I hadn’t been on a date in a while. Everything in my life had been turned upside down when my dream had been taken away from me and women had been last on my list of priorities. Sure, I had tried a few times, ending up with mediocre sex if I was lucky. It had never been anything to get excited about, and it was easier to move on.

But this time, it was serious. This time she had class and taste and deserved the best. It was Maya Thomas and if any woman deserved it all, it was her.

I wanted to be able to give it all to her.

The Capital Grille was the restaurant I had chosen to take her to. It was classy, almost above my pay grade, but I wanted to spoil her, to impress her. I felt like she needed to be shown the best time if I was ever going to have a shot with her again. Especially considering I was the one that had fucked it up for us in the first place.

When I’d gotten the news that Liam had been selected as a professional football player and I hadn’t, my life had fallen apart. Until that moment, I had everything I’d ever wanted, besides the football career, but suddenly it hadn’t been enough. I had gone from a kid with dreams to someone who didn’t know who he was, and my relationship with Maya had suffered under it. She had tried to be supportive and be there for me, trying to find out what had happened, and why I had changed.

But I hadn’t had the fortitude to tell her the truth, nor did I have what it took to move along with my life and embrace everything else.

Instead of counting the blessings I still had, I’d let go of everything bit by bit. My relationship with Maya had been the worst thing to lose. I told her I needed to find myself again, and that I couldn’t be the person she needed me to be. She hadn’t understood that I meant that I was the problem, instead assuming it had been her.

I regretted losing her, giving up on her really, to this day. I had been able to rebuild myself in so many other areas after that, but I’d never recovered from losing Maya. I had a relationship and potential future with a woman who was truly worth my while, she was funny, bright and beautiful, but I had thrown it away.

Now, I had a second chance with Maya. I was about to have a date with her. It was almost too much to hope that I would be granted a do-over, but I was willing to try. For the sake of having someone as perfect as Maya in my life again, I was willing to try for as long and as hard as it took.

Tonight would tell the story. If it was going to happen at all, if there was a chance at love again or if she was ready to only be friends. I tried not to think about how much it would hurt if she decided the latter. But after how deeply and unfairly I had hurt her, I couldn’t imagine she would want anything else.

I glanced at the time. She was running fashionably late. I pushed away the thought that she might be standing me up, and fiddled with table setting instead, straightening the silverware, and moving the wine and water glasses around as if the table hadn’t been set correctly.

The restaurant was beautiful. Rich brown wooden panels and red paint covered the walls, highlighted by classy paintings set at intervals. The white-clothed tables, and brown leather chairs provided a beautiful contrast, while waiters smoothly glided through, quietly taking orders and bringing food in a dance backed by the sound of music floating around from hidden speakers.

Suddenly, she was there. The seating hostess escorted her to our table as I sat there stunned. She was breathtaking. Her long brown hair hung over her shoulders in a wave. It was thick and glossy and I already wanted to tangle my fingers in the stuff. She wore a red halter dress that hugged her curves, and her body was exquisite.

Fucking stunning.

It was clear to see that she trained for a living. Her chocolate eyes smiled at me.

“Sorry, I’m a little late,” she said.

I shook my head and jumped up, “Not at all,” I said, as I hugged her. I considered a kiss on the cheek, but I wasn’t sure if that would be too much. I hated feeling this unsure, but it was Maya, the one woman I didn’t want to offend.

“You look amazing,” I said.

She flashed me a warm smile. “You look great too, Kyle.”

She sat down and ordered us wine. A Cabernet Sauvignon because I’d looked it up and it sounded like something she might like. When the wine came, she took a sip and smiled at me.

“This is really nice, Kyle,” she said. “I’m glad we’re doing this.”

“So am I,” I answered, smiling as well.

Maya was everything a guy could want in a woman. She was funny and interested, she wasn’t high maintenance at all. She was drop-dead gorgeous and she could recite the game stats for any given year for at least three different sports. It was any man’s wet dream to be with someone like her. I could kick myself that I’d had her in the palm of my hand and I’d messed it up.

“This place I beautiful,” she said.

“Haven’t you been here before?”

She shook her head. “To come out to places like this you have to be dating, and the last time I dated I wasn’t at an age where anyone I’d be with could afford something like this.”

The news that she hadn’t dated in a while made me sit up and take notice. I hadn’t either, and for a moment, allowed myself to hope that it was a good sign.

