Laughter followed her as Martine grabbed her jacket from the coatrack in the hall, put it on then slipped her arm through Faith’s. “Firewood,” she said on a smile and a wink.
Faith chuckled, leading her out to the large entryway of her house and through the door. “So tell me about yourself, Martine.”
As they stepped out into the cold, Martine tried out what she’d practiced all day, knowing they were doing a family night dinner and she’d be Faith’s target. “I come from Manhattan, raised in Queens. I’m thirty-three and between jobs right now.”
Faith stopped on the brick pathway leading to the side of the house, her eyes sharp and clear. “Very well done. But we’re not speed dating here. Now tell me about the real Martine. Like how she ended up in a cat carrier at a convenience store? What she wants from life? What she expects in a mate.”
Oh boy. Leave it to her to believe Derrick’s family would be as superficial as she was when she was getting to know someone. She went into a relationship thinking it would end—knowing it would. There was no need to poke around and get deep. Derrick’s family thought she was staying forever. Faith’s question never came up when she’d gone over the list of things she might ask her.
Honesty. She’d promised herself she was going to come clean with Derrick but she’d begin with Faith. It was all she had, and what Faith deserved.
Martine shook her head, slipping one of her hands inside the pocket of her jacket. “I don’t know how I ended up in that cat carrier, and that’s the truth, Faith. One minute I was asleep, the next thing I know, I woke up in a Dumspter.”
It was driving her crazy. Who’d kidnapped her from her kidnapper and why? Was the person who’d dropped her at a convenience store part of this fate thing the Adamses were such fans of? How had she slept through a second kidnapping?
Faith gripped her arm and smiled warm and wide as they walked. Martine had to wonder if Faith knew how gorgeous she was. She didn’t look a day over thirty, and her figure was amazing. “I believe you. Sometimes, the mystery of the mate remains a mystery. So what do you want out of life?”
What did she want? Had her life really been all that great before Escobar? She’d loved her job as a wedding planner, definitely an odd career for a loner like her. But was her life full of much else but taffeta and seating charts? Rich in love and friendships? No. It was all just work.
She used to think her job was what filled her up. It took so much of her spare time just getting her business off the ground, she hadn’t considered anything else was missing. She didn’t think it was possible to fit anything else in.
She’d heard about the things that were missing from everyone else. From her employees who said she worked too much, and her clients who balked when she told them the woman planning their wedding was single.
But she’d never experienced any sense of loss aside from her mother until just recently, as she witnessed firsthand what healthy family dynamics included.
Faith squeezed her hand and pulled her along toward the stack of firewood. “So, life?”
Her throat threatened to close up. She didn’t want anything new or exciting. She wanted what everyone wanted. She just didn’t know how the definition of what she wanted fit her. “Happy. I want to be happy.” And out from beneath Escobar’s curse.
Faith sighed, resting an arm on the wood. “We all want that. But what else do you want, Martine? I’ve decided there’s more to the makings of a woman than just her family. Do you want a career? Do you have one now?”
“I do.” Or she did. “I was a wedding planner. So, yes. I definitely want a career.”
“That’s a really specific choice in careers, I’d say. So you must believe in happily-ever-afters? A romantic, maybe?”
How she was going to look this lovely woman in the eye and tell her no? How was she going to tell this woman she’d laid bets on every nuptial she’d planned and the hour of its possible demise? “Nothing lasts forever, does it? I believe in happy for now. I believe happiness, within and otherwise, takes work. I believe everyone’s definition of happy is personal and individualized.”
God. That sounded so Zen. Like she’d read it in a magazine instead of really feeling it.
Faith shook a finger at her with a laugh and a raised brow. “I believe you’re snowing me. Listen, Martine. I know this thing happened out of the blue for you. At the very least, while Derrick’s always known his life mate would be a surprise, he did know he was going to end up having one. For you? Total blindside. I don’t expect you to be madly in love with him after just a couple of days, but I really hope you’ll give this relationship a chance. Three weeks doesn’t seem like a long time, but it was all I needed to know when I was up for mating. I’m not just saying this because of what could happen if you don’t mate, but because Derrick, aside from all his blustering, is a good man. A really good man. Just like his father and his brother.”