Love on the Line (Beaumont Legacy #2)

37. Maya

Chapter thirty-seven

Maya

T he moment the tennis ball came off Maya’s strings, she knew something was wrong. She’d just been cleared to hit at a slightly higher level without a brace, and she’d been so excited that she’d come to the tennis center during Viola’s first free hour so they could practice.

But now, her wrist hurt more than it had before she’d started going to physical therapy in February, four months of work down the drain. Maya’s racket fell from her hand to the court, and Viola rushed to her in an instant.

“What’s wrong?”

Maya just stared at her wrist in disbelief. “I…I don’t know.”

It felt like it was on fire for another few seconds before the pain began to dull, though it didn’t recede completely. Maya twisted it, wondering if it needed to pop, but it only ached more. She walked over to the bench, thankful she’d brought the brace just in case, and slipped it over the injured hand.

Maya was too upset to do anything but sit on the bench. The hot June sun beat down on her, sweat slipping down the back of her tank top.

It had been over a week since she’d seen Cooper, and his absence felt like a physical weight. They’d been so busy that they’d barely been able to talk on the phone or even text.

Maya had more lessons than usual this week, and she was using them to distract herself from thinking about their last conversation. She’d hoped training would clear her head like it used to, but now that seemed out of the question.

It all felt so unfair . And Maya was becoming more and more frustrated with it all as the days went on.

Cooper’s offer had weighed heavily on her from the moment it’d left his mouth, and while she’d wanted so badly to say yes, there were so many reasons she couldn’t.

The charity was thriving, she was just getting to know her grandparents and cousins again, she was near Landon. But even more than that, she was terrified that if she didn’t do all she could to pay Cooper back for all he’d done, one day down the line, he might resent her.

And Cooper had done so much. He’d talked her through her injury and helped her see why physical therapy was so important early on. He’d helped her find the thing she was passionate about, and then when she’d needed help getting it up and running, he’d offered to put his hard-earned money into helping her. Cooper had given so much to support her, and knowing she’d never be able to repay him made her nauseous.

Plus, she loved the charity too much to abandon it just as it was getting its footing. She and Viola were looking to expand into other areas of Los Angeles now that more and more people were interested.

She couldn’t move in with him, and he certainly couldn’t leave everything behind to live with her here. Maya wouldn’t allow him to do that.

So where did that leave them?

“You’re awfully quiet today. Is it your wrist?”

Maya gave Viola a small, apologetic smile. “Just thinking.”

“About your man?”

“Kind of.”

Viola leaned back on the bench, intertwining her hands. “What happened?”

“I think we’re struggling to figure out how to make this work long term. He wants me to move there, at least for the season, and if not that, he wants to move here. But I can’t let him leave everything behind to move across the country just for me. I can’t.”

“So why not go for the season? You know I can handle running On the Line while you’re not here. You can stay with him during the season, fly out occasionally, and come back during the offseason.”

Maya shook her head. “He’s done so much for me. It’s hard to explain, but…I’ve been mostly on my own my whole life, you know? After Mom died, I became wholly invisible. I had to do everything myself, and any time I asked for anything, it felt like I was asking too much. Burdening everyone too much. So I pushed myself hard, worked myself to the bone to get to a point where I could go to Crestview on a scholarship. And then when I wanted to go pro, I spent every free moment on the court, morning and evening, so I could make it to the tour.”

“You’ve had to do so much on your own.”

“Exactly. It made sense to put my head down and stay out of people’s way. Do my own thing. And then I got injured, and then suddenly I was a twenty-four-year-old living at my dad’s house, the one thing I’m good at out of grasp forever.

“Cooper waltzes in and encourages me to take care of myself. My brothers come out to see me, worried about me, and I feel horrible for worrying them, because that’s never been me. I’m supposed to be the easy one, the one nobody has to stress about. Cooper helps me find what I love and then funds it. Suddenly, when I’ve been so independent my entire life, done everything for myself, I’ve become this annoying little sister who everyone feels the need to take care of. I don’t want to be in that position again. I don’t deserve that kind of attention or care. I don’t want him to ask me to move in with him for the convenience, and I certainly don’t want him uprooting himself for me.”

Viola sent her an incredulous look, but her voice was soft and sweet when she spoke. “What if he’s asking you to be with him because he cares about you and wants to be with you, not just because it’s convenient?” When Maya looked at her, her sympathetic smile nearly brought Maya to tears.

Maya shook her head. “I can’t. I’ve just made something of myself here. And my grandparents and my cousins are here. I can’t give up what I’ve built.”

“Nobody’s asking you to give that up, hon.” Viola’s hand landed on Maya’s knee. “But maybe for once, you should let somebody in. Go for the season. Be with him and your brother and enjoy living with the man you love, and then when it’s over, you can always spend the rest of the year here. You can have both.”

Maya’s head snapped to Viola at the word she’d said so easily, like it was so obvious. And Maya realized it was obvious.

Of course she loved him.

Cooper was the most selfless and caring person she’d ever met. He knew how to make her laugh and just what to say when she was sad. He’d made her feel more loved in the last five months than anyone ever had, besides her mom. Most of all, when she was wrapped in his arms, her heart rate could slow and she finally felt wholly safe.

He was her very best friend.

It made her dizzy just thinking about it.

But it was that selflessness that worried her. How far would he go, how much would he give her, until he realized that she didn’t deserve it? That she wasn’t worth it? What happened if she did move in with him and he realized these feelings, all this effort, had come about as some sort of sympathy for the situation she was in?

Before she could agree to do any kind of moving, she needed to pay him back. That was the clear next step.

Unable to play anymore, Maya moved to Viola’s empty office, staring off into space, a bag of ice wrapped around her injured wrist and a rock heavy in her stomach.

It didn’t seem to want to disappear no matter how much she pushed and prodded at it.