleb said quietly.
Maya winced, wishing like crazy he’d be a typical guy and avoid the tough discussion.
“Actually, I am, too. But if you can’t get past it, I’ll understand. Pandora and I will take a weekend and come up to San Francisco so you can meet. No pressure, you do what you feel’s right.”
With that and a murmured goodbye, he was gone.
And her world was effectively turned upside down.
“SO WHAT D’YA SAY we skip the big parties and spend New Year’s together at my place?” Dave was saying in a continuation of his campaign to take their relationship to the next level. “The two of us, a bottle of wine, a little fun.”
Maya’s smile was stiff enough to hurt her face. She was having major second thoughts about Dave. Sure, he was a nice guy. A perfect fit for her average life. Sure, he didn’t make her heart race or her body melt. But racing and melting probably weren’t average. But was it fair to lead him on if she really wasn’t interested?
Ever since Caleb had called three days ago, she’d felt like this average life was suffocating her. All the more reason not to go home. Who knew what craziness she’d crave once she was exposed to the extravagant personalities that were her family.
“Well?” Dave prompted. “Are you going to be my New Year’s date?”
What did she do? Choose average but boring? Or go back to her lonely life, hiding away in her house and staying away from any real relationship? Before she could decide, her cell phone rang. A little ashamed at how grateful she was to hear the bluesy tone, Maya offered an apologetic smile, then glanced at the readout. Shocked, her hand trembled just a little as she lifted it for a better look.
Lilah Gomez? Her best friend from high school? The lying, cheating slut who’d stolen Maya’s boyfriend?
How had she gotten Maya’s number? What the hell was she doing calling?
And why wasn’t the past staying nicely tucked away like it was supposed to?
She debated ignoring it. She had nothing to say to the woman. Then she recalled Caleb’s news about home. And her innate curiosity flared, making it impossible for her to resist.
“Excuse me,” she murmured to Dave, giving him a smile with enough charm to make him preen. “I have to take this.”
She slid out of the booth, hurrying through the brightly lit restaurant with its loud lunchtime crowd. She waited until she reached the garden enclosure just outside the restaurant before answering. “Hello?”
“Maya! Hi there. It’s me, Lilah. You know, from the good old days?”
“Is that how you remember them?” Maya mused aloud.
Lilah’s giggle was even more irritating than it’d been in the good old days.
“Your dad gave me your number. He’s hoping you’ll come home for the New Year’s Eve engagement party. I hope you do. I mean, can you believe Caleb is getting married? She’s so not worthy of a hottie like your brother. Yowza did he grow up into one delish hunk. And when he finally comes back to town, what does Pandora do? Grabs him up before anyone else gets a shot.”
Anyone else, meaning Lilah.
“Why, exactly, are you calling? You know, after eight years of absolutely no contact?” Maya wasn’t surprised that her father was keeping tabs on her. That was typical. But that he’d share anything with Lilah was a shock.
“I told you, I wanted to see if you were coming back for the engagement party. We have so much to catch up on. I want to hear all about your life, and I know you’re dying to hear about mine,” she said. Then, clearly not wanting Maya to die of curiosity, she started filling her in on the past eight years.
Tuning her out while she tried to figure out the angle Lilah was playing, Maya’s eyes swept the restaurant. Dave was happily texting away, sneaking bites of her slice of chocolate cake.
Her eyes caught on
