“Let’s go there,” Ethan deliberately pushed.
Faith might not want to discuss her father, but she needed to hear what Ethan had to say. He had a unique perspective on a person’s wrongdoing and how it affected them. He might not like or approve of her father’s actions, but what Martin Harrington felt for his daughter had nothing to do with his illegal business dealings. “The man’s your father.”
“And who is that?” Faith asked. “He’s not the same man who didn’t snitch about the wallpaper or who remembered to come in here and measure me because it was our little secret.”
That she felt betrayed was obvious and understandable. It just wasn’t everything. “He’s the same person to you,” Ethan insisted. “He’s still the man who raised you. Who loves you. The same man you loved.”
Faith clenched and unclenched her fists. “I used to think he walked on water. Instead, I discovered he’s a liar and a thief. And the worst part of it is, he was the most important person in my life, the one I trusted, and it turns out, I didn’t know him at all.”
Her pain touched him deeply. But unlike most people, Ethan also understood the other side. “Maybe not, but he’s your father,” he said again. And the man was alive. She could have the second chance that Ethan would never experience.
“He cost people their livelihood, their houses, and their savings.” Even as her voice broke, her eyes flashed angry sparks. “How can I forgive him or deal with him when he did such horrible things?” she asked.
Ethan expelled a long breath of air. He had to at least get her to consider things from a different perspective. “Look, just because I was a pain in the ass, drove my folks crazy, and basically caused their deaths doesn’t mean I didn’t love them. Or that I don’t wish I could do things over again and be there for my brothers. Everyone makes mistakes, Faith.”
Her eyes opened wide at his heartfelt admission.
She couldn’t be any more shocked than him. He’d meant to encourage her to rethink her feelings. Instead, he’d just laid his soul bare, leaving him raw and exposed.
She pushed herself off the wall and stepped toward him, but he didn’t want her comfort. “Ethan, you didn’t cause anything.”
“I’m not having this conversation,” he said, his dark tone warning her off. “This is about you not me.”
She held her hands up in surrender. “Okay.”
She didn’t sound hurt or angry. She just seemed to accept and understand. Considering he’d pushed her to talk, she just scored another point with him, making it too damned easy to like her.
He wanted to retreat.
Instead, he stepped closer and lifted her chin with his hand. “Second chances are rare, Faith. I’ll never have one with my parents. And trust me, you don’t want to be in my position, wishing things could be different after it’s too late.”
She blinked once and nodded. “I’ll think about what you said,” she promised.
“Good.” He drew himself up straighter. They needed to get the hell out of this room and its memories and get down to business. “Time to work.”
“Agreed.”
They headed downstairs in silence, for which Ethan was grateful. They settled into two folding chairs over a bridge table he used for the kitchen. By the time she’d pulled out her notepad, the tension over their earlier discussion had eased. She peppered him with questions about his taste.
Colors? Anything masculine looking. Era? Contemporary but not stark. Yes, he liked dark wood. Granite in the kitchen was okay. He took her down to the basement and explained his vision for the media room and she approved. They talked about the house for over an hour. It felt more like five minutes.
“This is fantastic.” She patted the notebook in her hand. “What I’d like to do is take some time to put together a proposal for each room along with fabric samples and pictures of the furniture pieces for you to look at and approve. Or not. It’s fine for me to go back to the drawing board. You’re the one who has to live here, so make sure you like everything before you agree.”
“Not a problem. You can expect me to speak my mind,” he assured her. He’d never done anything else.
“I figured as much. Now about price and commission—”
“Whatever you say is fine with me.” He dismissed the issue with a wave of his hand.
“But . . .”
“No buts. I trust you not to rip me off and to take a standard commission.”
She opened her mouth and closed it again.
He grinned. “You’re speechless. That’s a first,” he said, amused by her reaction.
She shook her head. “No, I was just going to say that I appreciate your faith in me.” Her cheeks were flushed with color, and he liked his ability to both make her happy and rattle her at the same time.
“Have dinner with me.” Ethan’s words surprised him only because he hadn’t thought before speaking.
“I . . .” She bit down on her lower lip again. “I can’t. I have other plans.”
Cancel them. That’s what he wanted to say. If she really had plans.
Unless she was avoiding being alone with him after what happened in her old room earlier. Rationally he knew she could have plans. He hadn’t given her much notice.
“With Kate? Bring her along.” He knew Faith didn’t have many other close friends in town. He’d take her with her best friend if it meant he could see her again.
