Serendipity (29 page)

“Fine,” she said, not hiding her displeasure, but she ran for her room anyway.

“She'll warm up to you,” Ethan said to his brother.

Nash narrowed his gaze. “I appreciate you pushing her.”

Faith blinked, surprised Nash had conceded even that much.

“Tess needs family. Just go slow with her.”

Nash nodded. “We'll go to dinner and the festival first.”

“She already ate,” Faith said.

“Fantastic,” Nash muttered.

“I'm ready!” Tess bounded down the stairs, dressed in a pair of denim shorts Faith had bought her, a black T-shirt with a huge sunglass decal on the front, flip-flops, and very little makeup. She also had a large bag she'd obviously put her overnight things in.

She looked like the quintessential teenager, and pride blossomed in Faith's chest.

Ethan stared at her. “Who are you?” he asked, grinning.

Nash merely blinked.

“Thank Faith!” Tess said, and headed for the door.

Ethan stared at the woman he had come to care so much about, the woman he couldn't wait to come back home to. “I don't know what to say.”

She treated him to a soft, private smile.

“I'm holding you to the beach,” Tess yelled at Ethan.

“I'll pick her up early tomorrow morning. Eight thirty, okay?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah. I'll go to work right after.” Nash pulled his car keys from his pocket and started for the door.

“Remember my advice,” Faith called out to him just before he slammed the door shut behind him.

“What advice?” Ethan asked.

Faith rocked back on her heels. “Oh, I just told him Tess had bonded with you and he wouldn't make headway with her unless he learned not to be such a condescending, pompous ass. Not in those exact words. I was much nicer.” She grinned.

And Ethan pulled her into a kiss.

Ethan had been gone twelve hours max. Not long in the scheme of things but long enough to know he couldn't wait to get back to the two most important women in his life. He understood his feelings for Tess. He already loved the little stinker. Faith was more frightening because he loved her too.

The revelation came to him at thirty thousand feet, while he was staring out the plane window at the peaceful, beautiful clouds and realized Faith brought that same peace and beauty into his life. Things he'd given up on and thought he didn't deserve. It had taken Tess and her fragile honesty to convince him otherwise because she didn't believe she deserved good things either. He knew better.

As for himself, maybe he didn't deserve Faith, but he'd fallen hard and fast. And deserving or not, he wasn't giving her up. Ethan put his heart and soul into the kiss, breathing her in. He hoped she understood everything he was showing her because he knew telling her would scare her away. When she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him close, aligning her body with his, he realized she wasn't frightened by the intensity of his feelings—as long as he didn't verbally express them.

She tipped her head back and met his gaze, her eyes heavy lidded and sensual. “What was that for?”

“I missed you.”

He eyed her warily, but her lips turned upward in a smile.

“Gotta say, I missed you too. But you've got to know, I'm fighting myself here, Ethan.”

Her honesty was more than he'd expected. “Why?”

She bit down on her lower lip. “When I was married to Carter, I gave up so much of myself to be his wife. It was as if Faith Harrington and what she liked and cared about no longer mattered. I came back to start over and be independent, but I can't seem to stay away from you.”

Instead of frustrating him, her words soothed his concerns. “Am I asking you to be anything other than what—and who—you are?”

“No, and that's why I keep coming back.”

“Smart girl.” He placed his hand behind her back, lowered his head, and slid his tongue across her lips.

She trembled in his arms. “We have this entire house to ourselves,” she murmured.

And he wanted to make use of it. Later. “I thought we'd go out first.”

Her eyes opened wide in surprise. “Seriously?”

As much as it pained him not to get into bed with her immediately, he was looking at his long-term goal. He wanted her in his bed and his house for much longer than one night. “I haven't eaten all day. I thought we could grab a bite in town.”

“And keep an eye on Tess and Nash?” she asked.

Ethan actually trusted Nash with their sister. It was Tess he had his doubts about but not enough to follow after them. He just wanted to go out with Faith. Stake his claim publicly. Make a statement about them as a couple, something she might not be so quick to go along with.

So, if assuming he had an ulterior motive helped convince her . . . “I wouldn't mind checking up on Tess,” he agreed.

“I can understand that.”

“Then we can come back here and be alone.” He grinned, knowing that for this one night, he had everything he wanted and more.

 

 

Faith hadn't been to a Wednesday night in Serendipity since she was a teenager hanging out with her friends. Holding with town tradition, every Wednesday of the summer meant a different local band, Italian ices, cotton candy, and
zeppoli
. Apparently Ethan had a sweet tooth she didn't know about because he'd decided dinner wasn't as important as sampling the various treats.

“Look, there's Tess.” Faith pointed to where Tess and Nash stood beneath an awning on Main Street, where the Guiding Eyes, with its Seeing Eye puppies, was located, raising money for its cause. The teenager knelt down and was playing with the puppies.

“You know they loan them out to families to help socialize them before they're fully trained and given to their person.” Faith nudged Ethan in the side. “And she looks really attached to them.”

He shuddered at the thought. “Maybe she'll talk Nash into an overnight visit.”

“Are you telling me you're not a dog person?” she asked, disappointed. “Because they say people who don't like dogs aren't really good people.”

“I like dogs just fine. But Tess and a dog might be a bit much right now.”

She laughed at the exaggerated fear in his voice. “Okay, good point.” Faith glanced across the street only to see Nash coming their way. “Uh-oh. Company.”

Ethan looked over, caught sight of his brother, and immediately wrapped a protective arm around her waist. She didn't need him to look out for her but liked the fact that he did it anyway.

“How's it going?” Ethan asked as Nash strode up to them.

“She's begging me to take home a puppy.” Nash's grimace was priceless.

