There she was.

Like clockwork.

Gracing Crested Cups with her bubbly disposition to pick up her daily raspberry mocha latte and blueberry muffin.

Maia Jefferies.

The painfully beautiful best selling novelist.

She greeted the few patrons with her infectious smile and cheerful banter as if she were a celebrity in this sleepy snow swept town.

And she was, in a sense.

For many of the Crested Butte locals, she was the only remotely famous person they'd ever had the pleasure of knowing and he had the awful sense to have a crush on.

Maia took off her yellow wooly hat and brushed her thick black curls from her russet cheeks and his heart thumped when her gorgeous brown eyes swept over him. A blush burned over his cheeks as he looked down at the book in his hands hoping he masked the fact that he'd been watching her.

"Mateo," Maia said, shrugging off her coat and slipping into the unoccupied seat across from him. "You're just the man I want to see."

"Am I?" he said, looking over the top of his book and wishing his pounding heart would calm down. "Does it have anything to do with that generator you want me to fix?"

"No, but you're still coming over to fix it, right?" she said, peeling off the paper around her muffin. "I don't mind being snowed in, but I need power to write."

"And eat," he said, eyeing the muffin in her hand. "You can't live off coffee and muffins."

Maia rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to waste away," she said, patting her stomach that was barely noticeable beneath her chunky green sweater. "And what do you know about how much I eat?"

Mateo raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget I fixed your sink the other day? I saw all your muffin wrappers and pile of coffee cups. There wasn't a single dirty plate or pan in that cottage or any food in your fridge," he scoffed. "I checked."

She pursed her plump lips. "Coffee, muffins and a big 'ol blunt keeps me focused on writing," she said, sighing. "Well, they used to," she muttered, eyeing the book he was reading. "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I have another favor to ask of you."

"You want me to fix some other appliance of yours? Because I'm sure your fireplace could do with a clean out."

"No." She giggled, slapping her hand on his arm. " It's something else."

Maia was like that. She was a touchy-feely kind of woman. Always happy to give out a hug or a gentle touch and the warmth of her gestures never failed to send a tingle down his spine.

"But if you're offering to clean it out, I won't say no."

Mateo looked at her hand and her berry pink manicured nails resting on his arm before he looked up at her. "I'll do it."

He probably shouldn't.

There was a reason he didn't get close to too many people in this town, but for Maia, he'd do just about anything to stay in her orbit.

"Seriously? I feel like I'm taking up all your time with all my maintenance requests," she said, pulling her hand away from him to rub a cluster of curls between her fingers. That was a little quirk he noticed about her whenever she was deep in thought about something. "I really should've hired someone to take care of all of that before I came out here."

"It's not a problem. I keep telling you I'm happy to look after your cottage when you're gone." He shrugged, closing the book in his hand. "We're neighbors, you know."

"Well maybe this time I'll take you up on your offer." She smiled. "But I have another project I'd like to hire you for."

"And what's that?"

"Um," she said, picking at her muffin. "This might sound a little odd, but I need you to be my muse."

"Your muse?" He frowned. "What does that entail and why me?"

"Well," she said, leaning forward. "I've been suffering from writer's block," she whispered, looking around as if anyone could hear them in their booth tucked away in the back of the shop. "But I had this amazing burst of inspiration after you fixed my sink." She leaned back in her seat with a big grin on her face. "So, I've decided that you're my muse and basically, I'm going to pay you to hang out with me, if...um." She bit her lip. " If you want to."

Mateo choked out a laugh and he was sure his face was beet red because there was no way Maia–fucking–Jefferies just offered to pay him to spend time with her.

"I know it's weird and I'm so sorry to ask, but I'm behind on my deadline and none of my usual tricks are working to get me out of this slump," she said, picking at her muffin again and turning it into a pile of crumbles. "I'm at the point where I need to try anything to get this book done."

Mateo's heart clenched at the worry, dimming the perpetual joy in her eyes. He couldn't let her feel this way especially if he could do something about it.

"You don't have to pay me."

"What?" She looked up at him and the hope dazzling in her eyes punched him in the gut.

"I don't want to be paid to hang out with you," he said, sliding the mutilated muffin away from her. "You can pay me by allowing me to make sure you actually eat a decent meal while you're writing."

She frowned, tilting her head to the side. "But that just sounds like more work for you and I have to give you something for your time."

He had all the time in the world for her if she wanted it.

But he couldn't tell her that. That would be weird and she'd probably think he was seeing something that wasn't there. He was good at doing that. He'd been burned by reading too much into a woman's kindness which was why he was here. Far away from the mockery he made of himself and why having a crush on someone like Maia was a terrible idea.

"I'll have my agent draw up a contract for you. That way I'll have a clear conscience about this," she said, tugging out her phone from her pocket. "You should always be paid for your time."

"I guess, if you insist."

"Oh, I absolutely do. I'm commandeering you for the next two to three months," she said, smirking as she typed something on her screen before slipping it back in her pocket. "You should definitely be compensated for having to deal with my antics."

Maybe she was right. If this was purely transactional, it would keep his mind from wanting to drown in some sweet fantasy of her.

"Fair enough, but I'm still going to make sure you eat properly."

"I do eat properly," she huffed, pulling her crumbled muffin back. "And I still want this."

Mateo shook his head and laughed. "Right. So, when would you like me to start?"

"I didn't think about a start date," Maia said, taking a drink of her coffee before tapping finger to her chin. "But how about you start after you sign the contract from my agent? I can't have you doing work without a proper contract."

Mateo nodded. "I suppose that's fair," he said, holding out his hand to her. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

The sheepish smile that tugged at Maia's lips made his heart simmer as she placed her soft hand in his. "So am I."

A/N: So...what do we think of Mateo and Maia's interaction so far? I've never written a contemporary novel where one of my MCs already has a crush on the other or the MCs are friends before they get into the feels. To be fair, I say friends lightly here, they're more like acquaintances, but I'm quite excited to write something where they aren't strangers first 😈. Would love to know your thoughts! And I hope you enjoyed it so far!

As always, thank you so so much for reading, Little Bees!