Page 54 of Sunsets and Happy Ever Afters

CHAPTER 26

Now Maya was home, she had hoped for a midweek get-together with Pierce, but he’d apologised that work had got pretty intense and he was busy. He promised they would catch up at the weekend. With dating Pierce, Maya wondered whether to hide her profile on Find My HEA. She checked into her own account and cleared any messages. She did drop a line to PeterPan26, feeling she needed to catch up. She liked chatting to this anonymous person. He’d become a confidant. She felt she owed it to him to tell him that she might not be on the site to talk much, rather than just suddenly disappearing. Even with her profile hidden, she could still message him. Maya typed:

How was your Easter weekend? Mine ended up being fantastic. Went away for a quiet weekend with the kids, and can you believe I was staying with my daughter’s BFF’s family? How was yours?

It wasn’t long until she got a reply: Great! Spent the weekend in good company too.

Oh, that’s good! Maya wrote. Just to let you know, I may not be on here much. I’m dating a guy I met on here and as we’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now, I feel I should hide my profile. It doesn’t feel right to keep receiving messages from other men. It feels like I’m cheating on him, even though I’m not.

That’s fine, he replied. I understand. And the grass isn’t necessarily greener. I’m here though, if you want to chat. P x

Maya smiled. Thank you. I’ve enjoyed our chats. Happy searching, Peter. W x

Saturday morning arrived and with some trepidation, Maya pulled up outside Sam’s house early, ready for their day out with the children. Her car was loaded with everything Amber would need for a sleepover, too. She couldn’t put her finger on why she felt nervous. She liked Sam and had even missed his company — although it had only been four days since they’d last seen one another. But she was excitedly looking forward to spending this evening with Pierce. He had been quiet all week, apologising that he’d been busy at work. But she’d been busy too, and she’d spent Friday evening packing and making a picnic for today.

Sam’s front door opened, and Chloe, ducking under her father’s arm, ran out to the car first. Amber unbuckled her seatbelt and was out of the car before Maya could say ‘watch the road’. Luckily, it was a cul-de-sac.

Sam gave his familiar smile, his brown eyes warm and caring, and walked down the path towards Maya’s car. He opened the passenger door to talk to her. Leaning in, he said, “If you like, we can go in the one car. I’ll drive.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, it makes sense, rather than taking two. I should have suggested it last night and come and got you.”

“Well, there’s all of Amber’s things here. Shall we take them in then head off?”

With Maya’s car unloaded, Amber’s sleeping things dumped up in Chloe’s room, and Sam’s silver saloon packed for the day, they set off down the motorway. The three children were plugged into phones or tablets, and unaware of their surroundings outside the car. However much Maya hated playing I Spy, it did mean the kids looked out of the window.

“Lewis, if it makes you feel sick, honey, please put the tablet away,” Maya said, turning in her seat to look at him. Lewis was sitting behind Sam, so she had a good view of her son. Chloe was in the middle, and Amber was behind Maya. They’d decided that separating the siblings would mean a more peaceful journey.

During the week, Sam and Maya had agreed on spending the day at Devon Crealy Adventure Park. If the traffic was good, it would only take about an hour to get there. Sam had bought the tickets online and said it was his treat, so Maya had agreed to supply the picnic.

Cocooned together in one car, it felt like they were one family. Sam looked completely at ease with this set up as Maya glanced at him, watching him concentrate on the motorway.

Maya’s thoughts drifted to Pierce. Would he be happy in this situation? Pierce knew Maya had children, but would he eventually accept them as a part of the package? She wanted someone who would get involved with the kids, someone she could be a family with … as she was doing with Sam.

They arrived at the theme park in good time. The sun was shining on them as they stretched their legs. All three children were excited, discussing which ride they wanted to go on first. They were fortunate with the weather: it wasn’t boiling hot, but at least the sun was out, albeit hiding among white cotton wool clouds occasionally. They queued to get through the main gates, Sam producing the tickets he’d bought online.

The children being an odd number meant one of the adults had to go on the rides with Lewis, so that he wasn’t on his own. Fortunately, Sam took this job seriously. Chloe and Amber were inseparable, and Maya was happy to sit it out and watch the belongings while taking photos. They were all able to fit in the log flume — unfortunately — on which Sam insisted Maya joined them all in getting wet. She had come prepared with ponchos and waterproof coats.

Maya was wedged in between Sam’s legs, as he was sitting at the back. Lewis was in front of her, and the two girls were in front of him. The warmth of Sam’s thighs pressed against her own, sending a tingle of pleasure through her — something so innocent but at the same time so intimate. As their log climbed up the flume, it was extremely difficult not to lean into his firm body, before being thrust forward as the flume dropped. The girls screamed, and then the log crashed through the water, spraying it everywhere, and Maya was forced back into Sam’s body. All five of them shook out their arms and assessed the soaked damage, giggling so hard their ribs ached.

Sam managed to climb out of the log flume first and held out his hand to help Maya. She dreaded to think what she looked like — a drowned rat with wet hair flopping.

“That was fun,” she said, ironically.

Sam laughed, rubbing his hand through his hair to remove the excess water. “Shall we queue up again?” He grinned.

They looked at the photos in the booth once they’d exited the ride. They all laughed at them. Chloe pointed out her facial expression, which was similar to Amber’s — both had wide eyes and mouths open; an expression of terror and excitement as the flume had descended and the camera snapped the photo. Maya wasn’t going to suggest they bought the photo. With her own hair flying, and her mouth caught open and screaming, it was not a picture she wished to keep.

“I think it’s time for a coffee,” Sam said, picking up their belongings as he led the way out.

“Can we go again?” the kids asked, jumping excitedly. They were all tall enough to go on the ride without an adult. The queue didn’t look too bad either.

“Go on then, might as well get it over with, and you can dry out during the day. I’ll go grab your mum and me a coffee,” Sam said. “Stick together!”

“Yes, stick together. No fighting, my two!” Maya called after them, but they were already running, ponchos blowing like kites in the wind, towards the end of the queue.

“I reckon we’ve got another twenty minutes of peace,” Sam said. He was still brushing water off and pulling at his jumper to help it dry. Maya was doing the same. “You sit yourself down at that picnic table. I’ll grab us a coffee. Latte?” Sam pointed to a wooden table from which Maya would be able to watch the ride.

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