While You Were Gone

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

Maia rolled over onto her stomach and pretended she didn’t see her five-year-old daughter creeping into her parents’ bedroom. Luka, her long dark hair, so like her mother’s, messy and tangled, clouded around her sweet, chubby face as she tried not to giggle.

Maia waited until Luka climbed up onto the end of the bed and was creeping towards the pillows before she reared up, roaring, making her daughter scream and laugh as Maia tickled her.

Maia finally relented and scooped Luka up into her arms, blowing raspberries on her cheeks then nuzzling her nose against her daughter’s. “Good morning, Nugget.”

Luka giggled, wriggling so she could lock her arms around Maia’s neck. “How many sleeps now, Momma?”

Maia grinned. “Seven, sweetie.” It was a week before Christmas, and Luka had been nagging at her parents to get a tree and decorate it. “Almost everyone else has already had theirs up for weeks, Momma.”

“I know, sweetie, but you know what Daddy’s like. He says it spoils it if we celebrate too soon.”

But today, a week before Christmas, she and Luka had the whole day planned out. The tree was being delivered to their Upper East Side apartment later that morning, and they had already shopped for way too many ornaments and fairy lights. Luka was almost beside herself with excitement.

Maia got herself and Luka showered and dressed for the day before heading to their kitchen. Their cook, Joelle, smiled at them. “Today’s the day, huh?”

While Luka ate her breakfast, Maia checked her messages. Zachary, a proven workaholic, was already at work, but he’d found the time to send her a message despite being the CEO of a multi-national tech company.

Hi darling, have a wonderful day with Nugget today. I love you. Z

Maia smiled to herself. Many people had told her they thought maybe Zach was too aloof for her fun-loving nature, or he seemed distant when they were at parties, but Maia knew that her husband of six years was merely shy. When they were alone, they sincerely enjoyed each other’s company, and Maia thought he reined in some of her wilder tendencies.

Maia Gahanna met Zachary Konta when the elusive tech billionaire arrived at her prestigious Manhattan publishing house to discuss his biography.

Maia, then a subeditor of non-fiction, had attended that meeting, shadowing her boss and mentor, Eliza Pentland. She hadn’t expected to contribute much, but the moment Zach Konta had stepped into the room, his eyes had settled on Maia and never left.

Maia had been uncomfortable with his scrutiny, especially when her boss Eliza seemed pissed at her. She deliberately didn’t speak to Konta, but an hour after he left her boardroom, a vast bouquet of flowers arrived for her with a note.

Dinner? I’m not the kind of man who takes no for an answer.

Maia had raised an eyebrow at that. Well, there’s always a first time for everything, Mr. Konta. She had been all set to call him and refuse his invitation, but Eliza had spotted the bouquet and read the note before Maia could stop her.

Maia told her boss she was refusing the date, and to her surprise, Eliza shook her head. “No, keep it. Maia, we need this book deal with him.”

Maia had been shocked, and Eliza held up her hands. “I don’t mean sleep with him! Of course not, but a working dinner… he was obviously taken with you, and as a client, he could be valuable to this company.”

There was an implied threat in her words—come through for me or your job could be at risk—and so, reluctantly, Maia agreed to have dinner with Konta.

Maia smiled to herself now. She hadn’t stood a chance. Zachary Konta was handsome, charming, and attentive. That first dinner turned into a second and a third, and within three months they were married. Now, seven years on, Maia still felt the whiplash from Zach’s full-on love bombing.

Maia had grown up in a children’s home on Long Island and had been through a number of foster homes before finally striking out on her own. By working three jobs and getting bogged down with student loans, she’d put herself through college, even gaining a scholarship to Columbia, and by hustling and interning, had landed herself a junior editorship at Pentland and Cops Publishing House.

Eliza had been a thorough but fair mentor, but she and Maia were never close. Her aloof exterior did warm, though, after Maia’s marriage. Eliza recognized the potential of being in Zachary Konta’s social circle.

Always good-natured and generous, Maia accepted her new position in society with ease and grace and didn’t care that Eliza was using her to improve her own situation. It didn’t have any effect on the happiness Maia felt with Zach.

He was twenty years her senior, forty-eight to her twenty-eight, and they celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary a month ago. Their greatest joy in life, though, was undoubtedly Luka. Their precocious, loving daughter had brought them closer together.

