“I tagged some bridesmaid dresses. You can tell me what color you like, Ginny.”

“I’ll leave you guys alone for a bit.”

“No, stay. I want your opinion, too. Please,” Lacey urged when Faith hesitated.

“Shouldn’t you be doing this with Mia? Maybe you should wait until she gets back.” After all, they were sisters-in-law and friends. What did Faith know about this stuff?

“Oh, there’s plenty to do. But August will be here soon, and the dresses take the longest to order.”

“Okay,” she sighed, sitting on the couch next to her. Ginny flanked her other side.

For the next two hours, they went over colors and styles. Lacey decided to let Ginny and Mia pick out their own instead of going with matching dresses. Faith liked that idea, allowing them their own individuality.

Lacey wasn’t who Faith had expected. With the money and power the Covingtons had, Faith had anticipated a royal snob who ordered her minions around, like her former students and their families at St. Ambrose. Lacey wasn’t like that at all. She was warm and kind and funny in a subdued sort of way. She seemed to just be coming out of her shell after being under her mother’s thumb all those years, and just starting to figure out who she was as a person. Faith could relate to her random insecurities. In a way, they had a lot in common.

After going over tuxedo options—and Faith imagining how good Alec would look in one—Faith stood. Bea was off this week with Mia and Cole out of town, so she needed to get lunch started.

“Would you like to stay for lunch?”

“Oh, I can’t. I have to meet with the caterer while Jake takes his lunch break. Maybe some other time. We can go shopping?”

“Sure. I’d like that,” Faith said, surprised she meant it.

Lacey turned to Ginny with a smile. “I’ll see you for our sleepover party tomorrow night.”

“Yeah!”

When Lacey left, Faith made some quick sandwiches and a salad for her and Ginny, but after lunch the girl was restless and bursting with energy. Faith was just about crawling out of her skin, too. She couldn’t pinpoint just what was wrong, except that Alec hadn’t been over in two days. The book report must’ve helped.

She smiled, pride welling inside that she’d been able to help him work through it. The lack of productivity had obviously bothered him.

Rubbing her forehead, she watched Ginny squirm in her seat and doing anything but her math problems. Math wasn’t Faith’s favorite, either.

“You know what, Ginny girl? Let’s quit for today.”

“Yeah!”

Faith grinned and closed the workbook with a snap. “Come on. Let’s go work the ants out.” She laughed at Ginny’s confusion. “Figure of speech. It’ll be fun. I promise.”

They headed into the living room where they went through the CD collection by the stereo. Ginny picked out a dance mix, which Faith set in the tray. A booming pop song mixed with a retro beat filled the room. Not her first choice, but Ginny loved it.

“Now what?” Ginny said.

“Now we dance.”

Since no one else was around to hear them, Faith turned the music to blasting and grabbed the girl’s hands. Ginny laughed and threw her head back, spinning and swaying. Faith picked up Ginny’s crazy rhythm and followed along.

*   *   *

Alec hadn’t slept more than four hours in two days, but hell if he’d ever felt better in his life. The words flowed. Chapter after chapter. Through the night, bleeding into the day. He was back. Sanity maintained.

Leaning back in his chair, he grinned and scrubbed his hands over his face. He should keep going, in case he lost this tangible thread, but his stomach rumbled and he was pretty sure he smelled.

He threw a frozen pizza into the oven and went to shower while it baked. Thoughts scrambled for purchase in his head as he stood under the spray. Plots morphed and characters screamed. Grabbing a bar of soap, the manuscript played out in his head until the end while he lathered.

The book was not coming out exactly how he’d first charted it in his timeline. Instead, the female lead was quickly becoming the heroine. The Nightmare demon had kidnapped her, and her brother searched in vain, losing a bit of his own self along the way. But it was the girl who broke free and escaped, using her own hidden strength and wit. Alec was about halfway through the manuscript, about to reach the peak where everything crumbled to shit and Nightmare grew fierce with fury. This part of writing a book was always a rush like no other. The exact moment when he knew conflict collided with action and the reader would be glued to the page, hanging on to every word.

Stepping out of the shower, he dried off, dressed, and headed to the kitchen, head still in the story. He’d have to rework books two and three to accommodate this change. If he kept the childhood tie between the three female victims, he could keep the motive behind Nightmare’s desire for them. Instead of the brother saving them, though, Faith would do it.

Alec’s head reared back and the slice of pizza fell from his fingertips to the counter. Christ, he hadn’t even realized he’d been eating. Half the pepperoni pie was devoured.

Faith.

She’d wormed her way into his head, under his skin. He’d based his female lead off her physically and emotionally. Wavy brown hair and quizzically sad eyes. Quiet strength, brilliant mind. Because of her, he’d been writing again. And holy shit, it was the best book he’d ever punched out. Even not having finished yet, he knew. This story was different. Girl power. Danger. A little romance. Fear unlike anything in his previous series.

All due to Faith.

Jake was right. She was different than the others. Not a distraction, but a destination. Part of him wanted to grasp that shred of hope for a future, for something permanent and real. Try his hand at normal again. But that wasn’t possible and never would be.

Still . . . she stayed there, trapped in his mind as a maybe. As potential. Alec shook his head and tossed the leftover pizza in the fridge.

He absolutely shouldn’t go over there and see her. It wasn’t fair to Faith to ping-pong back and forth between brooding and flirting. So far, he’d kept himself in check. But if he kept drawing himself toward the temptation of her, he’d do nothing but tear apart her life the way he’d done to Laura. Faith was kind. She was devoted to helping others, and genuinely enjoyed it.

And for the love of God, what was it about her? What was the damn draw? She wasn’t a gorgeous supermodel with pouty lips. She didn’t even wear makeup most of the time. Her body didn’t sport curvy hips and a full chest. In fact, she was so damn wispy thin he could probably bench-press her with one arm. Half the time she didn’t seem to want him around. She’d brushed off that kiss instead of trying to rope him into a marriage proposal like every other woman he’d encountered.

So, yeah. What the hell?

Still worked up into a mild irritation, he lifted his hand to knock on the front door and froze. He sighed with dramatic flair into the humid afternoon heat. Whatever. So she was on his mind and he’d unconsciously walked over. It meant nothing.

Music boomed from inside the house, all but rattling the windows. That wasn’t like her. In fact, every time he’d popped by, the house had been quiet. She and Ginny were usually working on some lesson or baking something. They’d never hear the bell or a knock over this racket, though.

Testing the knob, he found the door unlocked. He strode in and made his way toward the living room where the noise seemed to originate. What he found had his jaw dropping.

Ginny and Faith were . . . dancing. If you could call what they were doing dancing. Ginny was jumping up and down, bobbing her head to the beat. Faith had her arms up, swaying her hips. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks flushed. The blue top she wore rose up to show a patch of pale skin near her navel.