Serendipity (10 page)

He liked thinking of her in this pink, princesslike room. It was just like he'd imagined for her. Funny that it had been her mother's taste and not hers.

“The cool thing is, my markings and the older ones are all part of the rich history of this place.”

“Which is?” he asked, curious.

“Don't you know the history of the house?” she asked.

He shook his head. He didn't know anything except only someone wealthy could afford a place like this. As a kid, he'd been awed by its imposing presence. As an adult, the big house represented permanency and the only second chance he'd get in Serendipity.

The people who lived on Ethan's side of town had always seemed to be in awe of Faith's father. In buying this house, Ethan had sought that kind of acknowledgment for himself. His brothers had made it clear he'd never get it. A heavy weight settled in his chest. Even his housekeeper couldn't contain her dislike. Yet he was still determined to win them all over.

“Tell me about the house,” he said, wanting his thoughts off of himself.

She smiled. “Well, according to my mother, decades ago, the wealthy in Manhattan wanted to escape the oppressive heat during the summer so they sought out summer
cottages
where they could take their families. Some cottage, huh?” she asked wryly.

“Small and quaint,” he agreed with a grin.

She laughed.

And everything inside his chest eased.

“Serendipity must have seemed like the perfect getaway on a beautiful lake.” Her voice took on a dreamy quality.

Ethan knew the lake on the outskirts of town, a place where kids hung out and families picnicked. Just not
his
family. His father, a traveling salesman, had rarely been home. And when he was, there was always bickering he'd try hard not to hear.

“One family moved out here, bought land, and built a large estate, then others in their social circle followed, each trying to outdo the other.”

Faith's story brought him back to the present.

“This house was just the pièce de résistance.” She gestured with her hands as she explained, her expression animated as she related the story, her fondness for this place obvious.

Pleasure unfolded inside him from watching her.

“Over the years, the inhabitants changed, of course. And over time Serendipity became more of a permanent place to live rather than just a summer retreat. But with changing times and owners came responsibilities. Not all owners kept up their homes and many fell into disrepair. A lot of them were knocked down to build the main part of town. Subdivision of land and things resulted in the smaller parcels and homes in the downtown area. And yet this house was always maintained, always well kept. My parents did their job for the last twenty years. Until . . .” Her voice trailed off. She was obviously unwilling to go on.

But Ethan knew exactly what she'd been about to say. Her father's fall from grace had reared its ugly head. Apparently it wasn't something she liked to discuss. Just as apparently, maybe talking would make her feel better.

“Until?” he prodded.

She shook her head. “Let's
not
get into that story.”

Ethan studied her through narrowed eyes, making a decision in an instant. “Yes, let's.”

“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.