Mia shook her head. “I’m glad you did. Even if you guys aren’t in a serious relationship, you should be honest.”

“He was so angry, though.”

“Of course he was,” Lacey said. “I’m angry. That’s a terrible thing to do to a child.”

It never crossed Faith’s mind that Alec’s anger might be directed at her parents. She thought he was mad at her for saying too much or perhaps feeling sorry for herself. Maybe he wasn’t going to end things. Was it too much to hope for that he just wanted to see her? Her heart rate accelerated at the thought.

“My mama was the same way with Ginny.” Mia set her wine aside and straightened. “She just never formed a bond with her. I tried to make up for it, but I think Ginny knew.”

“Ginny had you,” Lacey said before returning her gaze to Faith. “Who did you have?”

Faith tried to rub away the pressure in her chest, but it didn’t work. “I had Hope. Every treatment and surgery was worth it to have her as long as I did.” They didn’t look convinced. “I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. I just wish my parents felt something toward me, too, you know?” Ashamed to find tears in her eyes, she swiped them away angrily. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now and starting over.”

“Good for you,” Mia affirmed with a nod.

“And you have us.” Lacey reached for her hand and squeezed. After a moment, she sat back in her chair. “I always wanted friends. Real friends.”

Mia nodded. “I wanted the stability of friends. It just never happened until . . . I came home.” She looked back at the house behind them and smiled.

Home. Faith always thought of home as her parents’ house, but maybe home wasn’t there. Maybe she had yet to find it. “What do you think I should tell Alec?”

Mia shrugged. “That depends. Do you want to see him?”

Lacey laughed. “That smile on your face says yes. Do it, Faith. Have a glorious hot affair and enjoy your summer. Who knows, maybe something will come from it.”

Dangerous thinking, that. To view their relationship as anything more than two ships passing in the night would only give her a broken heart. Alec himself had said he couldn’t do more. They lived in separate states, had very different lives. No, Alec wasn’t long term. But she would enjoy her brief time with him.

She unlocked her phone and thumbed out a text.

*   *   *

The moment Faith opened the door and Alec saw her, he knew his suspicions were right on the mark. He felt differently about her than he had about anyone in a long time. More so, if he dug deep enough into his memory. She chased away the dark. And somehow, since he’d known her, his writing had grown stronger.

Yet she acted like she could take him or leave him. Faith may have seemed aloof, but he suspected that under the surface there was strength and heart. Right next to insecurity and uncertainty. In fact, she seemed like someone hell-bent on taking care of herself, but failing.

That did funny things to his chest.

She gestured him inside, but he stayed rooted to the spot, taking in the sight of her. If he’d texted any other woman and said he was coming over, they’d be wearing ten pounds of makeup, high heels, and nothing else. That wasn’t arrogance on his part, just stone-cold truth. Women wanted his money, his fame, or his body. No in-betweens or exceptions.

And then there was Faith. A haphazard ponytail left wisps of brown hair around her face. The loose cotton shorts and white tee she wore shouldn’t be sexy. The lamplight behind her hid most of her freckles, but he still wanted to kiss each one, strip her to see if she had more. And where.

“Hi,” he forced out.

“Hello. Are you going to come inside or should we talk through the doorway?”

The last thing he wanted to do was talk. He crossed the threshold and fit his lips over hers, reaching out and tugging her flush against his chest. And damn, the spark wasn’t a fluke. The same heat and need flared to life. Consumed.

Tightening his hold on her, he lifted her enough to back her away from the entry and kicked the door shut, all the while keeping his mouth fused to hers. He spun her around and pressed her back against the door, planting his palms on either side of her head. If he kept his hands off her, he could stop this before the house went up in flames. Probably.

Faith didn’t get the memo. Her fingers drove into his hair and tugged. Her tongue warred with his for dominance and he was damn tempted to let her win. Just for the hell of it. To let himself be conquered for once.

When one of her legs snaked around his hips, drawing his jean-clad erection snug against the apex of her thighs, he groaned and rested his forehead against hers. Tried to breathe. “You’re a sleeper,” he mumbled, head still somewhere in the vicinity of that kiss.

“Sleeper?” she breathed.

God, that voice of hers got to him in ways he couldn’t possibly explain. “Yeah. A sleeper. You seem all reserved and calm on the surface, lying in wait until the moment of initiation, and then you strike.”

Her amber eyes lifted to his, her dilated pupils telling him she was just as affected. “That was a compliment, right?”

He laughed and dropped a kiss on her shoulder. Smelled so good. “Yes, that was a compliment.” He’d come over here for something other than this, hadn’t he? He couldn’t seem to remember.

“So, you’re not breaking up with me?”

He ceased his nibbling on the tendon in her neck and looked at her. Just as he suspected. Insecurity shone in her eyes, not needy attention-seeking manipulation. “Why would I do that?”

She shrugged, one of her hands still fisted in his hair. “You were mad out on the beach when I talked about . . .”

As she trailed off, he stared, wondering how to put into words the emotions she’d brought out in him with her admission a few nights back. He shouldn’t care. If they were nothing more than a summer fling, he shouldn’t care.

She blinked slowly. “You wanted to know about my past. I don’t talk about it very often, mostly because no one’s asked before, but . . .”

She was killing him. “There’s no excuse for what your parents did. You should never feel bad for being put on the back burner because of someone else’s faults. You hear me, Faith?”

Her head tilted, taking in his words. “Lacey was right. You’re mad at my parents, not me.”

She talked about him with Lacey? That was a good sign that she thought about him half as much as he did her.

Her hands dropped to his chest. “I don’t . . .”

“You don’t what?”

“I don’t think anyone’s been mad on my behalf before.”

Killing him dead.

He sucked in a breath and suddenly remembered why he came over. She’d never been to the beach before Mia and Cole hired her, which made it likely she hadn’t traveled at all. “Come with me to New York next Saturday.”

The back of her head hit the door when she startled. “What?”

He removed his palms from the door to cup her chin. “My publisher is throwing a release party I have to attend. It’ll just be for one night, but I can show you around the city beforehand. Have you ever been to New York?”

“No. But why do I need to go, too?”

Alec wondered if she’d ever get out of the habit of questioning the motivation behind others wanting to be in her company. “You don’t need to go. I want you to go. I’d like you there.”

“Oh.”

Again with the oh. “What do you say?”

Her gaze drifted over his shoulder as she contemplated. “Okay. As long as Mia doesn’t need me in town.”

“You don’t work weekends.” Why the hell was he trying so hard to convince her? He never brought dates to release parties.

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem,” she said, staring at him as if wanting to say more. She opened and closed her mouth several times before finally speaking. “If you change your mind about this thing between us, just tell me. I’d like to stay on friendly terms afterward. If you drag it out—”