What a Woman Wants (22 page)

“
Did you enjoy
your weekend?”

Faith consciously crossed her fingers beneath the tennis racket she was holding and smiled up at Shane, knowing she was about to tell an outright lie. “Oh, yes, I had a wonderful weekend. How was yours?”

“So-so, but it could have been better had you come over. I had a lot of things planned for us to do.”

She could just imagine, but a part of her wanted him to tell her anyway. “Things like what?”

“Grill some ribs, watch a movie, play a game of cards, Jet Ski—”

“Jet Ski?”

“Yes.”

“Shane, I just recently learned how to swim. Surely you didn’t think you would have gotten me out on the water trying to do something like that.”

He chuckled. “Sure I did. I have a gut feeling you’d be good at anything you set your mind to doing.”

Faith wasn’t so confident about that as he seemed to be. She held up her tennis racket. “Well, can we take just one thing at a time? Right now I want to put my concentrated efforts on learning to play tennis.”

And for the next hour or so, she did exactly that, determined to capitalize on those practice sessions she’d done over the weekend.

“You’re getting better and better,” Shane said, wiping sweat off his brow with a towel. “You’re doing an excellent job with your strokes.”

“Thank you.”

“Any plans for this afternoon?”

She slipped her racket into the cover and glanced up at him. “Why do you ask?”
Like I don’t already know.

“I thought that you might like to take advantage of my private beach again.”

“Sounds nice, but I’ve already made plans. Thanks for the invite.”

“Anytime. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I want to.”

She didn’t say anything while they walked side by side to the parking lot. He commented about a recent news event, and she listened, adding her thoughts only occasionally. She enjoyed listening to the sound of his voice. It had a sexy tone, one whose tempo could caress every part of her body. She wondered if he ever thought of being a disc jockey. He would definitely croon a lot of women to sleep every night.

They had gotten a few feet from her car when she heard someone calling her name. She turned to find Shannon walking toward her.

“Someone you know?” Shane asked, and it was then she realized how close he was standing to her.

“Yes, one of my girlfriends who I’m here with for the summer.” When Shannon came to a stop in front of them, Faith raised a surprised brow. “Shannon, what are you doing here?”

Shannon smiled brightly. “Looking for you. I wanted to see if you’re interested in going shopping with me.” She then glanced over at Shane, and her smile widened when she said, “Hi.” She offered him her hand.

“Oh, sorry,” Faith quickly said. “Shane, this is my good friend Shannon Carmichael. Shannon, this is Shane Masters, my—”

“Tennis instructor,” Shannon finished for her. “Nice meeting you, Shane. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

“Thanks.”

Shannon turned her attention back to Faith. “Well, what about it? Do you want to go shopping? I looked for Monique, but she left to go jogging and hasn’t returned.”

“She’s probably having breakfast with Lyle ,” Faith said. “Sure, I’ll go shopping with you, since I don’t have any plans for this afternoon.”
Oops.
Too late Faith realized she’d been caught in a lie. A quick glance at Shane let her know he’d been the one who caught her. She had told him just minutes ago that she
did
have plans for the afternoon.

Their gazes locked and held for a moment, and then he said, “I’ll let you ladies go enjoy your afternoon. I’ll see you next week, Faith, for another training session.”

She nodded. “All right.” And then she watched him walk away, feeling lower than low.

“He’s gorgeous.”

“What?”

“I said that he’s gorgeous. Gosh, look at his tush. Maybe I should be taking tennis lessons.”

Faith frowned, not liking Shannon’s interest in Shane. “You already know how to play tennis.”

“Yeah, but if all the instructors look like him, then ...”

Faith’s eyes reflected annoyance. “All the instructors don’t look like him, and he’s not really an instructor. He’s just someone I met who offered to teach me how to play.”

Shannon looked surprised. “Why would he do that? I’m sure there’s more on this island for a gorgeous hunk to do than to teach someone to play tennis.”

Faith shrugged. “In that case, maybe I should feel lucky.”

“Maybe you should.” And seemingly as an afterthought, Shannon added, “And there’s only so much you can get from pleasure reading, Faith. Especially, when it’s a romance novel. Once in a while, you’d want to try things out for yourself.”

