Shout-outs: CreateAInsaneWorld, Guest, amiller2644, Ash, Guest, ranggy, SabrinaHernandez5, guest, frostystuffs, Katiethecandycorn, kw, guest, rucas, VoniBerry and evergirl2000

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Rated: T

For Christinabeal10

.

Chapter 5

"I need your help," Josh said to his secretary when he called her the next morning to tell her that he wouldn't be coming into the office for the next few days.

"Oh? What's going on?"

"I need to know all the stuff Lucas does when he has dates," Josh answered.

"Oh?"

"Stop saying that Amelia."

"I've only said it twice, Joshua," she answered and he knew she was laughing at him. "What's going on? Do you have a date? What's it been? Three years?"

"You don't have to remind me," Josh replied, scrubbing his face with his free hand. "So, what does he usually do?"

"I don't know," Amelia said. "That's Jenna's field, you know. That's what Lucas pays her to do, make dates for him and his new girlfriend of the week."

Josh groaned. It was exactly what he paid Lucas's secretary to do. Jenna never saw the office and she got paid just as well as Amelia did. He rubbed his temples.

"Do you think she'd help me?" He asked.

"Joshua, what's going on?"

Amelia was like a second mother to him. Josh knew he couldn't keep it a secret for long. But he couldn't bear her disapproval, so he decided to tell her half-truths.

"I'm courting a girl," Josh said. "For Tyson Friar."

"Courting a girl? What is this the seventeenth century?" Amelia teased.

"Dating her," Josh corrected himself. "I'm taking her on a few dates until the wedding is over."

"So, she's wedding sex?"

Josh blushed. "Amelia, please!"

"Sorry. Sorry. I'll call Jenna and get the scoop, okay?"

"Thank you. Call me back when you get the information," Josh requested.

"I will. Oh and Joshua?"

"Yes Amelia?"

"Be careful. . . you're not the type to date girls and I wouldn't want your heart to get broken."

"Amelia, I'm fine!" Josh assured her but the words sounded hollow even to his own ears. He spotted Maya coming across the yard. "I've got to go, Amelia! I'll talk to you later!"

"But what do you want me to do about your meetings?"

Josh hung up before he could answer her and grabbed one of his old button-down sweaters that Lucas affectionately called grandfather and Mr. Rogers sweaters. He timed it so well that he met Maya in the entryway.

"Hey!" He said, pushing his hand through his hair.

"Oh! Hi Josh. . ." Maya answered, tucking her own hair behind her ears. "I'm just here to see Lucas."

"He's asleep," Josh replied. "I think somebody mixed in a sleeping pill with the painkillers. You know how Lucas is with pain."

"Yeah. . ." Maya trailed off and smiled at him.

"I'll take you to see him," Josh offered. "If you'd like."

"Maybe we should just let him rest," Maya said.

"I was wondering. . ." Josh cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just wondering if you'd like to come to Nantucket with me for the day. The staff is opening it up and airing it out for the summer and I'd like to go and check in on them, see how it's coming along."

Maya's smile widened. "I mean, if you wouldn't mind."

"I'd like the company," Josh assured her.

"Okay then, I'd love to come with you."

"Great! I just need to go and make a call! I'll be right back," Josh said. "Wait right here. Maybe go and get some coffee or something."

"I'll be fine," Maya assured him as she took a seat.

Josh went to his father's office and made a few calls. Within thirty minutes, they were all cleared to fly out of the airport on the private jet. Then he went to tell his parents what was going on.

Amy looked up from the bridal magazine she was flipping through and peered at him through her reading glasses. "Son, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Saving a business deal and a relationship," Josh answered.

"You've saved plenty of business deals but you've never saved a relationship before," Alan said. "Are you sure you aren't putting your own heart at stake here?"

"Please, what could go wrong?"

Alan and Amy exchanged looks but much to Josh's relief they didn't give one of their famous life lessons. He was sure they'd report what was going on to Cory and his older brother would do it for them though.

"Just be careful," Amy finally said.

"I will be," Josh promised. "I have to go. I've kept Maya waiting for a long time already."

"We'll see you when you get home," Alan answered.

.

"I thought you'd forgotten me!" Maya said when he came back to her.

