Free Second Chances by Claude Dancourt Page A

could guess well enough. Be successful; be flawless; obey blindly. She had had her share when she was younger, when she was in high school and Robert still cared about the whereabouts of his goddaughter.
    Their waiter presented Arthur with his coffee and left. She watched her companion more closely as he spooned his coffee unnecessarily, his stare fixed on the dark beverage. Maya refused to let him close up and teased, “You could do worse than Isobel. At least she is nice.”
    After a moment, Arthur looked up. His expression was mocking again and she dreaded his repartee.
    “You are surprising me, Maya. You, of all people, are approving arranged unions?”
    Maya tensed, “I don’t—”
    “No, of course you don’t. You are a romantic at heart.”
    She frowned.
    “If I was that romantic, I would get caught in this masquerade, fall helplessly in love with you, and nurse a broken heart for the rest of my life.”
    Arthur laughed and gestured for the bill.
    “Fortunately for your tender heart, this has little chance to happen; hasn’t it?”
    She liked his tone less and less and replied dryly.
    “Absolutely.”
    “Then we’re good.”
    Arthur drained his coffee and stood to proceed to the cashier.
    Maya followed his retreat, speechless. She nearly swore he sounded sad.

Chapter 13
     
    Maya turned to look at the clock on her bedside table. It was barely eight. She stretched, arching her back and curling her toes, before rolling on her stomach to bury her face in the pillow. She could indulge a bit longer in the warm bed; Tristan would not arrive for at least another hour and Arthur had announced he would join them directly at the market. She suspected he was going to the office, even though he had not disclosed any reason for his delay.
    She sighed and flipped on her back again, disturbed by memories of their dinner. From his own confessions, Arthur was a workaholic, and he settled for undemanding getaways when he had some free time, which was apparently very rare. Colin seemed to be his only real friend. Somehow, she pitied him.
    Knowing this, their little masquerade was gathering a new meaning. By refusing his father’s choice for a daughter-in-law, he was shaking the stifling cloak cast over him; or at least he was trying to escape it. She pondered if Arthur was even conscious of his attempt. Probably not.
    Restless, Maya pushed away the sheets and walked to the bathroom. Arthur’s true motives for asking her to pose as his girlfriend were his and his alone and they would remain so.
    As for her, all that mattered was Matthew…and for the next couple of hours, preventing her “suitor” and her cousin from killing each other. Of course, Isobel was going to help by distracting Tristan, or so she hoped…
    She had yet to tell her cousin they were to have company for the day. She was nearly sure he would not object to Isobel, but Arthur was another matter. Maya twisted her hair into a bun and observed her image in the mirror. Moira’s comment the previous day came back to taunt her. Her sister was seeing her with biased eyes. She was far from being beautiful. Interesting, maybe, but certainly not anything more than that. She sighed and smiled, dismissing the thought, then turned the hot water on to have a shower.
    ***
    Tristan took a mouthful of coffee. “Did I miss something?”
    “Huh, no. That’s it. We will pick up Isobel at her hotel and Arthur will join us later.”
    He gulped more coffee. “Why?”
    “Arthur argued he had to come because we are supposed to be together and I can’t be seen spending my weekend with another man, even you.”
    “Right. But what about Isobel? Arthur didn’t require her presence, I suppose. Isn’t she Robert’s choice for a daughter-in-law?”
    Talking about Isobel was exactly what Maya had hoped to avert. Unfortunately, her cousin knew her too well to let her off the hook that easily. She tried to smile her way out of it.
    “I like her?”
    He pointed one accusatory