brother’s first kiss. “I knew the two of you would like each other once you gave it a chance.” She held up a finger in the air. “And, look, it finally happened.” She flashed a satisfied grin and then dug into her food.
“You were right. He does have a heart.”
She lifted a piece of gnocchi into her mouth and chewed for a few seconds. When she finished, her eyes moistened. “Most people don’t see that side of him, but, honestly, Maya, he’s changed since you started working for him. I’ve never seen him this…” She paused as if looking for the right word.
“This…what?”
She paused some more and then leaned her elbows on the table. “Introspective.”
My head jerked back a little because that wasn’t the word I’d been hoping for. “Happy” would have been better or even “lighter.” Introspective could mean anything. Then again, I wanted the truth, and Charlotte knew her brother more than anyone.
“You’re looking at me like I just popped your bubble,” she said with a laugh. “Introspective is good. It means he’s examining his feelings, and he never did that before.”
“I don’t want to rush ahead. He kissed me one time, but I’m sure he’s kissed many women in his lifetime.”
“Yes, but…” She glanced away, her voice breaking, and when she turned back, there were tears in her eyes. “This is you, Maya. We’re going to be sisters. I just know it.” She said the last part in an excited tone, and my heart did a little jolt.
It would be amazing if I could legally call her my sister, but we were taking this way too far. This was exactly why I was afraid to have this discussion with her. Charlotte would have Easton and me married with children before we finished dinner, and I couldn’t let myself count my chickens before they hatched.
“Stop. Just stop right there. We’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
Charlotte leaned in again, her eyes sparkling. “But Maya, he took you on his jet. Don’t you know what that means?” A beat passed as she held eye contact with me. “He’s in love with you.”
Chapter 21
Maya
Easton didn’t contact me on Sunday, but I was grateful for a day to collect my thoughts without any distractions. I went to church and spent some time in prayer once I got home. I did a few chores and listened to an audio book to keep my mind from lingering on any of the worries that came to mind regarding a potential relationship with Easton. So many things were up in the air, but the Lord was in charge, and He would guide me in the right direction.
When Monday rolled around, my stomach did flip-flops in anticipation of seeing him again. Would he want to go out for dinner again? Or would he distance himself since we’d already spent a lot of time together? It would be perfectly reasonable if he backed off, considering we hadn’t had much of a break. Still, that didn’t mean I wanted him to back off.
My hormones were all over the place and even though I knew it was sensible to put some space between us, I wanted to run full speed ahead and see him as much as I could. This was why people in love acted like they were on drugs. The dopamine rush was overpowering at times.
I stopped myself, frustrated that once again, the word, “love” had gone through my mind. I was NOT in love. He was an amazing man, and I liked him a lot. End of story.
“Good morning,” Deanna said, as I walked down the hallway in the direction of my office. She was standing at the doorway to her office with a cup of coffee in her hand. “How was your weekend?”
I stopped and greeted her, a smile on my face, the one I hadn’t been able to wipe off since I’d woken up this morning. “It was great. How was it for you?”
“Boring.” She frowned and then took a sip of coffee. “I just watched TV and cleaned my apartment. Exciting, right?” She grimaced and met my gaze. “What did you do?”
I hesitated for a moment, but the smile didn’t leave my face. “The same.” And it was true. I’d done chores and watched a lot of television on Sunday afternoon.
“Well, you must love mundane things because you’re looking extremely perky this morning.”
I laughed it off and waved, heading to the break room to put my lunch in the refrigerator. After doing that, I went