“I take it you don't like dogs?” Faith asked. A silent understanding passed between her and Ethan and he lightly squeezed her hip, causing her to chuckle.

“I like dogs,” Nash said defensively. “I just happen to think Tess is enough of a handful for one night.”

Faith raised her eyebrows, surprised Ethan and Nash would have such similar reactions. To anything.

“I hear you,” Ethan said.

“She told me you're thinking of enrolling her at Birchwood.”

“I am.”

Faith stiffened, waiting for the inevitable criticism. Though she couldn't imagine what Nash could find objectionable, she figured if Ethan's brother had crossed the street to discuss it, he had issues. If only because Ethan had suggested it.

“Do you have something to say about it?” Ethan asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Nash's blue eyes bored into Ethan's.

Ethan's grip on her waist tightened. “Well? What is it?”

Nash's jaw tightened. “I think it will be good for her.” The words sounded torn from him. Obviously giving Ethan credit for anything was painful in the extreme.

Faith exhaled a breath she hadn't been aware of holding.

“I agree,” Ethan said.

“She looks up to you,” Nash said.

Ethan shrugged. “I wouldn't go that far.”

“She's protective of you.” Nash's gaze darted to Faith, acknowledging her earlier point. “I'm not sure what you did to deserve it, but don't let her down.”

“I don't intend to,” Ethan said, annoyance clearly simmering below the surface.

“Good.” Nash's eyes flared a darker hue, the message to his older brother clear. Nothing between
them
had changed.

“I have to get back and make sure the little tyrant hasn't forged my name on the permission slip for the dogs.” Nash turned and headed back across the street.

“It's enough already!” Faith exploded when Nash was out of earshot. “The man acts as if he's never made a mistake in his entire life.”

Ethan's mouth curved upward.

“What's so funny?”

“It's not funny. It's sweet.” He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. “How you stick up for me.”

“It's second nature,” she admitted. He dipped his head for a long, thorough kiss, his tongue teasing and tangling with hers. “Mmm. You taste like sugar.”

Her stomach curled deliciously. “Want some more?”

His gaze burned into hers, making her yearn to have him, skin against skin, his body hard inside hers. “You bet I do.”

She shuddered in anticipation of heading home to his bed. Instead, he turned and walked away.

She caught up with him at the
zeppoli
stand, where he bought her another piece of fried dough, laden with powdered sugar, then watched as she tortured him in return. She slowly ate the treat, deliberately savoring the warm dough, licking the sugar thoroughly with her tongue. She hoped she was stoking his flames because she was already completely aroused and couldn't wait to end the evening in his bed and his arms.

But he evidently intended to make her wait, because first they walked hand in hand through town. Faith felt people staring. At her? At him? Them as a couple? She didn't know nor did she care, because as the music played around them and Faith strode through the town she called home, Ethan by her side, an odd sense of peace filled her.

Odd because she was finally feeling like she just might fit in. Back when she was a teenager, she had her group of friends and thought her life was amazing, but she hadn't a clue about the real world. Now she had a business she was building, friendships she was renewing, and a man who represented all sorts of possibilities if she was willing to explore them. And hadn't he given her every reason to believe in him? Didn't he admit he liked her just the way she was?

“What?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“What what?”

He laughed. “You're smiling, so I wondered what you were thinking about.”

“That's an easy question to answer. You.”

He grinned. “Now that I like to hear.” He reached out and brushed his finger over her lips. “Powdered sugar,” he explained before she could ask.

Her skin tingled from his heated touch, a flame she felt all the way to her core. But they were still in town, in public. “So how did your business go in D.C.?” she asked, trying to keep things between them proper and acceptable. Otherwise she'd wrap her body around his and try to crawl right into him.

“Actually, it went well,” he said, unaware of her building desire. “It seems that Dale is still his own worst enemy. Yes, he'd been sleeping with my executive assistant so he could steal information—”

“You mean she wasn't just handing it over?”

He nodded. “That was another plus. She was gullible but not guilty. He used her. Unfortunately for him, he's still the most arrogant SOB I've ever come across and he thought her feelings would counteract her common sense.”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “One of those men, huh?”

“Yep. When my PI told me about their relationship, my hunch told me Amelia wouldn't deliberately sabotage my business. She's just not the type. I was right. When I showed her the evidence that Dale used my specs on his own bid, she broke down. She was devastated. Even quit.”

“You
let
her?”

“Of course not. I told her to take a paid vacation and get herself together. She agreed to testify in my lawsuit against Dale for stealing proprietary business information. And I grabbed the next flight home. To you.”

Okay, so maybe he wasn't as unaware of her needs as she'd thought.

She couldn't stand another minute of small talk on the street. “And I couldn't be happier that you did.”

“Same here,” he said in a husky voice that reassured her he wanted her every bit as much as she needed him.

Faith leaned in close, inhaling his sexy masculine scent. “So . . . when are you going to take me home?”

 

 

Ethan wouldn't call himself a romantic, not by a long shot, but even he knew when he was about to get lucky—and he didn't mean it in the obvious sense. Having the entire house to himself wasn't something that would happen often. Especially not an entire night alone with Faith on the same day he'd accepted his feelings for her.

The drive home was comfortably silent yet sexually charged. Two things he appreciated about Faith: her ability to ease away the tension in his life and keep him in a constant state of arousal. Not a bad combination and one he looked forward to remaining in for a good long time.

Hand in hand, they walked from the garage through the house. She automatically kicked off her sandals by the door and he ditched his sneakers. She was dressed in white jeans and a purple asymmetrical flowing tank top, the same color as Tess's streak of hair, he noted, amused. But there was nothing funny about how she looked, casual and relaxed, and so sexy she took his breath away with her bare feet and light pink polish peeking out from beneath the bottom of her white jeans.