Page 77 of Sunsets and Happy Ever Afters

CHAPTER 35

On the dot of seven-thirty, Sam rang Maya’s doorbell, his heart beating erratically. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, holding his hands behind his back. He had ironed his favourite Ralph Lauren casual shirt and tucked it into his dark blue jeans, then untucked it, unsure what looked better. He was freshly shaved and had splashed on aftershave too. He hadn’t been on a date in years. Yet he knew Maya. He’d spent time with her. Why should tonight be any different than the evening they’d shared in Cornwall?

Maya opened the door. Sam looked up and his breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a fitted, pastel blue, floral dress and sparkly heels that accentuated her slender legs, and she held a cream cardigan in her hand.

“Will I do?” she asked, swishing her golden hair back off her shoulders.

“More than do.” Should he kiss her now or would that be too weird? This was a first date. “You look stunning.”

Her gaze didn’t meet his, and she gave a nervous laugh, brushing off the compliment.

He walked her to his car and opened the passenger door for her. As he walked around to the driver’s side of the car, he breathed in deeply through his nose and let the breath out through his mouth, trying to calm the excited teenage boy inside him. Heather was having Chloe over for a sleepover, so he didn’t need to rush this evening.

Sam took Maya to a little bistro on the marina, The Lock and Harbour. Knowing the restaurant had a reputation for being popular, he had booked the table before he’d asked Maya out, hoping she would say yes. He thought it best to guarantee somewhere special for their first — and hopefully not their last — date.

They were seated by the window, which looked out over the lock and the marina, the evening sun reflecting in the water. Their table had a white tablecloth lying diagonally across it, with the cutlery and glasses already laid, and there was a red candle burning inside a miniature glass bowl.

The waiter returned after a few minutes to take their drinks order. Sam let Maya choose the bottle of wine. She opted for a pinot grigio. The waiter returned with the bottle and a stainless-steel ice bucket on a stand, which stood beside the table. He poured the wine, allowing Maya to sample it first.

“Happy birthday, albeit a day late,” Sam toasted, tapping his glass of wine gently against Maya’s once the waiter had left them to read the menu.

“Thank you,” Maya said, taking a sip of her wine. “It hasn’t turned out to be too bad.”

“I want to make it a vast improvement on yesterday.” Sam put down his glass and picked up the menu. “Look, I don’t want to go over old ground, and I certainly don’t want to ruin this evening…” Sam leant forward, resting the menu against his chest. “But I do want you to know I am deeply sorry for not telling you sooner about the Peter Pan account. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I realise you didn’t do it maliciously.”

He shook his head. “I’m just hoping you can forgive me — again — like you did when I was an absolute monster the first time we met.”

Maya smiled as she shook her head, which put Sam’s mind to rest a little. “So why did you have the Peter Pan account?”

While they chose their food, and their courses arrived, Sam divulged the whole sordid story of his attempts at online dating too soon after Jade’s death. From now on, he was going to be always honest with Maya.

Their initial awkwardness was soon lost, their usual relaxed state returning, strengthening Sam’s conviction that Maya was the one for him. Maya listened with gestures of encouragement and disbelief as he told her of his horrific date years ago. He disclosed how he’d been deceived by Annette; how she’d lied about her appearance, her age, even her marital status, and how he had hated deceiving Maya by remaining anonymous, knowing how it felt. He wanted to replace his tainted memories of dating with good ones. He was already thinking of all the places he wanted to take Maya.

“Admittedly, that account did have a purpose, because if you hadn’t chatted to me through Peter Pan, I wouldn’t have learnt how you felt about me, and that I so strongly needed to rectify it,” Sam said, pushing his knife and fork together.

“This is true,” Maya said with a chuckle, finishing her own meal.

As the waiter brought out their desserts and topped up the last of their wine from the bottle, Sam wished the evening would slow down.

Maya gave a smirk, swishing her blonde hair back off her shoulders. Her blue eyes looked at him intently.

“What?” he said, his eyes narrowing with intrigue.

She held her spoon over her chocolate mousse. Icing sugar and strawberries decorated the square plate. “I might have to bring up Peter Pan occasionally. It’ll make great dinner party banter.” He could see by the mischief in her expression that she was teasing him. He loved her mouth: glossy, full lips he was dying to kiss.

“Please don’t.” Sam placed a hand over her other hand resting on the table. She didn’t pull it away, so he relished the touch of her skin, entwining his fingers between hers. “I don’t think I could bear the embarrassment.”

“How much is it worth?” She twisted the spoon between her fingers, before delving into the chocolate mousse. Her lips smoothed sensuously over the spoon as she ate, savouring the rich dessert.

Sam wanted this woman. For the rest of his life. “You’ve got me over a barrel, basically. You might need to name your price.” Sam had opted for the vanilla cheesecake and took a bite. He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he hadn’t wanted Maya to eat dessert alone — plus he didn’t want the evening to end and was doing everything in his power to prolong it. “But does this mean I get another date, if you’re thinking of dinner party banter?”

“Absolutely. If you want to, of course? Unless I’ve showed myself up?”

“Well, you do keep putting your elbows on the table,” Sam said jokingly.

Maya quickly tucked her elbows into her waist, then laughed.

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