She rested her cheek on his chest. “They didn’t know. They kept moving between my room and Hope’s, trying to be with us both. I put on a brave front so they could stay with Hope. She needed them more than I did.”

“That’s bullshit.” He turned on his side and faced her, propping his head in his hand. “I’m sorry to say it like that, but it’s true. You may have been conceived to save your sister, but she wasn’t their only child.”

“You’re angry again.” Just as before, she reeled at the frustration rolling off of him. She’d gone from being invisible to mattering so much in such a short period of time. “They did their best by both of us. They died a little when she did. Don’t be angry for me. It’s done. In the past.”

He stared down at her, his lips thin and his eyes fierce. “It’s not done. You’re still donating. Day after day, you’re waiting for them to love you like they did her. That’s their hang-up, not yours.”

“Alec—”

“No. Listen to me. You are not the sum of all your parts, Faith.” His gaze darted over her face, her hair. He tucked a strand behind her ear and sighed, his gaze softening. “You’re so much more than that.”

His words pierced her heart and made her realize that was exactly what she’d been doing. She’d been giving her parents pieces of herself in the hope that they’d love her a smidgen of how much they loved Hope. But if they didn’t by now, they never would. Still, it hurt. So, so bad it hurt.

When would she ever be good enough? She’d let Hope down. She’d let her parents down. Mostly, she was letting herself down. And Alec? He’d leave her behind soon, too. Because it seemed that’s all she was ever good for. A short blip of time until her services were complete.

He flopped to his back and drew her to his side. “I was supposed to be making love to you. Some finish to your birthday this turned out to be.”

The pensive, solemn mood had passed, and the stirrings of need started to swirl within her. Not greed or blind lust, but the need to soothe. To touch and be touched.

She draped her leg over his hips and slid over him. The thickness of his erection grew between their bodies as she stared down at him. He tried to flip her over and take control back, but she didn’t let him. Tonight wasn’t about the climax. It was about the path there.

He dropped his hands to her thighs and stroked. She kissed every inch of skin, touched him with all the emotion trapped inside. And when she took him inside her, they both gasped.

She kissed him softly, on his forehead, his cheeks, his mouth. “I wouldn’t change one minute of this day, Alec. Not one minute.”

He looked in her eyes and swallowed. “Neither would I.”

When they’d both been satisfied, he kissed her hair and tucked her against his side. In time, his breathing evened out, his chest rising and falling in sleep.

But her eyes didn’t close until near sunrise.

chapter

twenty-five

Because things had been going so well between him and Faith, Alec figured he’d fuck it all up and accept his mother’s dinner invitation. She’d wanted to have Lacey and Jake over before the wedding, and when she found out from Jake that Alec was seeing Faith, she’d jumped all over it until he relented. Faith being Faith, she was thrilled by the idea and surprised to be included. He hoped that happy little bubble of hers wasn’t popped by his father’s lack of tact.

Things had . . . evolved since the night of her birthday a few weeks ago. They’d slipped into a comfortable routine. Domestic, even. She worked with Ginny during the day, and he dragged himself out of bed before noon to work on the manuscript. They had dinner at his place, walked the surf, and slept at her house. Sometimes, she cooked. Other times, he’d grill something. On the weekends, they hung out with Cole and Mia, and Lacey and Jake, either on the back deck or on the beach. Drinks. Good conversation.

He and Faith made love nightly. Talked endlessly. He couldn’t wait for her to get off work to tell her what he’d written that day, and he enjoyed when she’d relay some cute thing she and Ginny had done together.

Christ. They’d turned into a sappy movie of the week. And he liked it.

He didn’t know how he was going to leave town in one piece. He was starting to realize it wasn’t just the wide-open expanse of Wilmington, of home, that finally gave him peace—it was her. Here, and with Faith, he could breathe. There was fresh air and sun. New York had been his own form of torture. The city had beauty and qualities he loved, but the air was recycled, the buildings a trap. There was no room, no one who gave a damn about him. He hadn’t known he’d been holding his breath for almost ten years. No wonder his writing had stalled.

He glanced at Faith in the passenger seat next to him, her brown waves caught in the wind as his convertible hugged the highway. She had her face tilted toward the sun and a smile wide enough to encompass the state.

Turning back to the road, he gripped the wheel with more force than necessary. He didn’t know if he could write without her. The book had been turned in to his editor, and Cole had agreed to represent him as his agent, so things were back on track.

Except, what happened if he returned to his apartment and the words were gone? She wouldn’t be there every night to work out the plot. No muse. No fix.

Hell. That was only half the problem. The rest was Faith herself. Ten years and no woman had made him question the guilt, the decision to live with what he’d done. Ten minutes and Faith had him wanting to move past it as if none of it mattered, as if it hadn’t happened.

It did matter. It had happened. Laura’s life was gone. And all because he couldn’t take care of what was his, couldn’t love what was in front of him enough.

“It’s a pretty house.”

Faith’s voice snapped him out of his head. He looked at his parents’ cozy ranch and wondered how they’d gotten there. Jake’s car was in the driveway in front of his and the smell of barbeque wafted in the humid air.

His gut turned to ice. “No matter what crazy-ass thing my father says, just remember you like me and I’m good in bed.”

She laughed, the sound filling the holes in his chest. “Come on.”

The next hour went by in a blur. Faith fit right in with his family as if born into it. She helped his mom make a pasta salad, set the picnic table with Lacey and Jake, quipped with his dad about baseball. It was all so ordinary. So normal. Even Dad was unusually well behaved. Not a stupid, tactless thing spilled from his lips.

By the time the food was gone and the sun was setting, his parents had tortured Lacey and Faith with countless stories of their youth. All he could think was, did Faith’s parents have any stories like these? Had they looked at her, noticed her enough to see the true gem?

His dad got up to head inside and grab another beer from the fridge.

Alec leaned back in his lawn chair and stretched his legs out. At least his knee had stopped bouncing. He hadn’t realized how nervous he was bringing Faith here until the muscles in his shoulders unknotted. Taking each other to meet the parents was something serious couples did. And they were serious. That much was certain. Except serious didn’t equal permanent.

“I’m going to run to the ladies’ room real quick.” Faith patted his hand.

He nodded. Watched her go.

“I really like her.”

He turned his head to look at his mom. “I’m not surprised.”

“She’s so sweet,” Lacey said. “It’s hard not to like her. She’s got a big heart. You should see her with Ginny.”

Jake smiled nauseatingly at Lacey. “Ginny’s got a thing for Alec, too. Eats up everything he says.”

Alec took a sip of beer. “It’s the writer thing. She’s into spooky stories right now.”