Chapter Ten
It was early afternoon, and The Dock was busy.
It had been since Faith arrived at eleven a.m. Every table was full, and every stool at the bar had a body in it save for one.
There were families, mostly tourists, who’d come to Fire Lake to vacation.
There were some locals as well, including several groups of guys wearing Mets T-shirts, waiting for the game to start later in the afternoon.
Among them was Walker, who’d claimed a stool at the end of the bar an hour ago.
The one beside him was the lone empty seat, and he’d successfully managed to keep it that way, despite several attempts by various ladies trying to claim it.
Faith shook her head as a young woman wearing denim Daisy Dukes over a bright pink bikini headed his way, her long blonde hair a tangle of waves that fell halfway down her back.
“Seriously, what is it about that man?” Cassidy appeared and watched alongside Faith as Daisy Duke girl tried her best to snag the coveted seat.
She leaned closer to Faith and giggled. “They’re going to lose their shit when Gus shows up.
” She bumped shoulders with Faith and lowered her voice. “But then, he’s taken, right?”
“What do you mean?” Faith kept her voice neutral and grabbed a couple of menus.
“I saw you two last night.” Cassidy shrugged. “You look like you’re together.” She winked. “And here I thought you had a thing for Ford Boone.”
“I don’t have a thing for anyone,” she replied.
Liar.
“Whatever,” Cassidy replied with a grin. “Since he just walked in, I guess we’ll find out if I’m right or if those single women drooling over Walker will have someone new to hit on.”
Faith’s heart jumped, and she turned in time to see Gus walk into the bar. Her reaction was visceral. Deep and penetrating. God, he looked good.
His hair was wet as if he’d just showered, the ends waving against his neck and from underneath a Mets ballcap.
He was dressed casually — khaki shorts and a plain black T-shirt.
His legs and arms were tanned from the sun.
He looked over just then, and a slow smile spread across his handsome face when he spied her.
“There’s my answer.” Cassidy took the menus from Faith. “I’ll drop these at your table. Go and say hi.”
Faith took a moment to try and calm her heart because it was nearly beating out of her chest. It was silly to feel this way about a man she barely knew even if she was considering . . .
Considering what? Sex? She’d never had casual sex in her life.
In fact, when it came to intimacy, she was sadly lacking.
Faith had had exactly two lovers. Her first was the guy she’d dated through most of high school.
Even then, she’d waited until the night before leaving for college to lose her virginity.
By then, it was more about getting it over with than anything else.
Considering the sex had been awful, she should have waited longer.
She’d met Declan her second year of college, and they’d dated for nearly three months before she slept with him.
The sex had been okay — but it had never gotten better than okay.
He was charming and smart and popular, and she liked him.
He came from a good family with money, something her mother and stepfather approved of.
After six months of dating, he’d told Faith that he loved her.
She figured what she felt was love and became the ultimate pretender.
Faking orgasms to make a man feel like he’d done the job.
But the sad truth was, she was twenty-seven years old and had never had an orgasm.
Well, not without the help of a vibrator. Faith blushed at the thought.
Her life was a mess. She was a mess. The last thing she should be contemplating was a relationship, even if it was only for sex.
There were too many things she couldn’t share.
Gus didn’t even know her last name. No one did, save for Samantha, and that was only because she’d had to fill out paperwork in order to work here and get paid.
So far, Samantha hadn’t recognized her, but how long before that happened?
What would Gus think of her when he found out the truth?
Would he dump her just like every other person from her former life?
Would he assume she knew what her parents had done? Would he think she’d been complicit?
Head swirling, she gazed across the room. Walker and Gus were talking, and Daisy Duke girl was effectively dismissed. She was already back with her girlfriends, the whole lot of them overly loud as they set their caps on another table of men.
“Table four needs their bill,” Samantha said as she walked by with a tray full of drinks. She glanced over her shoulder. “And I’m dropping these at table six. Melinda had to leave. One of her kids is sick so I’ll need you to grab their food order and look after them.”
Faith nodded, and a bit relieved to have a reason not to speak to Gus just yet, she printed out the bill for table four, dropped it off, and grabbed her notepad.
