River of Love(13)

“Where are you injured?”

A mischievous smile formed on his handsome face. How could a single look make her body hum with need?

“My leg.”

“Calf? Thigh?” The words fell fast, and thankfully not breathlessly.

He quirked a brow. “Thigh.”

With embarrassingly shaky hands she touched his muscular thigh. Oh, that was nice. Hot and firm and...She cleared her throat. “Here?”

“A little higher.” His piercing stare held her captive as she moved her hand farther up his thigh. “Higher,” he repeated.

She was going to hyperventilate. “Here?”

“A little higher.” The man was pure sin and seduction, and she was a devil in the making, lapping it up word by word.

“Sam.” Aaaaand…there was the breathlessness she feared. Goddamn it. She wasn’t this swoony girl. “Sam Braden! Are you even hurt?”

He set one hand over hers, the other over his heart. “Very much so. You turned me down last night.”

“Ugh! Get over yourself.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he held on tight, his eyes never wavering from hers.

“I’d rather get over you.”

Ohmygod. She was nervous and turned on and reveling in his attention way too much. She held his challenging gaze, but it was all too much. He was too much. Laughter bubbled up from her chest and burst out like an explosion. She covered her mouth, but there was no stopping it. She’d gone hysterical.





Chapter Eight


SAM KNEW HE’D taken a chance by stripping down for Faith, but he wanted to prove to her he was not who she thought he was. And what better way than to make her laugh? He’d thought she’d laugh from the moment she saw him and was surprised when she didn’t, but this hysterical laughter was refreshing, coming from the cautious woman who currently held the strings to his carefully guarded heart.

He stepped from the exam table, not wanting to embarrass her any more than he already had, and pulled on his jeans. Faith watched him dress, bursting out in laughter every few seconds. At least she was looking at him now.

“I think I liked your first reaction better, the whole adorably sexy blushing thing you had going on.” He pulled on his T-shirt and closed the distance between them, gazing into her tear-soaked eyes. He wiped a tear of laughter from her cheek.

She nervously licked her lips, clenching her jaw to stifle her laughter, and gazed up at him through impossibly long lashes that made her look both innocent and wise.

“I was wrong,” he said. Laughter, anticipation, and embarrassment lingered in her eyes—making him aware of how fast his own heart was beating. He hadn’t been this aware of that particular organ since he was a teenager, when his heart had been crushed. Memories of the day Keira had told him she’d slept with a guy from her hometown came rushing back, followed by the painful memory of the day he’d heard she’d moved away. He’d been a stupid kid, infatuated with a girl from the next town over. Thanks to his warped view of wabi-sabi, he’d buried that part of himself deep. He wondered if his art teacher had known she’d given him validation to shut off his feelings completely.

Something had clicked inside him the night of Cole’s wedding. Maybe it was the things Faith had said, or maybe it was just Faith. Whatever the reason, there was no ignoring what he felt. He wanted Faith, and he wanted to be a better man for her.

“Your laughter is like a drug, and I want more of it.”

“Sam,” she said softly. “You’re Cole’s brother. He’s my boss.”

“That’s true, and he adores you and loves me. We’re a perfect match.” He knew he was taking a risk where Cole was concerned, but Cole was worried about him hurting Faith, sleeping with her once and walking away. But walking away wasn’t on his radar, not where Faith was concerned. If Cole knew what he was feeling, Sam was sure he’d be cheering him on.

“You don’t date, and I don’t sleep around,” she said firmly. “We’re not at all a perfect match.”

“You have valid points.”

“Right.” She turned away, and he gently took her by the arm and turned her toward him.

“You’re worried about being hurt. Faith, I give you my word that I’m not going to hurt you.”

She rolled her eyes in response, and the dismissal stung.

“Sam, do you really think people go into relationships knowing they’re going to hurt each other?”

“No,” he answered. “But I think when it comes to cheating you have a choice. No one makes a person cheat. It takes a cognitive, willful decision—am I going to hurt my significant other or am I not? That’s something you don’t have to worry about with me. I won’t cheat, and I will never purposely hurt you.”

