A Muse Her

Chapter 8

What the fuck was he thinking?

Mateo dragged a hand over his face as he shuffled to the refrigerator to find some eggs and bacon.

Agreeing to fake date Maia was a terrible, awful and ridiculous idea!

It was bad enough that he opened up to her about his family, well not completely. At least he didn't let it slip that not only was he from Oost den Burg, but his family was the ruling monarch.

He groaned in annoyance as he sat the eggs and bacon on the counter. He should've just kept his mouth shut and let her vent, but that nervous look in her eyes compelled him to blurt out that he'd be her boyfriend.

And how could he deny her? Being with Maia was a far fetched dream and she gave him the opportunity to step in and live his fantasy.

It was selfish of him to do this when he knew damn well he lied to her about not wanting to find love.

For all his faults and flaws in his past, he was a hopeless romantic at heart. It's why he loved her novels. He wanted a love story like Donny and Tati, but after he was burned by his ex, he gave up on that. No one would ever see him as something other than a rich prince to exploit.

That was the reason he moved to Colorado. Where no one knew him as a royal and he could find peace for a while, but then he met Maia. The woman who made him believe a prince like him was deserving of the love she weaved in her stories. He'd always had a crush on her, but he never imagined he'd meet her in such a random place – or at all! Nor did he think she'd want to use him as her muse.

But here he was in this bittersweet situation, planning to be her faux boyfriend.

How the fuck was he supposed to keep himself from developing real feelings for her? A crush was innocent – stupid – but safe and parading as her beau was going to be difficult. Especially when he knew she'd never feel anything real for him. It was just business. Another transaction. And it would be over as soon as her ex took the bait.

His heart clenched at the soft sound of sniffles that pulled him from his thoughts. "Maia?" He said, rounding the kitchen island to her room. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah," she said, wiping the tear rolling down her cheek. "I'm fine."

"Those tears would suggest otherwise," Mateo murmured, walking into her room and eyeing the phone in her hand. "Did something happen?"

"It's just Sven. He just sent me a picture of the flowers he left on my doorstep." She sighed, swiping away the messages and sitting her phone back on the bedside table. "It brought back some shitty memories."

"Mm, like that time I found you walking down the hill upset like this and swearing nothing was wrong?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Was that because of him?"

"Yeah," she said, wiping away a few stray tears. "You remember that?"

"I do and it pissed me off then like it does now," he said, taking her hand. "I'm sorry for whatever he did to you, but I want you to know that I meant what I said, I'm going to make sure you have the space and comfort you need to finish your book. He won't get in your way."

Maia looked down at his hand engulfing hers before she gazed up at him again and the calm that filled her watery brown depths shattered any doubt he felt about going through with this charade. "Thank you," she said, sighing. "I was hoping Sven was just messing with me and he wasn't really here, so I guess we're really doing this fake dating thing."

Mateo squeezed her hand. "Only if you think it's going to help you."

"I think the alternative is worse. I...I need you to be my buffer and if this is going to work, I need to tell you what happened between me and Sven. At least so you know what you're getting yourself into," she said, taking a deep breath. "Then you can decide if you really want to do this."