Being a performer who’d been around for awhile, Charlie Ray knew all the proprietors in Starlight Shores. In no time, Maia started gaining some recognition, and started getting magic show gigs.
Maia was so excited to have her first real friend. But it seemed Charlie Ray had other plans.
“You’re a beauty, Maia,” he often said.
It started off with a little innocent flirting. But soon enough, Maia came to realize that Charlie Ray believed their relationship could be something more than a simple friendship. Maia was a bit... underwhelmed.
“I can take you away from all this,” Charlie Ray told her. “If we were married, you’d have a better place to live where you’d be safe, and you could focus more on your career.”
“You’re a kind man, Charlie Ray,“ Maia explained, “but I don’t want a marriage of convenience. I want love, and a houseful of children someday, and I want their father to be there for them.”
“You don’t need to answer now, Maia,” he said. “Just think about it.”
But she couldn’t use him that way, especially because he had already done so much for her. She genuinely liked him, but didn’t love him, even if he did love her. Feeling guilty, Maia decided that maybe they should spend some time apart.
But...
When her house was broken into again, Maia was frightened and went to Charlie Ray’s. She asked to stay over there for awhile, just until she could find a safer place to live. And that’s when he proposed.
Maia said yes.
Maybe it wasn’t a love match, but Maia was beginning to understand that life was full of unexpected surprises, and there was no way of knowing what would happen from one day to the next. And after everything that had happened so far, living in a secure home with a man who loved her sounded pretty good.
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