CHAPTER TEN
Nick sat at the Rise and Grind, sipping his coffee and reading his book. Or trying to. Images of Faith doing yoga in the park kept creeping into his mind. Long legs, slender waist, nice round…He shook his head to derail his thoughts from heading somewhere they shouldn’t.
Her daddy issues had been a welcome distraction from his problems. Earlier in the day, Tess had taken him to the doctor, where the quack had casually informed Nick he’d never run again.
No way he was accepting that prognosis. He’d already called around and found another doctor in another town to get a second opinion. He had an appointment for the following Tuesday.
If none of these Podunk docs could give him an answer he liked, he’d go back to Boston for a third or fourth opinion. Never running again was not an option. Because that would mean Nick’s career was over. And since his job was his life…
Meanwhile, his first physical therapy appointment was in a few hours. Hopefully, that would ramp up the healing process and get him off the cane train.
He’d just refocused on the story and come to the book’s climax when the coffee shop doors burst open, and Faith rushed in.
She didn’t notice him, and he watched as she smoothed her hair and applied fresh lip gloss. Not that she needed makeup. She had a natural beauty most women would probably kill for. Peaches and cream skin, long eyelashes—perfect for batting, an infectious smile, and sleek silky hair a man could lose his hands in. He squeezed his eyes shut. Man, she had a weird effect on him. Could she be a witch? And she’d cast some sort of spell on him?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t think of her that way. She was no longer his little sister’s sixteen-year-old friend. It was that he shouldn’t . He was only here for a while, and getting involved with a woman, even temporarily, in such a small town was a bad idea.
She caught him staring and came over to where he sat. “Hey, Nick. How’s it going?”
“All right, I guess,” he said. Things sucked, but he didn’t want to get into it.
“Your face says different.” She glanced at the door between every other word.
“You waiting for someone?”
“Oh. Yeah. Blind date.” Just as she said it, a man walked in.
Nick was trained to identify and size up people in an instant. He needed only a fraction of that to know this was not the guy for Faith. He was short—five-five at most—and looked to be in his mid-forties. A spare thirty pounds hung over his cargo shorts. And he wore red socks with Birkenstock knockoffs.
“Oh my.” Faith slid seamlessly into the seat across from Nick and pulled her hair around her face. “Please tell me that’s not him.” She’d put her back to the door, and as she snuck a glance over her shoulder, the man took off his hat, revealing a balding head.
Faith whimpered.
“Faith?” the man called out to no one in particular. There were only three women in the coffee shop, so his choices were limited. When no one answered, he went to the front counter and asked Hope if she knew where he could find Faith Sullivan.
Faith jumped up and made a slicing motion over her neck. The man’s back was to Faith, so he couldn’t see her, but Hope could. A wicked smile spread across her lips.
“Faith Sullivan you say?” Hope dragged out.
Faith was pretending to turn a steering wheel and honk a horn, obviously telling Hope she’d take her driving in exchange for silence.
Hope tapped her head to stall, then very subtly rubbed her fingers together in the universal sign of “money.” Faith scrambled into the biggest purse Nick had ever seen, dug out her wallet, and opened it while nodding frantically.
“So sorry,” Hope said. “Don’t know anyone by that name.”
Faith plopped back down quickly and hid her face again as the man turned around. One by one, he approached the other women, presumably to ask if they were Faith. Nick watched as one woman shrugged and pointed to the table where they sat.
“Someone just gave you up,” he muttered. “Incoming.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Faith practically yelled. “You shouldn’t have.” She leaned over and, with no warning whatsoever, kissed him. Right on the mouth. His heart stopped for a minute, and the only thing he could think was, this can’t be good for my chest wound . He’d barely had time to kiss her back—it took him a second to register that he had kissed her back—before she pulled away. He was sure he had the dumbfound-est look of all time on his face.
Nick and the man had both gone stock-still. The stranger found his voice first. “Faith Sullivan?”
Faith smiled brightly. “Oh, no. I’m Faith Mull igan,” she lied smoothly.
The man’s confusion turned to doubt, and he narrowed his brows. “You’re not here for a coffee date?”
“Not with a stranger,” she said indignantly. “I’m an engaged woman. Right, honey?”
She looked at Nick, grabbed his hand and squeezed, begging him to play along. He cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. “Yes, dear.”
The man mumbled his apologies and left the shop in a huff.
“Whew,” Faith said. “That was close.”
“Mulligan?” Nick said, raising a judgmental eyebrow and shaking his head.
Faith shrugged. “Best I could come up with under duress. Remind me to give him a terrible rating on the website. His picture must be ten years old. And it was definitely taken twenty pounds and a head of hair ago. He also lied about his height. Did you see how I dwarfed him by about six inches?”
“You met him online?” Nick asked, still trying to calm his pulse from the kiss. Was she just going to pretend like that hadn’t happened?
“Where else would I meet men?” she asked.
Over the years, he’d heard this same complaint from Tess. Another drawback of a small town. No way to meet new people.
Over Faith’s shoulder, he noticed Hope burning a hole in the back of her head. “I think Hope’s looking to collect.”
Faith dug a twenty out of her wallet. “Yeah, well. Fair’s fair. Thanks for going along with me.”
“You didn’t give me much of a choice,” he said.
“Come to the bookstore, and I’ll give you one on the house.” She winked, passed Hope the money, and sashayed out the door. He blinked and shook his head. She was nuts, but damned if she didn’t leave him with a smile every time they met.
He looked down at his book, which only had a few more chapters. Perfect timing. He would take her up on that offer soon.
Hope shoved the cash into her pocket and yelled to ask if he wanted a refill. When he nodded, she came over with a carafe.
“Could you maybe put ‘Nick’ on my cup next time?” he asked, holding up the cup that read, “Agent Limps-a-Lot.”
“Names are boring,” she said, topping him off. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to deal with me much longer. I start school next week, so I’ll only work afternoons or weekends. Someone else will have the morning shift.”
“That’s too bad. I’ve grown to love our little chats.”
She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. “Hey, you wanna go driving later?”
No was on the tip of his tongue, but then he had an idea. “Actually, if you’re willing to drive me to my physical therapy appointment and wait a bit, I’ll let you drive around after.” That would save Tess from having to take off work.
“What time? I get off at two-thirty.”
“Perfect. My appointment’s at three. Meet you here?”
“I gotta make sure Faith’s okay with me taking her car.” She pulled out her phone. “What’s your number?”
He scanned the room to ensure no one overheard and thought he was picking up on an underage girl, then whispered the number. Within a second, his phone vibrated, and the word “test” flashed across the notifications.
“I’m sure it’s fine, but I’ll text you to confirm once I talk to Faith. Thanks, dude.” The bells on the door jingled, and she left to help the new customer.
In the last few days, Nick had fallen into a routine. In the morning, he’d walk to town, get coffee and breakfast, and then read in the park. At noon, he’d take laps around the plaza until the pain was unbearable, at which point he’d break down and pop a pill. He was excited to start physical therapy and hoped it would be the catalyst to really speed up his progress.
Thirty minutes into his “reading time,” he finished his book. Good thing he knew where to get another. Seeing Faith was not the main reason he got up and started toward Page Turners. It just happened to be a pretty blonde perk.