“It’s not Kate. It’s an . . . old friend.”
Something about the way she hesitated told him all he needed to know. “A date?”
She set her jaw. “No. Nick and I have a lot of catching up to do.”
Her old high school boyfriend didn’t waste any time moving in. And she obviously wanted to go enough not to make an excuse to Nick to go out with him. Ethan was pissed. Logically he knew he was being irrational expecting her to jump at his command.
But his ego and pride weren’t going down easily. “Okay, then. I’ll see you when your plans are ready. You can call to make an appointment.” Knowing he was acting like an asshole and not caring, he reached for a scrap of paper she’d discarded earlier and wrote down his cell.
She accepted the phone number and shoved it into her bag. “You need to drive me home,” she reminded him. “Unless you expect me to walk? In which case you can call a cab and I’ll put the expense on your unlimited tab.” Her voice had turned frosty.
He didn’t blame her. He’d closed himself off first. But maybe it was for the best. After all, she was here to do a job and they’d already gotten way too personal. Because Ethan sensed Faith wasn’t just a woman he could fuck and walk away from. And with his track record in life, it would be nice if he could prove to family he was trustworthy before he started thinking about a woman.
Serendipity had one restaurant for date night named Laguna and it was family-style. Nick insisted on picking her up and taking her there. She agreed, despite the fact that she wasn’t in the mood for company. She and Nick had business to discuss, including the terms of her lease and moderate construction work on the store. She hadn’t seen the place yet, but she already knew she’d need shelves at the very least. And if Nick held any lingering notion that they’d get back together as a couple, Faith needed to dispel that too.
She didn’t dress up, choosing jeans and a simple T-shirt, careful to keep herself as casual as her intentions. As they walked into the restaurant, she realized Laguna hadn’t changed in all the years she’d been gone. The place still looked like a scene from Lady and the Tramp, with red and white checkerboard tablecloths, a wine-bottle-shaped candleholder on each table, and bread sticks in the center. If Nick asked her to share spaghetti, she was leaving, she thought wryly.
The maître d’ greeted Nick, but when he caught sight of Faith, his welcoming smile turned to a frown. “Your father should be ashamed,” he muttered under his breath as he led them to the table.
Nick hadn’t heard and Faith wasn’t about to cause trouble by mentioning it. She swallowed the painful lump in her throat, and by the time she was seated across from Nick she’d managed to calm down. God, she resented the mess her father had left behind. No wonder her mother secluded herself in her house, Faith thought. It would have been easier to just pack up and leave, but it took courage to stay. Maybe she ought to cut her mother some slack.
“Is everything okay?” Nick asked her, a smile on his face.
“Of course.” She forced her attention to her ex-boyfriend, achingly aware that not only weren’t there sparks, but that she also couldn’t stop thinking of Ethan—the intense time they’d spent together in her old room and how he’d shut down when she’d said she had plans. But Nick’s voice distracted her and she forced herself to concentrate on him.
An hour into dinner, they’d reminisced about high school, discussed the lease, agreed on a fair price that she could pay when her first job brought in income. She was grateful.
They finished their meal with myriad interruptions from people Nick knew and many Faith remembered. Most people were warily friendly to her, whether it was for Nick’s sake or genuine, she’d never know. And only a few dropped a snide remark or two about her father. Not bad for a night out on the town.
Nick drove her home and Faith was eager to get inside and be alone. But he insisted on walking her to the door and an uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She’d managed to keep the conversation friendly throughout the evening, but the gleam in his eyes as they stood by her apartment made her uneasy.
No doubt Nick, with his dark brown wavy hair and his chocolate-colored eyes, was a good-looking guy. Thanks to the construction business and hard manual labor, he’d filled out since high school. Any unattached female would love to have him gaze at them with that interested expression. Any female who hadn’t already experienced Ethan Barron’s intense gaze and incredible kiss, that is. Just as he had in high school, Ethan had ruined any chance of her developing deeper feelings for Nick.
Lost in thought, Faith didn’t see the sudden dip of Nick’s head, so his lips on hers caught her by surprise. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Didn’t want to make him feel like an idiot for the attempt.
So she let his mouth linger for a few seconds. She wasn’t tempted by his cologne or body heat. His touch was cool and Faith felt nothing. No warmth. No heat. No desire. Nothing like Ethan’s kiss, that was for sure.
Without warning, Nick lifted his head and met her gaze, obvious surprise in his expression.
“What?” she asked softly, resisting the urge to touch her sleeve to her lips.