“Says the guy who hasn’t had a girlfriend since high school.”

“Says the man who knows what he wants.” The words came out harsher than he’d realized he felt, but they were honest and so were the emotions.

Faith cracked a very small smile. “You’re not used to being turned down, are you?”

“Christ.” He ran a hand through his hair. “No, but that’s beside the point. I don’t pursue women, Faith. Usually if I get turned down, I walk away. But I’m pursuing you, and not just for sex.”

“I’m a challenge.” She lifted her chin, like she was sure she had him pegged. “You’ll get bored with me, and I’ll be left like one of your groupies, wanting a man I can never have.”

“Not going to happen.”

She crossed her arms, and he could see she was still nervous, still wanting to say yes, even though her better judgment told her to refuse him.

“I’m really late, Sam. I can’t play games. We’re just not right for each other. I like you. You can see that. You’re hot and fun and smart and way too dangerous for a girl like me. I can’t risk my heart again.”

He ached at her confession. “Faith, after all I’ve told you, why do you still think so poorly of me?”

“Honestly?” she asked.

“It’s the only way I know how to be—”

“Like your thigh injury?” she teased.

“I was injured.” He patted his heart. “But how could I resist? It might be the only way I ever get your hands on me.”

“God.” She laughed. “Don’t you even have a filter?”

“Yes. It’s set to ‘honest all the time.’ Please, explain to me why you think I’m a cretin.”

“I don’t think you’re a cretin.” She sighed, as if she was reluctantly going to be honest, and Sam hoped to hell she was.

“I’m afraid to go out with you. I know we’ll have fun, but I don’t want to be one of the girls who says they went out with Sam Braden. I don’t want to experience what every other woman in the Harbor has. I’m worth more than a rerun of a hundred other dates. I worked too hard to rebuild my confidence after…” She swallowed hard. “I’m in a good place, Sam. I can’t risk that. Not even for you.”


**

FAITH BARELY HELD it together until Sam left, and even afterward she stared at the closed door for what felt like a very long time before finally taking a deep breath.

What the hell just happened? She’d been so caught off guard that she’d forgotten to ask him if he’d given the donation to WAC.

There was a knock at the door seconds before Brandy peeked into the room. Her dark hair fell straight past her shoulders. She was a petite little thing, sweet as pie and currently looking guilty and embarrassed.

“Hey. I’m so sorry. Sam asked me not to tell you it was him, and he’s Dr. Braden’s brother, and so nice, and—”

“It’s okay, Brandy. I know he can be very convincing.”

“He’s so cute, and that voice,” Brandy said dreamily. “Are you two dating? He seemed really intent on seeing you.”

“No,” she said quickly, to avoid any office gossip.

“Oh, I just thought…Sorry. Anyway, your patients are backed up, so what do you want me to do?”

“Nothing. I’ll go out and apologize, and I’ll see them all, no matter how late I have to stay.”

Brandy gave her the list of therapists she’d asked for and left Faith to finish seeing patients. She worked straight through until six thirty. By the time she left the office, she was exhausted, mentally drained, and second-guessing the way she’d handled things with Sam. She didn’t want to keep blowing him off, and yet when she was with him, she was afraid not to.

She crossed the parking lot toward her car and was surprised to see a notebook with a plain white cover tucked beneath her windshield wiper. She flipped it open and read the handwritten note.

Faith,

I wonder what you would see if you didn’t know about my reputation? Without that cover, would you still judge me in the same way? Are you willing to bet your future on who you think I am? If so, ignore this note and carry on. I promise never to bother you again. But if you have a shadow of a doubt, if you feel what I feel when we’re together, then take a chance on me and head over to Chelsea’s Boutique.

—Sam



“Oh my God, Sam. What are you doing?”

She read it twice. He was relentless, and that made her curious, and excited. She drove over to the cute boutique she’d been in only a few times, and as she parked out front she realized that she hadn’t even considered not going. Her nerves were ablaze as she pulled open the glass doors and walked inside, unsure of what she’d find.