Five
The next morning, Faith’s body was still teeming with weird emotions. It was difficult to untangle everything she was feeling. From what had begun when Hayley had called him attractive, to what she’d felt when she’d watched him continue to chat with the blonde, to when she had ultimately excused herself because she couldn’t keep looking at their flirtation.
She realized—when she had been lying in her bed—that the reason she had to cut her girls’ night short was that she couldn’t stand knowing whether or not Levi left the bar with the pretty blonde.
She was sure he had. Why wouldn’t he? He was a healthy, adult man. The kind who had apparently had a fake ID, so very likely a bad-boy type. Meaning that an impromptu one-night stand probably wouldn’t bother him at all.
Heck, it had probably been why he was at the bar.
Her stomach felt like acid by the time she walked into the GrayBear Construction building.
The acidic feeling didn’t improve when she saw that Joshua was already sitting there drinking a cup of coffee in the waiting room.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, then kicked the door shut with her foot and made her way over to the coffeemaker.
“Good morning.”
“Shouldn’t you be home having breakfast with your wife and kids?”
“I would be, but Danielle has an OB appointment later this morning.” Joshua’s wife was pregnant, and he was ridiculously happy about it. And Faith was happy for him. Two of her sisters-in-law were currently pregnant. Danielle very newly so, and Poppy due soon. Mia and Devlin seemed content to just enjoy each other for now.
Her brothers were happy. Faith was happy for them.
It was weird to be the last one so resolutely single, though. Even with her dating life so inactive, she had never imagined she would be the last single sibling in her family.
“I need to be at the appointment,” he said. “She’s getting an ultrasound.”
“I see. So you came here to get work done early?”
“I’ve been here since six.”
“I guess I can’t scowl at you for that.”
“Why are you scowling at all?”
She didn’t say anything, and instead, she checked her buzzing text. It was from Levi. Just his address. Nothing more. It was awfully early. If he had a late night, would he be up texting her?
Maybe he’s just still up.
She wanted to snarl at that little inner voice.
“You busy today?” Joshua asked casually.
“Not really. I have some schematics to go over. Some designs to do. Emails to send.” She waved a hand. “A meeting later.”
He frowned. “I don’t have you down for a meeting.”
Great. She should have known her PR brother would want to know what meeting she would be going out for.
“It’s not, like, a work meeting. It’s, like, for...a school talk.” She stumbled over the lie, and immediately felt guilty.
“No school contacted me. Everything is supposed to go through me.”
“I can handle community work in the town of Copper Ridge, Joshua. It’s not like this is Seattle. And there’s not going to be press anywhere asking me stupid questions or trying to trip me up. It’s just Copper Ridge.”
“Still.”
The door opened and Isaiah came in, followed by his wife, Poppy, who was looking radiant in a tight, knee-length dress that showed off the full curve of her rounded stomach. They were holding hands, with their fingers laced together, and the contrast in their skin tones was beautiful—it always ignited a sense of artistic pleasure in Faith whenever she saw them. Well, and in general, seeing Isaiah happy made her feel that way. He was a difficult guy. Hard to understand, and seemingly emotionless sometimes.
