Sven >> I know you're mad at me, but please tell me you're not really with that guy.<<

Sven >> I love you, Maia and I came here to show you that. You have to give me a chance.<<

Sven >> We're not done. Just because you're "with" someone doesn't mean I won't try my hardest to win you back.<<

Maia shook her head as she silenced her phone and turned it over on the counter. Sven was going to be a fucking pain in her back side.

"Is that your ex blowing up your phone again?" Mateo said as he took out the pan of sizzling beef from the oven.

"Yes," she grumbled, sliding a hand over her face. "I don't know why I ever thought faking a relationship would get him to back off."

"Why? What's he saying now?"

She sighed. "He's butt hurt that I'm with you and he's not giving up. He thinks I owe him a chance to prove himself to me."

"Ah, he wants compensation for his grand gesture of coming out here and leaving those flowers for you," he said, plating the mash potatoes and green beans. "Is that what you want?"

Maia scrunched up her face and scoffed. "Fuck no," she scoffed, crossing her arms. "I know I said I wanted him to see that someone could be proud to be with me just the way I am, but that isn't because I want him back. Those roses did nothing for me and I don't owe him shit for coming out here."

"No, you don't and he shouldn't try to make you feel like you do."

"I know, but he's manipulative and being with you isn't going to make him stop," she said, rubbing a curl of her hair between her fingers. "It might've made it worse and I shouldn't have dragged you into this. I know he won't hurt me, but honestly, I don't know what he's going to do. He's never wanted me like this."

"Mm, he sounds like my brother and if he's anything like him, he'll do things to make you feel like he's your only option."

"Yeah that sounds exactly like the manipulative shit Sven would pull," she said as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "I wish he never showed up here," she whispered as her lip trembled.

She may have stood her ground in the store, but she was crumbling inside. The sight of Sven's smug face, the comment he made about her in the sweets aisle and the way he tried to put words in her mouth brought back all memories of those last six months of hell.

"I'm not going to pretend to understand how this is making you feel," Mateo said, reaching across the island and taking her hand. "But as you said, you don't owe him shit and you've got to a place where your writing feels magical again." He squeezed her hand and the warmth in his gaze made her heart thump. "Don't let him take that away from you."

Maia wiped a lone tear that rolled down her cheek. "You're right. I'm in a much better place now," she said with a small smile tugging at her lips. "And I've got an amazing muse in shining armor to remind me of that."

"I told you I take my duties seriously." Mateo chuckled, letting go of her hand to finish fixing their plates. "Now how about we get your mind off your ex with some food and if you're feeling up to it, we can do some Donny and Tati planning so you can get back in the zone."

"I'm always up for that with you," she said, slipping off the stool to follow him into the living room. "I need to get lost in their world for a while anyway. My sister's going to be hounding me for my first draft to give to the publisher soon." She sighed. "And I don't want to ask for another extension on top of the one they've already given me."

"Alright, well let's talk through the last half of the story and make a plan for you to get it done on time," Mateo said, sitting their plates on the table. "And you can't do that until you eat a good meal. I'd also say after you've had a good night's sleep too, but I know that's not how you work."

"No it's not and I appreciate that you understand that about me," Maia said as she sat across from him and her mouth watered at the decadent meal he put together. "God, this looks good."

"It does. I've been thinking about this beef joint since we left the cabin this morning."

Maia laughed as she cut into the juicy beef. "I love that you're a foodie like me."

Mateo grinned, pouring her a glass of wine. "And I love that I can share my love of cooking with you."

"Mm," Maia said, chewing the tasty morsel. "If I knew you were over here cheffing up meals like this, we could've been doing this a long time ago."

"Yeah, but everything happens for a reason." He shrugged. "So better late than never, right?"

"Very true," she murmured.

And she was lucky their friendship bloomed just in time to keep her sane from Sven's antics. She wasn't sure how she'd cope if Mateo wasn't around to keep her grounded with his words of wisdom. She wasn't going to let Sven crawl back in her life and suck the magic out of her writing again.

Maia trailed her fingers over the bookcase in Mateo's sparsely furnished office. There was a big oak desk and a plush brown leather chair, the bookcase she was perusing and that was about it – save for the big window that framed the thick forest at the edge of his property.

