Chapter 27
27
Rule Four: Safety
Faith twirled around in front of the mirror. She barely recognized this woman with the shiny hair and flawless makeup. The sexy dark-blue dress.
Nope. This wasn’t her at all.
She looked . . . stunning.
Nothing like boring little Faith from Public, Missouri.
This Faith looked sophisticated and fancy. She didn’t think it was her though.
Sure, she looked fabulous. But she didn’t feel like herself. Although she didn’t really know who she was anymore.
However, she was pretty sure that she’d be happier sitting at home in her favorite yellow onesie, watching cartoons and eating ice cream rather than she was with all this smoky-eye makeup and flawless complexion.
“You look amazing, Faith.” Cammie blinked back tears.
“Hey, are you all right?” Faith asked her friend.
“Oh, yeah, it’s just that when I came to live in New York, I had this silly idea of the life I’d live. You know, fancy outfits, sexy shoes. Lattes and musical theater and dinner out. It’s just . . . it’s not quite that. But it’s fine.” A guilty look crossed her face. “I mean, it’s good. Everything is really good.”
Right.
If anyone should be going to this charity banquet, it was Cammie. She always looked elegant, even in jeans and a T-shirt. Like a runway model. Tall and slim and graceful.
Unlike Faith, who could trip over air.
“Oh my God. What was I thinking with these shoes?” she said, looking down at the heels in dismay. “I can’t wear these. I trip up in flats, so there is no way I can handle high heels.”
“You can’t wear flats with this dress,” Cammie told her. “It’s too long, you’d trip over the hem.”
“I can’t do this, Cammie.” She was starting to panic as her friend helped her sit down, before sliding the heels onto her feet. “What if I embarrass him? I don’t know the first thing about high society. What if there’re multiple forks, Cammie?” She grabbed her friend’s shoulders and shook her. “What. If. There. Are. Multiple. Forks.”
“Okay, first of all, calm down. Take a deep breath. In, then out. Now again. In, then out. Right, listen to me. If there are multiple forks just follow what Reuben does.”
“Follow what Reuben does. Right. Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”
She was an idiot.
“You’ve got this.”
But she didn’t. She really didn’t. She was going to mess it up. Perhaps that was for the best, though. If she messed up now, then he’d know the truth about her.
That she couldn’t do anything right.
“You’re all ready to go.”
Thank God Eric had gone out to watch the game at his local watering hole. Having him here would have been a disaster.
She walked out of the spare bedroom where she’d been getting ready just as the doorbell rang. Only she tripped over something in the hallway and would have fallen if Cammie hadn’t grabbed her.
Cammie moved ahead of her to open the door. And then she saw him.
Why was he so sexy?
She drank him in. It felt like forever since she’d last seen him and yet it had only been three nights.
Was she already addicted to him?
Perhaps.
But she wasn’t sure that it was an addiction she wanted to be cured of.
“Hi, I’m Cammie. Faith’s friend.” Cammie smiled up at Reuben.
Faith tensed.
Cammie was gorgeous. Would Reuben take one look at her and wonder how he’d ended up with the plain friend? With no grace. No real class. She was just a country mouse with a failed florist business and debt up to her eyeballs.
She was no one.
But she watched as Reuben glanced at Cammie. He gave her a small nod. And then he turned to Faith. There was heat in his eyes.
Need. Demand.
She felt herself growing weak at the knees. Having all of his attention on her . . . it was heady. It made everything spin until she forgot to breathe.
“Faith. Come here.”
She shook her head. Not to defy him, but because she couldn’t move without falling over.
“Faith.”
Drat. Okay. But if she fell on her face, he was going to have to redo her makeup. She snorted as she realized how ridiculous that was.
“Oh God, did you just snort?” Cammie groaned.
Reuben shot Cammie a look.
Fudge knuckles. Faith knew that look. He was about to explode and eviscerate her.
“Reuben.” She practically fell into his arms. He caught her, holding her close. “I missed you. How is Juliet?”
As his attention moved back to her, she felt like her heart started racing, but also like she could take a full breath again.
