“I left him outside.”
“Go and bring him on in. It’s only Frank in back. This time of the year we’re not very busy. Now what can I get you?”
Fifteen minutes later, Faith was seated at a table happily tucking into a cheeseburger and fries, while Taco gnawed on a beef bone. She listened as Tully filled her in on the happenings in town. There was a donut price war between the bakery and the grocery store. Five hundred dollars was missing from the Fourth of July Eve dance proceeds. And the town council was divided on how to celebrate Founder’s Day at the end of the summer.
“John Champion, the mayor, wants to hold a ribfest. That man is from Louisiana, and he sure loves his barbecue. But the rest of council want something more family-oriented with games and rides.” Tully leaned closer. “Of course, the real gossip is that Bob Darby has been seen stepping out with none other than the minister’s sister, Nancy, who isnotmarried to Bob Darby. Half the folks in town think the outing is innocent since they were spotted at the hardware store, while the other half are convinced it was an illicit kind of thing.”
Faith smiled. She loved hearing these stories almost as much as Tully loved telling them. “What do you think?”
“He was helping her pick out the paint colors for her bathroom.” Tully’s eyebrows rose dramatically. “You can’t get much more intimate than that.”
Faith laughed and sat back, full. “The burger was delicious.” She reached for her coke.
“Frank knows his burgers.” Tully looked at her, a coy expression on her face. “How are things between you and Gus?”
Surprised at the turn in conversation, Faith nearly choked on a mouthful of soda. “Why would you ask that?”
“Oh, a couple of reasons. Firstly, he’s not nearly as grumpy as he usually is. He was in for the other day to grab a coffee and had a smile on his face as big as the Grand Canyon. He even cracked a joke. And secondly.” A slow grin wafted over Tully’s face. “A little birdy told me the two of you got mighty close the night of the Fourth of July Eve dance.” She winked. “So how was it?”
“How was what?” Faith managed to ask with a straight face.
“The kissing? I feel he’d be real good at it.”
She dropped her gaze and stared at the half-empty plate she’d pushed away. “It was incredible.”
“I knew it.” Tully sat back and giggled. “God, that man is like sex on a stick, and the dark brooding thing only makes him hotter.”
“Right?” she joked and reached for her purse. “I should go. Thanks for the food and conversation.”
“Anytime.”
Faith paid her bill and headed for home. She stopped and retrieved her apples, then left some on the table inside the foyer. Gus still wasn’t home. She had no cable, and her laptop was tucked away with her phone, so no Netflix. She grabbed a book from the pile Candy had given her and settled on the sofa. It was a romance — light-hearted opposites attract. It was well written, and she enjoyed the banter between the main characters, but by the time she reached chapter five, her eyelids began to droop, and the words were harder to read.
She fell asleep with the book on her chest and woke a few hours later to a dark apartment and Taco barking because of the knocking. Faith rolled off the sofa and unlocked the door to find Gus standing there, a slow, sensual smile on his face. He was dressed casually in khaki shorts and a black T-shirt, with his Mets ball cap on backward. A few days’ worth of stubble covered his chin and jaw, and his hair waved around his ears and neck.
Her body reacted instantly, and when his smile deepened and he leaned down to swipe his mouth across Faith’s, she felt as if she were on fire. Seriously. Like her blood was boiling hot and hard, rushing through her ears and leaving a wake of desire that made her mouth dry and her knees weak.
This magical hold he had on her — it wasn’t fair.
“Missed you this morning,” he said, voice husky as he gazed down at her.
“I had work.”
“Yeah. I know. I dropped by The Dock, but you’d already left.”
“Morning shift.” God, he smelled like summer and pine and spice.
“Have you eaten?”
She nodded.
“I have too. But I’m still hungry.” He slid his hands up the sides of her face, a questioning look on his. “Am I coming in or . . .”
Faith couldn’t take her eyes off him. There were questions. A lot of them. What did you do today? Who were you with? Who was the woman Candy saw?
She didn’t ask, and he didn’t volunteer.
And even though there was a part of her that knew she should be taking this slower, the same part that rang that damn alarm bell inside of her, Faith stepped back, and he walked in.