"I thought you would have left by now," Josh replied. "At least until I was ready to go."

"I didn't mind waiting," Maya assured him.

"Well, everything's set if you're ready to go," Josh told her.

"I am. Are you ready?"

Josh was about to answer when his cell phone rang. "Hang on a second, I have to take this. It's Amelia."

"I'll go and wait outside," Maya said.

"I won't be long," Josh promised, answering his phone. "Hey Amelia."

"I got tickets to see Hamilton tomorrow night but first you have dinner reservations at Butter."

"Butter? Hamilton?"

"Hamilton is a popular Broadway show right now," Amelia answered. "It's always completely sold out. But all I had to do was drop your name and I had two front row seats. Butter is one of the most popular restaurants in the Upper East Side. Mrs. Bass always hosts nights out there. Again, it's nearly impossible to get a reservation for that place but. . ."

"You just dropped my name and got us a table?"

"The best table," Amelia said.

"It's so nice to see how Lucas has been using the family name," Josh grumbled.

"Indeed."

"Listen, that girl I told you about is waiting for me. We're going to Nantucket for the day," Josh said. "Thank you for doing that for me."

"Nantucket!? Now you're thinking like Lucas and you didn't even need my help this time!" Amelia answered. "Well, enjoy your day at the beach. God knows you've earned it."

.

The ride to the airport was quiet. The helicopter ride was even quieter. Even though Maya had been on the family helicopter plenty of times before when they had gone to Nantucket for the summer, it was still like she was seeing everything for the very first time.

Josh wondered where his sense of wonder had gone. Except he had it every time he looked at the blonde girl sitting in front of him, staring out at the New York skyline.

The same thought he had had when he'd first seen her and all the days after that went through his mind.

How had his family been so lucky to have Katy and Maya Hart grace on their family? They could have hired any older gentlemen, one with a British accent and a love for ancient literature.

Instead, they had hired a single woman with a Southern accent and a young daughter.

"You're staring at me," Maya said.

"I am?"

"You are. Why? I thought you wanted to finish signing paperwork."

"I didn't mean to. . . stare at you I mean," Josh answered, ducking his head and clicking on his pen.

.

"Remember when we used to come here during the summers?" Maya asked when they'd gotten to Nantucket and were looking out across the water at the beach house.

"Of course," Josh answered, smirking. "Remember when we knew how to swim and Lucas didn't?"

"He was afraid after he watched Jaws," Maya reminded him.

Josh nodded. "At that sleepover with Charlie Gardner. I remember."

Maya laughed. "He was so jealous. He hated that we could swim and he couldn't. As soon as we got home, he had your mother take him to sign up for swimming classes at the YMCA."

"Then the next year, we couldn't even get him out of the water. . . even when it rained," Josh answered.

Maya smiled. "Yeah. I remember."

"Summer just wasn't the same without you when you were in Paris," Josh said, surprised at how smoothly the words fell out of his mouth. But that was mostly because it was the truth, he had missed her.

Summer hadn't been the same without her.

He realized it now more than ever.

"I missed you guys too," Maya said.

"I'm sure that's not true," Josh replied. "You were in Paris. One of the most beautiful cities in the world."

"Still, I daydreamed about this house and the fairy tales you used to read us on the rainy afternoons. . ."

"And what it would be like if Lucas would only notice you? How perfect life would be?" Josh asked, sounding more bitter than he intended.

"I thought about you too," Maya whispered.

"It isn't the same thing," Josh told her. "It isn't the same thing and you know it."

"Well, I'm sure you didn't think about me that way either. Everybody knows all you think about is work. I can't remember the last serious girlfriend you had."

"I just haven't found the right one yet."

"I'm starving," Maya said suddenly. "Is that pizza place we used to love still open? We should go and get some lunch."

TBC. . .

.

Author's Note:

Well, here I am again with "Maya". I thought I could just let it go but Maya and Josh had other ideas when Christinabeal10 so kindly asked me to update. Life got crazy and that's why I kind of lost interest. But I will try and do bi-weekly updates if there's still interest in this story.

Don't hold not updating against me. I do have good reasons for not doing so.

I will be back soon. Hopefully with a Journey update this weekend. I am so ready to wrap that story up.

Until Next Time!

Love,

Holly, 5/18/2016