A Muse Her

Chapter 1

"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'm pretty sure you're my muse and basically, I'm going to pay you to hang out with me, if...um, if you want to."

Mateo choked out a laugh and he was sure his face was beet red at this point 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 to the point that it was nearly 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. It wasn't right and 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.

Was what he wanted to say, but 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 and tapping over the screen. "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 slipped her phone in her coat 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?"

Maia took a drink of her coffee before a sheepish smile tugged at her lips. "Now, if you don't mind?"

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!