“What are you? Freud?”

“Doesn’t take a shrink to point out you said made love instead of had sex. Because something tells me it wasn’t just sex. You’ve had sex with any and every female who caught your eye since you were sixteen.”

“Jake,” he growled a warning. He did have standards, for fuck’s sake.

“No, listen to me.” His brother turned and faced him head-on, an unusual fire lighting his eyes. “In nine years, not one woman has gotten close enough to breach your wall. You told her, man. You told Faith about Laura. That right there should tell you something.”

Yeah. It told him he’d let his guard down and left his heart open for slaughter. Alec was amazed there was anything left of the organ to kill. And Jake wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. Point was, he didn’t know what to do about it. He wanted Faith so bad that there wasn’t a stray thought that didn’t lead back to her. Staying away seemed to be the best thing for both of them.

Jake sighed. “Mom and Dad are here. Lacey’s nervous about them meeting her father. I’m going to go find her.” He glanced across the dunes, already searching for her. “Go find Faith. Kiss and make up.”

As Jake wandered off to seek out Lacey, Alec’s gaze drifted over the twenty or so guests milling about the beach. Some were clients of Jake’s, others were old high school friends, and there were a few of their cousins in the mix. He’d also been introduced to a handful of Mia’s coworkers from the VA hospital. Their faces were illuminated by an orange glow from the bonfire as they laughed and swapped stories. None of it interested him as it used to. People-watching had once been his favorite pastime.

What in the hell had Faith done to him? Staring out at the ocean, he wondered if she was a mermaid after all. From the moment he’d first heard her speak, that was the image that stuck. Her soothing voice, the lulling hum of calm surrounding her, plus some kind of mystical magic.

She had complete and utter power over him.

He finished his beer and tossed the bottle in the recycling, noting Ginny had wandered away from Faith and was now chatting it up with a couple of girls who were summering down the beach. Faith crossed her arms and looked around, staring at the others. Her white top and blue pants clung to her in the breeze as her hair caught and danced. He’d bet her freckles would be more pronounced against the firelight.

Fishing in her pocket, she hastily drew out her cell and stared at the screen before answering. Whoever she was talking to didn’t stay on the line very long. Soon, her excitement was cast aside by disappointment and she hung up. Her shoulders slumped. Her head bowed.

Alec had seen her do this more times than he had fingers and toes to count. No doubt, it was her parents calling for their mundane weekly check-in.

The fucking shitheads. What in the hell was wrong with those people? To treat a daughter that way? Their flesh and blood. How could you look at something so beautiful, so goddamn sweet his teeth ached, that they themselves had created, and not love her?

Alec’s baby had been nothing more than tissue when Laura miscarried, but he loved that little mass with all he had, and he hadn’t ever gotten to meet it. Granted, he only had one side of Faith’s story, and there may have been more to it, but Faith was honest to a fault. He didn’t question for a second that what she told him was the truth.

Looking at her now, any residual doubt slipped away with the tide. He pulled out his cell to text her. Cowardice, for sure, but she was killing him standing there all by herself, wanting acceptance from two people who were too selfish to give it.

I miss you.

She glanced down at her phone and stilled. If not for the swish of her hair in the wind, he’d swear time had stopped.

Painful minutes ticked by.

Just as he was about to make his way over, his parents approached Faith, with Lacey and Jake in tow. Feeling like he’d been dropped in some god-awful mute version of a Shakespearean play, Alec watched from a distance.

Faith said something that made his dad laugh. Before they moved on, Faith handed them a napkin with a brownie as if she were one of the waitstaff.

He followed Faith’s gaze as Lacey introduced her father to his parents. He couldn’t tell from this distance, but he knew that longing, yearning look haunting Faith’s face. Any family dynamic, even a dysfunctional one, had to be better than pretending total ignorance.

He’d forgotten all about the text until Faith glanced at her phone again. After a few seconds, she cast a wayward glance at the guests and crossed her arms as she wandered toward her guesthouse.

Surging into action, Alec pivoted and strode past the beach and mimosa grove to the front of the property, where he could make his way to her place without anyone seeing.

chapter

twenty

It seemed she didn’t belong anywhere. A party full of people and she was still so alone. Most of the guests were having a great time, which was good. Faith was hoping to drum up enough courage to go introduce herself, but then Alec’s text came, throwing her off.

He missed her? She didn’t know how to feel about that, or if she should believe it. If he missed her, he had a funny way of showing it.

His parents were nice people. His dad was a little too outspoken, but his mother was warm and friendly. Faith got the impression Alec’s dad was just nervous. After all, he used to be the Covingtons’ gardener and now he was invited to beach parties on the estate and his son was marrying the Covingtons’ daughter. Hope used to talk a lot when she was nervous. Endless chatter with no filter.

She opened the back door to the guesthouse and stepped inside. Not bothering with the kitchen light, she made her way to the stove to start the kettle. While she waited for the water to heat, she glanced out the window over the sink. The bonfire created enough illumination for her to move about, but she didn’t want anyone to know she’d slunk off like a coward, so she kept the lights off. The party had been too much stimulation. Most people didn’t understand that, and it was too hard to explain.

She doubted anyone would notice she was gone anyway, which was fine.

The kettle whistled, shaking her away from her thoughts. She poured the water into a mug and set the tea bag to steep. After locking the kitchen door, just in case a wandering guest should approach, she decided to grab a book and read until she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Perhaps then she’d get out of this pattern of interrupted sleep that had haunted her all week.

“You left the party pretty early.”

Hot tea sloshed over her hand when she whirled. She shook the sting away.

The deep tone of Alec’s familiar voice infiltrated the quiet serenity of the guesthouse. She’d thought she was alone. Assumed, rather. He hadn’t come inside without knocking first any other time.

He leaned against the living room wall by the front door, arms folded over his impressive chest and ankles crossed. No flip-flops or sandals. The sight of his bare feet sent some kind of electrical current to her knees, causing them to weaken. Why was that so sexy? Board shorts in a blue tropical pattern covered his strong thighs and narrow hips. His tee was plain white, but stretched across the muscles in his biceps and broad chest, making her want to be that shirt.

He looked casual, until she caught the tension tightening his shoulders and the wariness in his eyes. Tufts of his black hair stood up on his head, like he’d run his hands through it a half dozen times. It was windy tonight, though. Perhaps nature was the culprit for the bedhead.

She tried to swallow and failed. What was he doing here? He didn’t want complications or romantic entanglements. He’d called things off. Didn’t he realize how hard it was for her to be near him?