“Honestly?”
She nodded. She didn’t want him to be anything but. Because in a matter of minutes she’d be doing the same to him and probably breaking his heart in the process.
“It was . . . nothing. I felt nothing,” he said, more than a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Faith blinked, his comment taking her off guard, and suddenly she burst out laughing.
“Should I be insulted?” he asked.
“No!” She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’s just that I didn’t feel it either and I was afraid I was going to have to let you down gently. Yet here you are doing it to me.” She grinned and wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug. “God, I’m relieved!” She stepped back and met his gaze.
His smile was grim but accepting. “Whatever happened to us?” he asked. “I mean, one day we were the most popular couple and the next you were a different person. We broke up, drifted apart. I never expected it,” he admitted, speaking of their high school days.
She nodded, understanding how her actions back then could have hurt him. “I’m sorry. I just realized that my feelings for you were more about friendship, and at sixteen I didn’t know how to tell you. So I froze you out until a breakup was inevitable.” She shivered at the memory, recalling how awful she’d felt ignoring him and being cold all because she hadn’t been able to get Ethan’s kiss out of her mind.
Then or now.
And she couldn’t admit the truth to him any more today than she could have back then.
Nick nodded slowly. “I get it now. I was a little dense back then. Couldn’t quite understand how you didn’t want to be with a studly football player,” he said, laughing. “High school. Aren’t you glad that time in our lives is over?”
She smiled. “I sure am. Umm, Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“I know what happened tonight is awkward and everything, but it’s also been . . . cathartic. I feel like now we have the closure we never had before.” She drew a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is, I don’t have many friends in town and I’d be really grateful if you remained one of them.” She held her breath, waiting for his answer.
Hoping this whole incident hadn’t cost her an ally and someone she liked.
He cocked his head to one side. One hand braced against the wall, he studied her as if seeing her for the first time. “I’d be honored to be your friend, Faith.”
Relief poured through her. “That’s great!”
“I have a project to finish up, but I can schedule one day next week to meet at the store. My sister can let you in to look around in the meantime. Then we can go in and discuss where you want the shelving you mentioned, as well as any potential repainting, carpeting, et cetera.”
Faith nodded. “I plan to keep it to a minimum for both my budget and not to take advantage of you and April. You’ve been so good to me already.”
He waved away her concern. “Don’t worry about it. Consider it a favor for a friend.” He winked at her, clearly relieved they’d cleared the air—she wouldn’t hold that kiss against him and they could go on with their friendship.
“I guess now that we’ve cleared the air between us, I’ll have to get used to seeing you with other men,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow.
“Kidding! As long as any guy treats you right, I’m all for you dating.”
She shook her head and laughed. “I’m not ready to date,” she admitted.
Yet she’d kissed Ethan. What was it about him, she wondered. The bad-boy charm? The wounded soul inside? A kindred spirit in some sense?
“Earth to Faith.” Nick snapped a finger in front of her face.
“Sorry,” she said, startled.
“I should let you go in and get some sleep.”
She nodded. “I am tired.”
They said good night and she let herself inside but knew sleep would be a long time coming, thoughts of Ethan’s bottled-up pain and his fathomless dark eyes keeping her tossing, turning, and awake.
A week after Faith had agreed to take on Ethan’s job, she met Nick at the storefront. He’d arrived earlier than she had, and by the time she showed up he was already stacking boxes in the corner of her store.
Her store.
He’d provided her with a standard lease a few days earlier and she’d taken it to the man with the most established shingle in town, Richard Kane. Nash Barron was the other lawyer in town and she wouldn’t be going to him. Richard had read through it, made a few changes, and negotiated them with Nick. He’d charged a reasonable fee, she felt like she’d protected her interests, and she’d signed on the dotted line.
So here she was, in her store. “What’s in those?” she asked, gesturing to the plain brown boxes.
Nick turned to face her. “You tell me. The UPS guy delivered them fifteen minutes ago. They have your name on them.”
She raised an eyebrow and strode over. Carstairs Designs’ distinctive label stared back at her from the top of the box.
“Recognize the name?”
“Actually, I do. Joel Carstairs is my good friend. He’s a decorator and he’s way too generous!” she said, her excitement rising. “He promised to send me samples and books to get me started, but this looks like he’s sent me enough to stock this place!”
“That’s some good friend.” His tone held a question with no note of jealousy.
Some time since that disastrous kiss, they’d become more comfortable with each other. Even more than when they’d been boyfriend and girlfriend.