Before Faith could comment, Shannon said, “Come on, we can take my car.”

Five stores later,
and Shane was still on Faith’s mind. She could only imagine what he thought of her. Although it had been a little white lie, a lie was a lie, and she knew he was a man who appreciated honesty. She had determined that fact after he’d shared with her what his fiancée had done to him just weeks before the wedding.

“Okay, what’s going on? You’re too quiet.”

Faith glanced over at Monique. She had joined them after getting the message Shannon left on her cell phone. Shannon was in the dressing room trying on several more outfits that she had picked out. “Shane Masters caught me in a lie.”

Monique’s brow rose. “What kind of lie?”

“He invited me over to his place to enjoy his private beach again, but I told him I’d made plans for this afternoon. That was before Shannon showed up and asked me to go shopping with her. Right in front of him, I told Shannon that I’d go because I didn’t have any plans for the afternoon—a direct contradiction to what I’d told him earlier.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, I know,” Faith said, putting a dress back on the rack after deciding it was way too small for her, although the tag said it was her size. “Now I don’t know what to do. He probably got the impression that I don’t want to spend any time with him.”

“Do you?”

Faith glanced at Monique over the row of clothes. “Yes. No. Hell, I don’t know. He’s scares me.”

Monique frowned. “Scares you in what way?”

“I can see him as someone I could really start liking, someone I could get close to, want to sleep with ... so on and so forth.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not exactly but we only have so many weeks on the island and—”

“Aren’t we supposed to have fun, enjoy ourselves, not live up to anyone’s expectations but our own?”

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing, Faith. If you like him, then what’s the problem? What are you holding out for? An engagement ring?”

“Of course not!”

“Okay, then.”

Faith glanced over at Monique. What she’d said made sense. “Who made you an expert on issues of the heart all of a sudden?”

A slow smile touched Monique’s lips. “Trust me, I’m far from being an expert. I have my own issues to work out.” And then knowing she needed to tell someone and Faith was the one she wanted to tell, she looked past Faith’s shoulder to make sure Shannon wasn’t coming and whispered, “This morning Lyle told me he’s in love with me.”

Faith blinked. “What? He said it? Just like that?”

“In a way, yes. I thought it was time we talked, considering what happened between us this weekend.”

Faith’s eyes widened. “What happened this weekend? Did the two of you sleep together?”

“No, but we kissed, plenty of times, and they weren’t the friendly kind, either. They were the type that’s usually followed by the taking off your clothes.”

Faith swallowed. “But things never got that far?”

“No. Lyle was able to keep things under control. But still, I wanted to know why things had shifted between us. I kind of figured we were attracted to each other a little, but I hadn’t figured on the explosion I got in Beaufort.”

Faith nodded. “So, how do you feel about him wanting to be more than just a friend?”

Monique let out a frustrated sigh. “That’s just it. I don’t know how I feel. I never thought of loving any other man but Paul.”

“Yes, but even you said that Paul would want you to be happy.”

“Yes, but in my mind being happy meant going out occasionally, having a good time. Falling in love means something altogether different. People who love each other want permanency. Forever after.”

“And that scares you?”

“Yes,” she said, lowering her voice even more. “I had that before, and I lost it. I wouldn’t want to go through the pain of that happening again.”

“Oh, Monique, things won’t necessarily be that way. But then you know as well as I do that life’s a gamble.”

“Yes, and that’s what has me too afraid to take a chance with my heart again.”

Randolph Fuller glanced
over to where the group of young people were presently involved in a serious game of volleyball. His heart swelled with love and pride for all of them. There was his own son, Trey, and his stepdaughter, Haywood. The two had decided a few years ago that they were in love and had gotten married. Then there were his biological daughter, Randi, as well as Zach Wainwright, whom he considered a godson; and his niece, Anna.

Anna.

Had it been only a little more than a year ago that they had finally found her after a thirty-four-year search, a search that he and Noah refused to give up on even when others said they should.

“You’re okay, sweetheart?”