The only dark cloud on their seemingly perfect lives was Zach’s health. A year ago, he’d been diagnosed with a mild depression, and sometimes, the black moods took him to a place that scared his wife. He would become withdrawn, irritable, and a little possessive of Maia. She weathered his moods with love and patience, and eventually he would emerge, apologetic and remorseful.

Today, she and Luka would go shopping for gifts for him. When they were first married, she was at a loss to know what to buy the billionaire husband who could afford anything, obviously, but soon she learned all he wanted was her company and that of Luka’s.

Zach, liked her, loved to read, and so when Luka was bundled up against the December cold, they went to their favorite bookstore to find something for his gift. Gerry, the bookstore owner, greeted them with a smile. “Maia, you’re in luck. I’ve just come back from antiquing in Connecticut, and you’ll never guess what I found.”

He rummaged around the cash register and pulled out a book, handing it to her. Maia smoothed the leather cover. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. One of Zach’s favorite authors. She smiled up at Gerry. “Really?”

“First edition, too. I thought of you immediately.”

“This is perfect, Gerry. Thank you. Nugget, why don’t you try to find something you would like as a treat while I talk to Gerry?”

Luka smiled and wandered over to the children’s section. Gerry’s bookstore was a small, independent place with oiled wood shelving and books that weren’t just from the New York Times Bestseller List. Maia and Luka could spend hours in the store, and Gerry was so laid back, he never minded. With the store so small, he and Maia could chat while keeping an eye on Luka.

Maia paid for the Lem book and Luka’s treat, and they waved goodbye to Gerry, wishing him a happy holiday. They held hands, swinging them gently as they walked to the different stores. After an hour of strolling, Maia took Luka to a coffee shop and bought her some hot chocolate.

Her phone rang as she was served with her tea, and Maia smiled gratefully at the waitress. “Hello?”

“Hello darling, it’s me.”

Maia smothered a grin. Who else? “Hey honey.”

“I just wanted to remind you about the party tonight.”

“I remembered, sweetheart. Nugget and I are going to go find me some shoes soon.”

Zach chuckled. “Any excuse.”

Maia frowned a little. What was that supposed to mean? She was hardly a spendthrift. “Well, you know I always want to look my best for you.”

“I meant nothing by that, sweetie. Sorry, I was distracted for a moment. And you could turn up in a garbage bag and still be the most beautiful woman in the room.”

“Ha,” Maia flushed at the compliment, her anger forgotten, “Have you been drinking? This early, Mr. Konta?”

Zach laughed. “It’s true, regardless. Anyway, I was just checking in. That’s my excuse to talk to you. Is Nugget enjoying shopping?”

Maia handed the phone to her daughter. “Dadda wants to say hello.”

She listened, smiling, to the conversation Luka had with her father. She was still smiling when Luka handed the phone back.

“See? How we’re going to get her to sleep for the next week, I don’t know. Do people still disapprove of drugging your kids?” She crossed her eyes at Luka to show she was kidding, making her daughter giggle.

Zach laughed. “I think it might be frowned upon. Look, baby, I have to go. I’ll see you later, okay? I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

They shopped for another hour or so, then went home. Maia had taken some time off from the office for the holidays, having been a workaholic throughout her pregnancy and Luka’s formative years. She regretted that now, but at the time, she had wanted to prove to the world and to herself that she was a modern woman—that she could do it. Mostly, she had to admit, she had wanted to prove to those people in Zach’s social circle that she wasn’t a gold digger, that she had her own agency, that Zach wasn’t her sugar daddy. Ugh, she hated that saying.

In the last store, she sought out the assistant’s help as she tried on shoes for the party. Maia loathed wearing heels, but knew flats were a no-no, so she enlisted help to find some heels that were semi-comfortable at least. Luka played with the empty shoe boxes and helped the assistant sort them back into the right ones before getting bored and wandering off to look at the sparkly kids shoes.

Maia, who hated shopping for shoes, was losing the will to live, and the assistant grinned at her. “You hate this.”

“Yup.”

“I would, too… well, look, what color is your outfit?”

Maia smiled. “Midnight blue.”

They went through a few options while Maia had one eye on Luka. The assistant brought out a final option, and Maia’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow, really?”

The assistant held out a pair of what Maia could only describe as Dorothy’s ruby slippers. She grinned at Maia. “It’s Christmas. Plus, who doesn’t need some glitter in their lives?”

The shoes were gorgeous, but not quite fitting for the Upper East Side—but what the hell, Maia thought with a chuckle. “I’ll take them.”

She glanced over at the children’s section—and her heart failed. Her daughter was nowhere to be seen.

Luka was gone.