“Joel’s a friend. In fact, he’s gay, so there’s no possibility for anything more,” she said, being honest with Nick. “Which has always taken the pressure off, you know?”
He grinned. “Yeah, I do.”
“Coffee for the workers!” Kate’s voice rang out from the doorway. She strode inside, a cardboard holder in her hands and the now familiar disposable coffee cups inside.
“Oh, you wonderful person, you!” Faith made a beeline for the caffeine.
“Not so wonderful. Bored. I’m a teacher on summer break and I need to be busy! Put me to work, please!”
Faith laughed. “I thought you were volunteering at the youth center.”
“Part-time. I’d love to help you!”
Faith eyed her friend, then shrugged. “Okay, but be careful what you wish for. See those boxes over there? I’d love it if you would start unpacking them. Organize them by fabric, wallpaper, whatever different goodies are in those boxes. We’ll decide where to put them once Nick finishes his part.
“Yes, boss!” Kate saluted. “What will you two be doing?” she asked.
“Figuring out where to put shelving, hanging some pictures, and ordering a sign for outside—once I figure out a name for this place.” Faith studied the walls, envisioning the prints she’d chosen to take with her before leaving New York.
“I’ll brainstorm names with you,” Kate offered.
“I’d love that. But first”—Faith pointed to the coffee—“which one’s mine?”
“Latte for you.” Kate handed her one cup, then pulled out another for herself. “Chai tea for me.”
“Hey, what about me?” Nick asked.
“Sorry. I didn’t know what you drink.”
“Regular, dark, no sugar,” he said.
Kate narrowed her gaze. “And you want me to what? Go back and pick you up a cup?”
“Well, since you offered . . .” He treated her to an endearing grin.
Or one Faith would have found endearing if she were interested in Nick. She wasn’t. But suddenly she wondered if her best friend could be.
“Well, I’m not serving. But if you’ll be here tomorrow, maybe I’ll remember to pick up something for you. If you’re nice to me.”
“For coffee and a pretty woman, I can be on my best behavior.”
Faith glanced at Kate, who flushed before turning away and heading over to the boxes.
“What’s up with that?” she asked Nick. “You two went to high school together and you’ve never teased her like that before.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just happened.”
Faith would love for it to just happen again, but she kept her thoughts—that they’d make a cute couple—to herself.
“Okay, let’s get to work,” he said.
Faith nodded.
For the next hour, they each had their jobs. Kate unloaded the boxes, sorting, resorting, and making piles of the books and other supplies Joel had sent over. Then Faith and Nick talked shelving and paint and he headed to the hardware store to pick up supplies. Faith took the time to call the local florist and order a thank-you bouquet to be delivered to Joel. She helped Kate with the sample books and together they sketched out a more detailed plan for where everything should go. Faith had already ordered pieces to stock in her shop that she could use as decorative accents until they sold.
Nick returned with picture hooks and the shelving units she’d requested, and he got to work measuring the wall space and planning where things would go.
The next few days comprised working to get the store ready to open. Kate suggested a simple business name: “FAITH’S!” Storefront sign ordered, Faith turned her focus to business cards and letterhead.
She brought her laptop to the store and was waiting for Nick to come by to help her set up the wireless modem the phone company had sent over. It still irked her that she couldn’t figure it out on her own, and she decided to try once more. She called the phone company’s toll-free number and followed the computerized voice instructions telling her to shut down the computer, unplug the modem from the wall, then from the computer. She was then instructed to plug in both again and to reboot. No luck.
The annoying voice then told her to make sure she had the serial number of the modem ready for the next available operator. The modem was plugged in beneath the desk and out of view. Placing a pen and pad on the floor, she bent down beneath the desk in a futile attempt to get the serial number without any light.
“Hello?” Nick’s voice called out.
“Under here!”
His footsteps sounded as he walked around the desk. “Mind if I ask what you’re doing?”
“Trying to get the serial number on the modem,” she muttered.
“I said I’d be here to help you!”
“Well, I wanted to figure it out myself.” Suddenly aware that her position on all fours beneath the desk exposed her lace underwear (and thank God she hadn’t worn a thong), she began to back out of the uncomfortable, small spot she’d wedged herself into.
“Let me help.”
She felt Nick’s hand on her waist at the same time she heard Ethan’s dark voice. “Anyone want to tell me what I’m interrupting?”
Faith didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of the situation. She did know she had a situation on her hands.
