Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 69(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 69(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
“We get along fine.” For two guys who’d never been friends. “Besides, we just like getting under each other’s skin. He knows I have no interest in you other than friendship.”
“Men,” she muttered, sitting on the corner of her desk. “So it’s all fixed?” She gestured to the wall shelves.
“Yes. Just keep the lighter items on that particular section, just in case,” he said of accessories she stocked for her customers. “Did anything break?”
“Just one piece. I can absorb the loss … thanks to you giving me your whole new house to decorate!” Her voice rose in excitement. “I owe you so much. First, renting me this space, then hiring me as a decorator. You’re a good friend, Nick.”
He shook his head. “Who else would I hire? You know me as well as anyone.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do for you . . .”
With her words, an idea settled in his brain. “If you mean that, you can put in a good word for me with Kate.”
“You don’t think I have?” Faith asked.
“And?”
She sighed, pausing in thought. “Look,” she said at last. “Kate doesn’t think you’re serious, that you just see her as a challenge.”
“And I think that’s a bullshit excuse,” Nick muttered.
Faith grinned. “I agree.” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall. Suddenly a thought struck him. “There’s no one else, is there?” he asked.
Faith shook her head. “Definitely not. If you want my opinion, you need to get Kate alone and see if you can’t get her to relax around you a little bit. Use that charm of yours.”
Nick chuckled. “I’m glad you think I’m charming, but what does Kate think?”
Faith bit down on her lower lip, a sure sign she wasn’t comfortable with the conversation. “Without giving away too much, I know she’s interested, but she has trust issues.”
He nodded slowly, understanding what Faith was saying. Whatever Kate’s hang-ups, he’d help her through them, but he didn’t want to hear what they were from Faith any more than she wanted to reveal her friend’s secrets.
“Guess I need to step up my game.” Which meant Kate needed to understand he wasn’t giving up.
“She won’t be able to resist you when you’re determined.”
Nick didn’t remind her that she’d been able to do that very thing. Kate wasn’t Faith and Nick was a hell of a lot more invested in the outcome. She’d grown on him to the point where he wanted to know her inside and out. And he refused to let her get away without seeing what could happen between them. He had high hopes for himself and Kate, and he wasn’t talking about a short-term fling.
“Are you really willing to help me?” Nick asked Faith. “Because if you are, I have a plan.” One that would either win Kate over or finally put an end to his pursuit.
Because if this didn’t work, he was out of ideas and shit out of luck.
Chapter Three
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
“What?” Surprised by the question, Kate glanced at Tess, who she’d just finished tutoring. The teenager needed help with an English paper on Romeo and Juliet, after which Kate, Tess, and Faith were supposed to go to the mall for shopping and dinner.
“You heard me. Do you believe in love at first sight?”
Kate glanced at the clock on the classroom wall. “Umm, Faith is waiting for us outside,” Kate reminded Tess.
Tess shrugged. “That’s okay. She won’t mind. She’s used to you being late. She says so all the time.” Tess looked up at Kate from a fringe of light brown hair.
“Nice,” Kate muttered, even though her best friend only spoke the truth.
“So can you answer me?” Tess asked. “Because Ethan says if he were smarter, he’d have known Faith was it for him back in high school. I can’t imagine taking one look at any guy and falling in love. But I hope it’s true for Ethan and Faith because they need to stay together.”
Kate glanced at Tess, and her heart softened in understanding. She might not be the tough kid who’d arrived in Serendipity with a chip on her shoulder. However, she still possessed a personality roughened by the life she’d led before her older half-brother had taken her in. Beneath the exterior lived a young girl afraid no one cared enough to stick around, and she counted on Ethan and Faith, and the home they provided.
“You gonna answer me?” Tess asked, nudging Kate in the arm.
“I’ll answer you.” As soon as Kate figured out how to reply without disillusioning the teenager further. “I do believe in love at first sight,” she said carefully. “The problem is both people have to feel it for it to work.” Something Kate had never had any luck with. Ever. “As for Ethan and Faith, I promise you they’re solid.”