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Liv looked at her, and Maya tried to send her a telepathic message. Please don’t say it, please don’t say it.

Liv shifted her gaze back to Sam. “Maybe Maya could give you a lift on Tuesday, and the other days she’s in? Just until your car’s ready?”

Maya closed her eyes for a second. Bloody hell, Liv.

Sam opened his mouth, darting his gaze from Liv to Maya, but staying silent.

Cat shook her head, a smile plastered on her face. “Oh, we don’t want to put Maya out.” She nudged Sam. “Do we, babe?”

Sam’s voice was hoarse. “Of course not.”

Maya eyed Cat for a second, and something snapped. Maybe she was crap at confrontation and would never voice how hurt or pissed off she was at these two. But one small passive-aggressive gesture couldn’t do any harm.

“It’s no problem.” She met Sam’s eyes, attempting to keep her voice neutral. “I can give you a lift. Just until your car’s sorted.”

Seeming unsure how to react, he swallowed. “Thanks. That’d be . . .” He glanced at Cat. “Good.”

“Excellent,” Liv said brightly. “I’ll give Maya your number.” She tugged Maya’s arm. “Off to the bookshop?”

They moved away to cross the road, Maya catching Sam’s gaze one last time before Cat dragged him down the street.

She followed Liv into the bookshop, standing by the first display and trying to think why in the name of all that was holy she’d agreed to that. Mind you, it wasn’t as if she could’ve said, “No, I don’t want to give your beloved brother a lift, because he’s a complete arsehole.” Especially in front of Sam. As much as that was her opinion, she wouldn’t say it to his face.

Liv pulled off her hat. “Thanks for that, by the way. It’ll be a big help to Sam. He’s so stressed, and I don’t want car trouble adding to his woes. Ben doesn’t always go in at the same time, so that’s not a regular option. But hopefully between you and Ben, Sam will be able to get lifts every day until the car’s fixed.”

A stab of sympathy caused Maya to look up. Only a tiny stab, though. Miniscule, in fact. “Sam’s that stressed?”

Her mum had told her as much, but hearing it from Sam’s twin was another matter.

“Yeah.” Liv sifted through the books on the display table. “Covering the extra lessons, for one thing. You know the kids’ class isn’t his favorite.” She rolled her eyes, smiling. “Plus the extra workload of the community project he heads up. And he’s so tired lately. I think he’s got too much on.”

Community project? Maya glanced away, resisting the urge to ask more. No wonder Sam was tired—all of that, coupled with driving long distances of an evening to work at those parties.

Liv peered at the cover of a book. “There’s also the charity sled race that he’s organizing. That’s a lot of work too.”

Maya hesitated for a beat. “Sam organizes that?”

Liv nodded, studying the book with an innocent expression. “Not that he takes any credit.”

Maya had heard about the race when she’d been home for Christmas the last couple of years, but had assumed Ben was behind it. Perhaps Sam wasn’t quite as shallow and bigheaded as she’d thought.

Liv glanced up. “What did you want from in here?”

Maya frowned, trying to think what Liv meant. “Pardon?”

“You wanted to come back in here for something,” Liv said, lifting another book to study the blurb on the back. “Remember?”

Maya recalled it had been her suggestion as a tactic to avoid speaking to Sam and Cat. So much for that plan.

“Oh, er . . .” She lifted the first book she laid eyes on and hid the cover from Liv when she realized she’d chosen Talking About Erectile Dysfunction: It’s Not That Hard.

“This is the one. I’ll just go pay for it.” Moving over to the cashier with it stashed behind her back, she cursed herself for feeling anything but contempt for Sam.

Chapter

Six

Being on the slopes always helped clear Sam’s head, and taking his advanced classes down the black runs all day was just what the doctor ordered after spending so much time on the baby slope. As his last class ended in the late afternoon, the sound of laughter rang out from said area. Maya had the kids singing a song about pizza and chips as they nailed the actions heading down the slope.