Randolph turned and met his wife’s curious expression. Jenna was the woman he had fallen in love with the moment he’d seen her on Howard University’s campus so many years ago, and she was the only woman he’d loved since. She was and always would be his one and only. She was his soul mate.

He smiled and reached out and opened his arms for her. “Yes, I’m okay. How’s Quad?” he asked of their grandson, who would be celebrating his second birthday in about six months.

Jenna smiled as she walked into his arms. “He’s fine, but he fought sleep all the way.” She glanced over to the spot where Randolph had been staring earlier. “How’s the game going?”

He shook his head and chuckled. “Real serious about now. The guys have the advantage and they know it, but then so do the girls. See how they’re dressed.”

Jenna did and laughed. Both Haywood and Anna were wearing cutoff shorts and midriff tops that showed a lot of belly. Evidently they thought they had a chance of winning if they made themselves the center of attention rather than the volleyball. “I bet what they’re wearing was the scorekeeper’s idea,” she said of their twenty-year-old daughter, Randi. When it came to fashion, Randi Jenna Fuller was as daring as they came.

Randolph grinned. “You’re probably right. And you were right about something else as well.”

She lifted a brow. “What?”

“Zach wasn’t going to waste any time letting Anna know how he felt.”

Jenna nodded. “Do you think he’s told her about his political aspirations yet?”

Randolph shook his head. “No. He said he was going to wait to do that. He wanted to give her time to adjust to his feelings for her first. He wants to marry her, and how she feels about him entering politics will determine if he throws his hat into the ring or not. He really loves her, Jenna. Did you see that finished painting of her?”

“Yes, I saw it. It was beautiful.”

“That painting was done through the eyes of a man in love.”

She smiled. “I can tell that, too. Leigh and I had that figured out that night he brought her to you and Noah and we were all sitting in the study asking questions, trying to figure out why it took thirty-four years to find her. He was so protective of her, so caring. I knew then it would just be a matter of time.”

Randolph pulled her closer into his arms. “I know that Ross and Gramma Mattie are overjoyed at the thought of a Wainwright marrying a Fuller. I can feel their presence, even now.”

“So can I.”

A few minutes later he said, “How about if we leave the big house to the young folks tonight and spend the night in our favorite place,” he said, staring down at her. Whenever he brought her here, he wanted to spend time totally alone with her. She knew the place he meant. It was their special cottage, located a few miles from the big house.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she said, snuggling closer into his arms. “When will Noah and Leigh arrive?”

“Tomorrow. Around noon.”

“Good. I can’t wait to visit with Leigh.”

“
I hope you
ladies know you only won by default,” Trey Fuller said, grabbing his wife and bringing her to him for a kiss.

“By fault or default?” Haywood asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Now is not the time to be a sore loser. You should have been paying more attention to the game.”

Trey glanced over at Zach. “I don’t think they played fair. Maybe we ought to take them somewhere and ditch them.”

Zach chuckled. “I’m all for taking them somewhere,” he said, taking Anna’s hand in his and bringing her closer to him. “But I don’t know if I want to ditch them, though. It would be nice if we were to take them on a treasure hunt tomorrow. What do you think?”

Trey’s eyes lit up. “In search of the lost treasure? Hey, why not.”

Haywood frowned. “Don’t Anna and I have anything to say about it?”

“No,” both men said simultaneously.

Haywood glanced over at Anna and winked. “In that case, we might as well make the most of it and go along.”

Anna laughed as Zach pulled her closer into his arms. She wasn’t sure what Haywood had up her sleeve, but she knew her friend had something. And whatever it was, she was game. She was glad that no one seemed surprised that she and Zach were an item. Instead everyone seemed really pleased about it.

“I’m going to miss having you in my bed tonight,” Zach leaned down and whispered for her ears only.

She looked up at him. His face glowed with an invitation to sin of the worst kind. “Are you?”

“Yes,” he said, smiling. “But your aunt and uncle have to go to sleep sometime.”

A sensuous shiver raced up her spine at the thought of him sneaking into her bedroom. “You wouldn’t.”

He laughed. “Trust me, sweetheart. I would.”