Ethan should have walked out while he had the chance. When he strode into the small store, expecting to find Faith, he hadn’t anticipated discovering her beneath the desk with Nick Mancini bending over her. And though there was probably a good explanation, he couldn’t stop the jealousy that exploded inside his head, despite the fact that he had no hold over her and no right at all to be jealous.
Right or not, he heard his voice through a haze. “Anyone want to tell me what I’m interrupting?”
Ignoring Ethan, Nick placed his hands around Faith’s waist and helped her up from beneath the desk.
She rose, brushed her half-lifted, extremely short skirt farther down on her legs and met his gaze. “Modem troubles,” she said with a too-bright smile.
“And really, what’s it to you?” Nick stepped in front of Faith, in male protective mode.
Ethan clenched his jaw, no desire to get into a pissing match with the man. “I didn’t know I answered to you, Mancini.”
“I take it you two know each other?” Faith rushed around Nick and inserted herself directly between the two men.
“I know he’s trouble,” Nick muttered, crossing his arms across his chest.
“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” Ethan said.
“I know that you—”
“Nick, stop.” Faith put a hand on Nick’s arm, halting whatever words he’d been about to hurl at Ethan midsentence.
At the sight of her hand on the other man’s skin, a burning sensation spread through Ethan’s gut.
Faith glanced up at Nick. “Ethan and I have business. And we’re friends. So even though you mean well, you need to back off.” She shot Nick a warning glare.
Friends, huh? Ethan had a bone to pick with that description. After the kiss they’d shared in her apartment, he wanted to be a helluva lot more. In the week since he’d seen or heard from her, her silence had him twisted in knots. Like a teenage guy wanting to get into a girl’s pants, he couldn’t stop thinking of her. Except even as a teen, no girl had denied him what he wanted.
Except this one.
There was that unfinished business between them, rising up to tease, tempt, and torment him.
“I hope you remember his reputation,” Nick said, his face flushed. Clearly he didn’t like being told to back down.
“People change.” Faith spoke with more certainty about Ethan than he felt about himself.
He appreciated her efforts, but he didn’t need Faith fighting his battles. And she didn’t need him provoking Mancini in her store either and decided now would be the time to ignore the other man completely.
“I brought a down payment for the work on the house. I figured it would help you get started,” Ethan said.
“Thank you!” She was obviously, pleasantly surprised.
They hadn’t spoken about contracts, pricing, or anything specific, but he knew she had limited funds and he wanted to help her any way he could.
Nick stood watching them both like an overprotective brother. Or boyfriend.
Faith cleared her throat. “Nick, do you want to get to work on the modem? Ethan and I have business to discuss.” Her look told Nick any more comments about Ethan wouldn’t be welcome.
Ethan wanted to applaud, but that would only set off things between him and Mancini again.
Nick’s scowl indicated exactly how he felt. “Tell you what. I have to check on my crew at one of my sights, so how about I just stop by later to set up the modem?” he asked, his gaze on Faith.
She nodded. “That would be great. Thank you.”
“I’m pretty good with electronics, so why don’t you call first?” Ethan suggested. “She might not need your help after all.”
Nick’s shoulders and jaw tensed. “Just be careful.” He slid a glare Ethan’s way, then kissed Faith on the cheek and headed out of the store.
After he’d gone, Ethan realized his hands were still clenched into tight fists over that kiss, one no doubt meant to piss Ethan off.
And it had.
He forced himself to relax before meeting Faith’s gaze.
Her hair was tousled and messy from her stint under the desk, her cheeks flushed, and desire licked through him, the flame burning hotter inside him now that they were alone.
“Sorry about that. Nick was a little too overprotective,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “A little? The man wants you for himself.”
“Actually, he doesn’t. We settled that question already.” The color in her cheeks deepened, giving away way too much information.
“Settled it how?” he asked, his voice a low growl.
She perched her hands on her hips. “Frankly, that’s none of your business.”
She was right. That didn’t make the need for answers go away. “Okay, what about us? You and me? Is that any of my business?”
She opened her mouth and closed it again.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He stepped in closer until he felt her body heat and inhaled her intoxicating scent. “So tell me something. You told Nick we were friends.”
She didn’t back down or break eye contact. “I thought we were.”
“Do you kiss all your friends like you kissed me?”
Her tongue darted out and swept across her lips. “I was drunk.”
“I remember. So maybe we need to clarify things again now that you’re not,” he said, dipping his head and capturing her lips in a kiss.
