Page 64 of Never Give Up

“Nana, you gotta remember. This is Maya.” James hugs Maya tight. “She loves us. There’s no such thing as punishment with her.”

“I’m in over my head.” My mom laughs and leaves without saying anything else. She does, however, stop long enough to give Maya a kiss on her cheek and a pat on the shoulder before she hustles out the door.

I meet Maya’s gaze and she seems at ease, like the love of my sons and their rowdy affection can cure almost anything.

James scowls at me, then smiles up at Maya. “We don’t have things for cookies and baking oranything.”

“He’s right.” I gesture to the coffee for her to take a cup, which she does with a smile. I watch as she grabs some creamer from the fridge and a little bit of sugar, smiling since I remembered to get creamer or she wouldn’t have any. “We can go shopping for all the stuff.”

Maya shakes her head and then takes a long sip of her coffee. “No, I have all the baking supplies we’ll need at my place. Let’s go over there to make cookies.”

And the little nugget of unease that started after I woke up with her at my side melts away as I follow the other three outside to where my off-duty truck is waiting.

“What kind of cookies do you want to make?” Maya asks the boys as soon as they’re buckled in and waiting on me.

I pause before sliding the key into the ignition. This is what my life is going to be like. This is what it should have been like. There’s no tension. No asking about work or bugging me about spending time away from my boys after getting back.

Perfect.

“You know, we could make two types.” Maya’s going on as though I didn’t just see my entire future sitting in front of me, and I can’t blame her.

“We get two types of cookies, Dad!” James bounces around in the back seat, laughing like he’s just won the lottery.

We all have. Now, all I have to do is convince Maya that we’re what’s best for her, too.

She takes me by surprise in the next instant when she leans across the middle console and presses a kiss to my lips in front of the boys.

“Thank you for this,” she whispers when she pulls away. “I didn’t even know I needed it until we were standing there in the kitchen with them.”

Screw it.

I bring a hand up and cup her by the neck, drawing her back to my lips, ignoring the giggles and laughter coming from the back seat.

Our kiss isn’t steamy, not by any means. Not with James and Jonathan in the back seat. Instead, it’s simple and sweet and everything that I never thought I might need in my life.

“I like this,” I tell her when she pulls back from the kiss.

Maya doesn’t ask me what I’m talking about. Instead, she gives me an almost shy smile and buckles herself into the seat.

“Oooh,” Jonathan sings. “Daddy and Maya sittin’ in a tree.K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“First comes love,” James joins in.

“Enough already, monsters.” Maya claps her hands together. “You haven’t even decided which types of cookies you want to have yet. How about picking that instead of teasing us?”

“Fine,” James huffs playfully. “But we’re supposed to make cookies. So if we don’t make cookies, we’re gonna start singing again.”

“You two are spoiled.” There isn’t any heat to my words, though, as I start the drive to Maya’s house.

“We are,” Jonathan and James say at the same time.

“But we deserve it.” James’ words are met with crowing laughter from his brother.

We’re all smiles and laughter, and Maya even snakes her hand over the middle console to wrap her fingers around mine.

Perfect.

That’s what this is.

---