When the waiter arrived again, we ordered our meal. Maya ordered a steak with vegetables and wild rice. No whimsical salads to watch her waistline. That would have been unnecessary anyway, because I happened to be watching her waistline, and it was perfect.

I ordered a steak, too.

“I can’t believe you’re still in Miami,” Maya said, when the waitress left us. “You had such big dreams of seeing the world.”

And then my dreams had been taken away from me, I thought sourly, but shrugged and forced a smile. “This is home, you know? No matter where you go, there’s only one place you ever go back to.”

“I guess that’s true. I’ve only ever been around here but I’m happy. I don’t need to leave. Sara and I make it work for us.”

“I can’t believe you and Sara are still friends,” I said. I remembered Sara from college. She’d been a bitchy little blonde thing who gave any man a run for his money. Where Maya was the perfect girl to have, her best friend had been nothing but trouble.

“Of course,” Maya said. “We’re like sisters—you know that. We’re flatmates.”

That told me Sara wasn’t in a serious relationship at all, if she was still dating. Sara still being single made a lot more sense than why someone like Maya wouldn’t have been scooped up yet. Any man crossing her path would know what a stunner she was and what a mistake it would be to walk away. It was pure luck that she was single, giving me the opportunity to pour on the charm right now.

“So, what do you do?” Maya asked. “You know all about my career, but I know nothing about yours. Do you still play?”

I shook my head, “I’m too busy to play ball now,” I said. “I’m a CA for Clover Industries.”

“Oh, my. A CA, huh? Big shot in the business world. I knew you were studying accounting but making it all the way to CA is a big move. I thought accounting was all just a fallback.”

I swallowed. I hated talking about football and why I wasn’t still playing. I nodded. The food arrived, saving me from having to give an answer right away.

“This steak is amazing,” Maya said, when she cut off a piece and put it in her mouth. I had to agree. The food was better than I had expected.

“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” I asked.

Maya looked up at me with those bottomless eyes and nodded.

“Why are you still single?”

She smiled, her cheeks flushing slightly. “It’s pretty simple, really. Because I just haven’t found the right guy,” she said. “And I’ve been busy with my career. It’s a poor excuse, but it’s the truth.”

I shook my head. “No, I get it,” I said. I was so happy to hear what her answer was. I was willing to agree with any reason she gave me now. “I was just wondering what a woman like you was doing without a man to dote on her.”

“A woman like me?” she asked.

“Beautiful, intelligent, active—perfect.”

She blushed and it was as satisfying to see the color flood her cheeks as it had been back when we’d been dating before. God, Maya was beautiful. It was the kind of beauty that radiated from within somehow, stemming from something pure at her core.

“You’re such a charmer,” she said. “You’ve always been so sure of yourself.”

If only she knew how much that had changed.

We flirted and caught up on each other’s lives and laughed. Spending time with Maya again was like a journey back to the past when everything had been perfect. Being with her drove away my demons, and I was able to enjoy myself fully for the first time in a long while.

When the night ended and I got the check, I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to go back to my life without her, not after we’d had such a good time. I wanted her to come home with me. I wasn’t sure how she would feel about that, though. She was responding to my flirtation and was flirting right back, but having her come over was a different story. I wasn’t sure if she wanted me like that, the way I wanted her.

“Do you want to have a couple of drinks at my place?” I asked, taking the chance.

Maya's face became a little more serious, her dark eyes settling on my face. This was where I found out exactly what she wanted to be in my life—only friends, or something more. She hesitated for long enough that I was sure she would say no before she spoke.

“I’d like that,” she said.

I blinked. She’d accepted. I nodded as if I’d been sure she would agree all along, and stood up. I offered her my arm like a gentleman and escorted her out of the restaurant.

“Did you drive here?” I asked.

“I took a cab. Alcohol hits me way too hard these days.”

Perfect. I led her to my car, opened the door for her and closed it again behind her. Running around to the driver’s side, I slid into my seat. When I glanced at her, she was smiling. I put the car in gear and pulled onto the road to head to my place.

Luckily, the cleaning service had come over the weekend. I was glad I hadn’t made a mess of things, leaving takeout containers or my boxer shorts all over the apartment. I was glad I’d had driven here and she hadn’t. Everything about the night was coming together perfectly, as if the stars were aligning to give me a second chance. I glanced at Maya again and her profile in the dim lighting of the car was so familiar it ached. I was so glad she was here with me.