Table six sat eight men, none she recognized.
Two of them sported Rolexes on their wrists, while the others were dripping in gold chains and brand-name clothes.
Definitely tourists with money. One of the men wore a pink T-shirt that said Groom, so she was betting the boys were renting a cottage and throwing their buddy a bachelor’s weekend.
They weren’t exactly loud, but they were boisterous, which, while not necessarily a bad thing, meant she’d have to keep an eye on them.
She pasted a practiced smile on her face and approached the table.
“Hey,” she said as the groom glanced up. “I’m Faith. I’ll be looking after you boys while you’re here.”
“Sweet.” The man to her right wore a beige bucket hat with a blue fish logo. He grinned and looked her up and down. “You can look after me any time, honey.” His meaning was obvious, and some of the guys snickered.
Seriously? Men were so predictable. Faith noted his wedding ring. “I think your wife might have a problem with that.”
“What the little wife doesn’t know don’t hurt her,” he replied with a cocky smile to boot.
“Hey,” someone from the end of the table yelled. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
“I was just kidding,” Bucket hat man said, making a face, though he looked up at her hopefully.
“The only thing available today is whatever’s on the menu.” She kept her voice light and glanced around the table. “What will it be?”
By the time she rang up their food order, she had new customers sitting at table four, and another table had drinks waiting at the bar. She couldn’t avoid Gus anymore. Faith headed to the end of the bar, and when he glanced over and smiled at her, she stumbled, her knees locking.
He was beautiful. There was no other way to describe him. And that smile was all for her. It wasn’t fake or contrived. He wasn’t looking for a quick fuck.
Let’s ease into whatever this is. That’s what he’d said.
Jesus, Faith. Get your shit together.
“Hey.” Gus straightened and made room for her when she approached. “It’s busy in here.”
She nodded. Didn’t trust her voice just yet.
“Those boys give you trouble, me and Gus are more than willing to back you up,” Walker said, leaning over.
“I can handle them.” Good. She didn’t sound like a complete idiot.
“What time are you off?” Gus asked.
“I’m on the clock until seven but if it’s busy I might have to stay a bit longer. Melinda had to leave early.” She grabbed a big jug of red sangria and four glasses from Hal.
“I’m sure we can let you go at seven,” Hal said with a wink.
Faith was practically run off her feet for the next few hours, which was a good thing.
It meant her focus was on tables and food orders and beverages instead of the too handsome, too sexy, too hot Gus.
He and Walker were enjoying the ball game, but it didn’t stop him from sending her looks that lit her panties on fire.
Her blood buzzed with the kind of stuff that had her entire body on high alert.
She swiped away a strand of hair that was stuck to the side of her neck and willed herself not to look his way.
Instead, she concentrated on the bill in her hand and walked over to the boisterous gang at table six and handed it to the bucket hat dude who’d been a pain in her ass the entire time they’d been here.
“Are you boys okay for the ride back to your cottage? Do you need a cab?”
“Why don’t you drive us?” Bucket hat dude grinned up at her. He was sloppy and sweaty and looked as if he’d imbibed more than the beer she’d been slugging to their table. His pupils were dilated; his smile was glassy. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
She ignored him. “How are we paying?”
“Shut the hell up, Dave. I got this.” One of the men from the end of the table offered up a credit card.
“I’ll grab the machine.” She took one step back, but bucket hat man, aka Dave, had other ideas and wrapped his arm around her waist, nearly pulling her into his lap.
This was getting old, fast.
She glared at him. “Take your hands off me. Now.”
“If you’re smart, you’ll listen to the lady.”
The asshole loosened his grip, and she managed to step aside.
Gus stood a few inches away, and the look on his face matched the clenched hands at his side.
He was pissed. Walker and Hal joined him, but bucket hat man wasn’t smart enough to recognize the danger he was in.
He attempted to get to his feet, swearing and stumbling over limbs and words that, in another situation, might have been comical.
Luckily, the man who offered to pay the bill pushed him back down and apologized to Faith.
“Sorry for my friend. Dave’s always been an idiot.”
“Get him the fuck out of here before we decide to do it for you.” Gus’s tone was conversational, but the look on his face said otherwise.