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Laying his head back down, he breathed in her scent again, wishing he could bottle it and carry it around with him because it soothed his soul. “Why do you think I need it?”

She pushed her fingers through his hair, and the tension began to leave his body. “I think it’d help you find your feet, generally and also relationship-wise, after all the stuff with Cat. There’re behaviors of hers that I think you don’t realize were warped, and it’s affecting how you react to things, causing you stress where there doesn’t need to be. And maybe there’s still stuff to work through after your dad.”

Sam closed his eyes, feeling as if he could drift off to sleep. He could see what she was saying, but it really wasn’t necessary. He had Maya now, and that was all he needed. “I appreciate it, but I don’t need counseling. Once things get sorted with Hana, everything will be great.”

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Flicking through her phone, Maya called up the stairs to Hana. “Are you ready? I’ve got a plastic bag for the car, just in case.”

“Coming.” Hana descended the stairs, still looking awfully peaky. “Thanks for driving me to the appointment. I don’t think I can manage the journey without having to pull over and vomit.”

“No problem,” Maya replied. “This way we can continue traveling while you puke in a bag instead.”

Hana smiled, and for the first time since she’d gotten home, it seemed to reach her eyes.

They climbed into the car, and Maya gestured to the pile of plastic bags at Hana’s feet. “There you go. I’ve all the best bags for life there. You can take your pick whether to go upmarket with Waitrose or slum it like the rest of us with Aldi.”

Hana managed a laugh, and Maya felt that was progress.

On the drive over, she shot Hana a look. “Did you speak to Rosie last night?”

Hana nodded. “We made a bit of headway. I apologized for being a selfish cow and explained what you and I had discussed about my warped sense of self being tied into my success. She understood, and we’re going to work out a plan, which means she can get her teeth into being a country vet like she always wanted, but also to share the maternity leave if I want to return to work a little earlier and her have some time with the baby.”

“Sharing the maternity leave sounds like a great idea. You’ll both benefit from bonding with the baby that way.”

“That’s what Rosie said. Anyway, I hope I’m not holding you back by getting you to come home from work early to take me to the GP.”

They were on their way to the surgery they were registered at, a different one from their father’s place of work.

“It’s no problem. I don’t even have any classes on a Monday. I’ve just been doing some various projects around the place to help spruce things up.”

Hana smiled. “You love it there, don’t you?”

Warmth spread through Maya’s veins. “I really do.”

“It’s great to see you happy. You always sounded so miserable when you talked about work before.”

“Yeah,” Maya said, sighing. “I just need to convince Dad.”

“Maybe we don’t need to convince him. Just tell him that’s how it is, deal with it.”

The thought of that filled Maya with dread, but the edge was taken off by Hana using the word we rather than you, giving her the reassuring feeling that her big sister was in this with her. Just like Maya was invested in the pregnancy and Hana letting go at work.

Pulling into the doctor’s surgery car park, Maya turned to Hana. “Maybe you should take a bag with you. Just in case.”

Nodding as she unbuckled, Hana picked up the Waitrose one.

“Ha!” Maya said, grinning. “I knew you’d go for that one.”

Hana stuck her tongue out as she left the vehicle, and Maya laughed, taking out her phone to check her social media.

She was distracted by a text from Sam, saying he hoped Hana’s appointment went okay. It was a shame her idea about counseling hadn’t floated. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like the right move. She should’ve realized it wouldn’t be that easy. Sam didn’t have a grasp on the extent of the damage Catriona had done because he had no baseline to measure it against. Plus, it was clear to her now that all of those issues were built on the foundation of the abandonment issues left by his dad. There was a lot to unpack. Perhaps if she left it for a while, then came back to the idea in the New Year, he might be more receptive.

Maya smiled as she spotted a photo that Rowan had posted on Insta, of all the women on the instructor team. She scrolled the comments, pleased that it was such a cool group. But then her delight ran cold as Cat appeared in the comments. Be careful of the second one on the left, she’ll steal your man in a heartbeat.

Maya swallowed. Blocking Cat may have prevented her from commenting on Maya’s own social media, but it didn’t stop her from appearing on Maya’s friends’ stuff.