A smile tugged at her lips at the photo the bookshelf tucked between Mateo's small collection of thrillers and cozy mystery novels. He looked so young with his cleanly shaved face and dazzling smile with his big arms wrapped around who she assumed were his siblings, but he looked nothing like them. They were all blonde and blue eyed and Mateo was a stark contrast with his deep brown eyes and dark chestnut hair.

"Are you going to be alright in here?" Mateo said as he walked into the room carrying a tray of coffee, a pitcher of water, a bowl of chips and the rest of the cheesecake from dinner. "I brought you some snacks too."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, holding up the picture frame. "Is this you with your brother and sisters?"

"It is," he said, sitting the tray on the desk. "That was from my thirtieth birthday."

"This is a great picture of all of you and no offense, but you look nothing like them."

"No, I wouldn't," Mateo said, crossing the room to stand beside her. "I was blessed with my mother's strong genes. She passed away when I was five and my father remarried. Jorien, Adrie and Eline are my half siblings."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, looking up at him. "It must've been hard losing your mom so young."

"It was, but my stepmother has always treated me like her own," He shrugged. "So, I'm lucky in that sense."

"You are. I'm glad you're not a victim of an evil stepmother," she said, sitting the photo back on the shelf. "And I have to admit, I think you look better with a beard."

"Well, thank you." He laughed. "I'm sorry my office isn't as furnished as yours, but I hope it's good enough for you to get in your zone."

"Oh I'll be fine, you brought me all the snacks I need for the night," she said, eying the tray on the desk. "And I've got plenty of weed to keep my thoughts flowing."

"Good and Sven hasn't bothered you since dinner, has he?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "He messaged me a few more times claiming to be worried about me dating someone I barely know," she said, laughing. "He didn't give a shit about me for a whole damn year and now he wants to act like he cares." She shook her head. "I turned off my phone for the night. Fuck him."

Mateo raised an eyebrow. "He really doesn't make any sense to me, but I'm glad you turned off your phone. You don't need to be distracted," he said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. "And on that note, I'm going to go to bed and leave you to it, but if you need me for anything I'm just down the hall."

"I'm sure I'll be fine and thanks for making up your guest bedroom for me."

"No problem. Thanks for humoring me and staying here tonight." He chuckled. "But I'm sure I'll see you in the morning right here, still typing away."

"You know it, sir." She grinned. "Good night, Mateo."

"Good night. Happy writing," he said, shuffling to the door and closing it with a soft click.

Maia sat in the brown leather chair at the desk and opened her laptop before she made herself a cup of coffee. She eyed the last line she wrote as slid her head phones over her ears and lit one of the joints on the tray. Taking a toke of the lemon herb, she pressed play on Spotify and a smile tugged at her lips as she went to work.

Sven may have shook her up with that unexpected encounter today, but thankfully it didn't stop the magic she'd been pouring into her novel. She'd never been in a writing flow this solid when she was with Sven and she didn't dare question it for fear it would run out, but still she wondered...

What was it about Mateo Casparij that sparked this well of inspiration?

A blush burned over her cheeks as she took a sip of coffee. Sometimes, just a glance from Mateo with his kind brown eyes and warm, gentle smile would send her mind reeling with reams of beautiful prose and dialogue for Donny and Tati.

And being with him today as his girlfriend...God, the way he looked at her made her feel like she was the main character in one of her novels and when he kissed her forehead and held her hand...it was like she was the center of his world.

Fuck!

Maia shook her hand and took a long drag of her joint. "It's not real," she whispered, setting the joint down and tapping away on the keyboard.

This was her goddamn problem. Fucking around and getting caught up in emotions that weren't really there. 

A/N: I was wondering how much Sven had affected Maia in the store...She seemed to be taking things a little too well at first, but now her emotions are going to be coupled with some budding feelings for Mateo....things could get messy 😅😬

 I'm very sorry that this update didn't happened yesterday, but remember when I said the Student Union Elections were over? Well, no, they're not. They've been nulled and voided due to cheating by the candidates and I've had to spend the week organising a new election in 2 weeks 😅🙃😭 To say I'm stressed is an understatement, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter!