Vivian crossed her arms, her smile turning to a serious scowl. “You didn’t dance with him, did you?”
“No, I didn’t dance with him.” Vivian had spent last summer in Peaceful Harbor with Faith, and she’d seen Sam in action a few times at Whispers, a nightclub. Over the course of that summer she’d scoped out his super-sexy brothers, too—Vivian’s words, not Faith’s. Faith had filled Vivian in on her fantasies about Sam but agreed with Vivian’s assessment that Sam was not the man for her.
Faith changed into a pair of shorts and a comfy shirt, avoiding Vivian’s gaze. They’d been best friends forever, having both grown up in Oak Falls, Virginia, where Vivian still lived. They’d bonded over skinned knees and Sadie Hawkins dances, broken hearts, and after Vivian’s ex cheated, and JJ followed that same dickhead move, their bond grew stronger over renewed determination never to be cheated on again.
“Good, because as kind and generous as Sam and his family are, he takes personal generosity to a whole new level. And that’s a level you don’t need, Faith. It can only end in a broken heart.” Vivian took Faith’s hand and dragged her out to the living room. “Let’s talk about tomorrow. It’ll keep your mind off not dancing with him.”
“I’m not interested in Sam. I just like to look at him. And smell him.” What is wrong with me?
Vivian arched a brow in disbelief. “No one stops at looking and smelling.” She sank down to the couch, bringing Faith down beside her. “You know I love you, but that man is not for you. You created WAC because of men like him.”
“I know. Don’t worry. I left, okay? I didn’t dance with him. And, by the way, I can’t believe you ate all my ice cream. How’s a girl supposed to bury her lust in anything else?” Faith reached for the WAC event binder.
“It’s called a vibrator, my friend, and you bury it in you.” Vivian waggled her eyebrows. “It lives in your drawer, so it can’t cheat. It has no eyes to gawk at other women and can’t suck the life out of your self-esteem. And best of all? You get to come as many times as you want without worrying it’ll blow its load before you’re done.”
All true, but…“Don’t you miss being in the arms of a man?”
Vivian rolled her eyes. “Like those guys you’ve been dating are real men? They’re not. They’re like placeholders, itch scratchers. They’re foreplay for real men.”
“They are not! They’re nice and reliable and they would never look at another woman, much less cheat.” She had dated only a few men since she’d moved to Peaceful Harbor, each of whom were the antithesis of Sam Braden.
“Boring.” Vivian whipped her blond hair over her shoulder with a shake of her head. “Give me my three-speed, battery-operated boyfriend any day of the week.” She took out her cell phone and smirked. “Let’s ask Charley.”
“Don’t get my sister involved in this! She’s probably busy dissecting a crab or something.” She reached for the phone, and Vivian jumped off the couch with the phone to her ear. Charley was five years younger than Faith and studying marine biology. This summer she was working part-time for the Brave Foundation in Harborside, Massachusetts, where she went to school, and also working part-time at a bar. She almost never dated, and definitely wouldn’t have time for this foolishness.
“Char! Hey, how are you?” Vivian smirked at Faith as she listened.
She covered the phone and said, “She’s not dissecting a crab. She’s at a bonfire.”
“Really? Good for her. She needs a break.” Faith opened the binder and added, “Tell her I love her and please don’t tell her why you—”
“Faith said she loves you,” Vivian said to Charley. “And she wants to know if you think the men she dates are boring.”
Ugh! She and Charley didn’t talk about their dating lives often. Besides the age difference, Charley was always so busy, she tended to only half listen when Faith brought up men, unlike Vivian, who could analyze a dating scenario for hours.
“She says they’re smart,” Vivian said with disappointment.
“Thanks, sis!” Faith yelled.
“And that you shouldn’t let JJ the asshole keep you away from guys who don’t wear ties.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Faith said halfheartedly, but her mind clung to the advice and drifted back to Sam. They’d never spoken more than a few words to each other when he visited Cole at the office, nearly every week, until tonight. A man like Sam doesn’t need words.
Unfortunately, he spoke the universal language of lust, aimed at every woman around him.
Chapter Three
AFTER A FITFUL night’s sleep with Faith invading every dream—and every waking moment—Sam took off for a predawn run, then hit Rough Riders early to organize the paperwork that was piling up in the office. He could barely keep up with the company’s recent growth. Ty had always helped him out when he was in town between mountain-climbing excursions and photography assignments. For years that had been enough. Last year he’d hired Patrick Fisher, the younger brother of Nate’s fiancée, Jewel, part-time, and this summer he’d taken Patrick on full-time. A few weeks ago he’d had to hire another full-time employee just to keep up with the number of customers and boat repairs. Tex Sharpe was turning out to be a worthy investment, but Sam still needed to hire an office manager. His desk was littered with release forms, itineraries for upcoming adventure outings, invoices, and other paraphernalia that needed to be dealt with. Not to mention the administrative preparation for next month’s annual Rough Riders barbecue. He’d been trying to hire someone for weeks, but most of the applications were worthless, and there were too many other things that needed his attention to focus on finding a viable candidate.
He swiped his forearm across his sweaty brow and squinted up at the sun, guessing it had to be close to noon. Tex had met him around ten, and they’d been checking gear, cleaning boats, and organizing equipment while they hashed out details for the barbecue while Patrick handled customers. He’d hoped the physical labor would help take his mind off of Faith and what she’d said last night. Have you run out of girls already?
Chuckling under his breath, he dragged the boat he was working on back into the boathouse. She’d looked hot last night in that tight little dress. Faith was something, all right. Flustered as could be every time he saw her in Cole’s office, and then she came up with that when he asked her to dance? Have you run out of girls already? Did she think he made the rounds everywhere he went?
That thought grated on him like nails on a chalkboard.
His cell phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “Hey, Ty. What’s up?”
“You tell me. You cut out early last night.”
“I wanted to get an early start this morning,” he said.
Sam tapped Tex on his tattooed shoulder and motioned with his thumb over his shoulder up to the parking lot.
Tex lifted serious dark eyes and nodded.
Sam headed up to the parking lot, smiling when he saw his bike. Usually he drove his truck, but this morning he’d been restless and needed the freedom his motorcycle offered.
“Like that’s ever stopped you from having a good time before,” Ty said sarcastically. “Want to tell me what’s really going on?”
“Not really,” he mumbled, grabbing his helmet off the back of the bike.
“Cole was pretty annoyed last night. Did he get to you?”
Sam had chewed on his brother’s comment all night. As if the women he slept with intrigued him? What was intriguing about women who threw themselves at a guy? Hell, they were after one thing. A good time, just as he was. They all played the same games. Different faces, different names, same overt come-ons. Not that he didn’t appreciate them. Sex was better than any drug out there, but strangely, it hadn’t been his drug of choice last night. He had yet to meet a woman who made him want to get to know her better, or seek her out.
As he straddled the bike, he thought, Until Faith.
“Dude, you still there?”
Ty’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Sorry. Don’t worry about Cole. He’ll have plenty of time to get over it on his honeymoon. I’m sure by now he’s lying out on the beach at Treat’s resort in Tahiti with a drink in one hand and Leesa’s hand in the other.” Their cousin Treat Braden owned resorts all over the world and had generously offered Cole and Leesa a stay at the resort of their choice.
“Probably so. What’re you doing now?” Ty asked. “Want to hit the trails for a while, or are you buried in paperwork?” He was home for a few weeks between climbs, and like Sam, he rarely sat still. In addition to women, hiking, biking, rafting, and climbing were just a few of the interests they shared.
“Can’t. Sorry. I’m headed home to shower. I’ve got plans this afternoon. But I’ll catch up with you tonight. Whispers? Around eight?” Although their brother Nate owned Tap It, one of the busiest restaurant and bars in town, Sam and Ty liked to hang out where there were live bands, hordes of single women, and less familial eyes keeping tabs on them.