MORE THAN MISTLETOE

THE GIRLFRIEND

Chapter 4

Maya's POV

Maya woke to the smell of pancakes and the sound of laughter drifting up from the kitchen.

For a moment, wrapped in the warmth of her blankets with winter sunlight streaming through the window, she felt completely at peace. This was exactly what she'd needed—family, comfort, home.

She got dressed quickly, pulling on jeans and a soft cream sweater, and headed downstairs. The kitchen was full of people and noise, Carol flipping pancakes, Diana setting the table, Liam stealing bacon directly from the pan.

"There she is," Alex said, grinning. "Sleeping Beauty finally graces us with her presence."

"It's eight in the morning," Maya protested, pouring herself coffee. "That's not even late."

"It is when Mom's been up since six making enough food to feed an army," Liam said through a mouthful of bacon.

Maya looked around. "Where's Ethan?"

"Shower," Carol said. "He'll be down soon. Sit, sweetheart, eat."

Maya had just settled at the table with a plate of pancakes when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Liam called, already heading for the door.

Maya drowned her pancakes in syrup, only half paying attention to the voices in the entryway. Then she heard Liam say, "Oh, hey Vanessa!" and her fork froze halfway to her mouth.

Vanessa?

"Sorry to stop by so early," came a female voice, bright and cheerful. "I know I said I'd come this afternoon, but I finished my presentation early and thought I'd surprise Ethan."

Maya's heart sank, though she couldn't quite explain why.

"No problem," Liam said, though something in his tone was off. "Come on in. Everyone's in the kitchen."

A woman appeared in the doorway, and Maya's first thought was that she was exactly the type of person Ethan would date. She was pretty in an effortless way, long blonde hair in a neat ponytail, minimal makeup, wearing designer jeans and a cashmere sweater that probably cost more than Maya's entire outfit. She had the kind of smile that belonged in a toothpaste commercial.

"Hi everyone!" Vanessa said warmly. "Sorry to crash breakfast."

"Nonsense," Carol said, though Maya noticed her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "There's plenty of food. You must be Vanessa."

"Yes! It's so nice to finally meet you all. Ethan talks about you constantly." Vanessa's eyes swept the room and landed on Maya.

"You must be Maya. Ethan's mentioned you."

Maya felt like she'd been slapped. Girlfriend. Ethan had a girlfriend. Of course he had a girlfriend. He was Ethan, quiet, good-looking, successful Ethan. Why wouldn't he have a girlfriend?

"Hi," Maya managed, her voice coming out smaller than she intended. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise! I've heard so much about these family holidays. It sounds so cozy and traditional. Very Norman Rockwell."

Before anyone could

respond, footsteps sounded on the stairs, and then Ethan appeared in the kitchen doorway, his hair still damp from the shower.

"Hey, I thought I heard—" He stopped when he saw Vanessa. "Vanessa. You're here early."

"Surprise!" Vanessa crossed to him and kissed his cheek. "I hope that's okay. I just missed you."

Ethan's eyes briefly flickered to Maya, then away. "Yeah, of course. That's... great."

Maya stared at her pancakes, suddenly not hungry at all.

"Come sit," Ethan said to Vanessa, pulling out a chair. "Have you eaten?"

"I grabbed a protein smoothie on the way, but I'll take some coffee." Vanessa sat down, right across from Maya.

"So Maya, Ethan tells me you just started a new job? How's that going?"

Maya forced herself to look up, to smile, to be normal. "It's good. Busy, but I like it."

"That's wonderful. What field are you in again?"

"Graphic design."

"Oh how fun! Very creative." Vanessa's smile was genuine, which somehow made everything worse. "I'm in marketing myself, so I work with a lot of designers. It's such a demanding field."

"Yeah," Maya said, because what else could she say?

The conversation flowed around her, Vanessa asking questions about the family, Carol being polite but reserved, Diana making effort, Liam being unusually quiet. And Ethan... Ethan was attentive to Vanessa, answering her questions, touching her shoulder occasionally, playing the role of boyfriend.

But he wouldn't look at Maya.

After breakfast, when everyone dispersed to various parts of the house, Maya escaped to the back porch. The cold air bit at her skin, but she needed it, needed something sharp and real to cut through the strange fog in her head.

She heard the door open behind her and didn't turn around, assuming it was Alex coming to check on her.

"You okay?" Ethan's voice asked quietly.

Maya's shoulders tensed. Of course it was him.

"I'm fine. Just needed some air."

"It's freezing out here."

"I know."

Silence. Then Ethan came to stand beside her, not quite close enough to touch. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you that Vanessa was coming today."

"Why would you need to warn me?" Maya kept her voice light. "It's your girlfriend. You don't need my permission."

"I know, I just..." He trailed off. "You seemed surprised."

"I was. I didn't know you were seeing anyone." Maya finally looked at him. "How long have you been together?"

"About a year."

A year. He'd been with someone for a year and hadn't mentioned it. Not at Easter, not in their occasional texts, not once.

"That's great, Ethan. Really. She seems nice."

"She is nice."

"And pretty."

"Maya—"

"I'm happy for you." Maya wasn't sure if she was lying or not. Maybe both. "You deserve someone great."

Ethan looked at her for a long moment, something unreadable in his expression. "So do you."

The words hung between them, heavy with meaning Maya didn't want to examine too closely.

"I should go back inside," she said. "Help with the decorating or whatever we're doing today."

"Yeah. Okay."

But neither of them moved.

"Ethan?" Vanessa's voice called from inside.

"Babe, can you show me where the bathroom is?"

The spell broke. Ethan stepped back. "I should—"

"Go," Maya finished. "I'll be in in a minute."

She watched him walk away, then wrapped her arms around herself against the cold. A year. He'd had a girlfriend for a year, and Maya hadn't known, because somewhere along the way they'd stopped telling each other everything.

Or maybe Ethan had just stopped telling her.

Inside, she could hear Vanessa's laughter, bright and easy. She tried to picture them together, Ethan and this polished, put-together woman, and found that she couldn't. They didn't fit, not in her mind.

But maybe that was just wishful thinking.

Maya took a deep breath and went back inside, pasting on a smile she didn't feel. She would get through this. Three weeks suddenly felt very, very long.

But she would get through it.

Even if it meant watching Ethan with someone else.

Even if it meant pretending her heart wasn't breaking just a little bit.