Had she even been breathing these last few days? She wasn’t sure. But the world was definitely sharper. There was more color.
“She’s fragile but doing better. God, you look so beautiful, Faith.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “So fucking stunning. We’re not going.”
“What?” She stared up at him in shock.
“You have to go,” Cammie said. “I just spent two hours on her hair and makeup.”
Reuben stared at Cammie like he was confused about why she was there. H he didn’t look at Cammie like she was more than Faith.
More beautiful. More talented. More intelligent.
Perhaps Reuben was the one man immune to her friend’s charms.
Reuben moved his attention back to her. “We’re not going because I don’t want anyone else looking at you.”
God, the possessiveness in that statement was off the charts.
Yet, she felt herself melt slightly.
“That’s . . . that’s crazy,” Cammie whispered. “And yet it’s also sexy as hell.”
Yep. It was.
“We have to go,” she said. “You’re getting an award.”
Reuben scowled. “So?”
“So, Cammie spent two hours on my hair and makeup, I bought a new dress, and Cat is expecting me. I don’t want to disappoint Cat.”
That part was true. Cat had started blowing up her phone with ideas for pranks, cute memes, and photos of bread and butter. The last bit was . . . odd. But she went with it. Who didn’t like bread and butter?
“She’ll get over it,” he dismissed. “And that award means nothing. I donated money. Big deal.”
But it was. Because that money was helping sick kids. And it was proof that he had a softer side. Somewhere. Deep down.
“She won’t . . . she really won’t. And it is a big deal. We have to go.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But you’ll stay by my side the entire time. And if anyone looks at you too long, I will ruin them.”
Another shiver of pleasure.
What was wrong with her? Seriously. She was a good girl from a small country setting. She never even went over the speed limit. Barely ever cursed.
And yet she got pleasure at the idea that he was going to ruin someone for looking at her for too long.
There was something broken inside her.
“Are you ready to go, then?” He sounded grouchy, but she didn’t take offense. That was just how he was.
Like her Grandpa Jake. Grouchy on the outside. And slightly less grouchy on the inside.
“I’m ready.” She turned and hugged Cammie. “Thanks for all your help.”
“Of course.” Cammie gave her a sad-looking smile. “You really look amazing. Have a great night.” She leaned in to whisper. “He’s scary. But he looks at you like you’re a candy buffet and he’s on a no-sugar diet.”
Faith scoffed. But she was secretly happy at her words.
As she stepped outside, he took her hand. Then he paused and glanced down at her. “Where is your jacket?”
“Oh, um, the only jacket I have doesn’t really go with this outfit.”
“You have . . . one jacket?” He was gaping at her like he didn’t understand what she was saying.
“Yes. One jacket. And it’s not formal.”
“Did I not give you my credit card to get whatever you needed?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I could buy a new jacket.” She’d already felt like she was taking advantage of him when she’d used his card to buy her dress.
“That’s exactly what it meant,” he grumbled at her. He turned back to where Cammie still watched them. “Do you have a jacket she can wear?”
Cammie jolted, then nodded. “Yep. Uh-huh. Let me find it.” She disappeared into her bedroom.
“We should just go,” she said. “I’m fine. It’s not even that cold.”
“It’s her jacket or mine,” he told her.
Okay, then. She didn’t mind wearing his jacket, but it didn’t exactly go with her dress.
Reuben glanced down at her. “Why didn’t you ask her for a jacket?”
That was a question she didn’t really want to answer. She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I don’t like to ask other people for things.”
It was the truth. But she really didn’t like to ask Cammie for anything more when she’d done so much.
Cammie came back with a gorgeous black velvet coat that she was instantly worried about spilling something on.
After putting the coat around her, Reuben tucked her hand in his arm.
“Bye! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Cammie called out as he led her down to the car.
“She looks like the type who has done a lot,” Reuben muttered.
“Reuben!” She turned to glare up at him. Although he wasn’t wrong.
As they grew closer, Steven got out and opened the backdoor of the limo.
“Thank you, Steven,” she said.
He smiled at her. To her surprise, Reuben let out a strange growling noise. Steven immediately straightened, turning away from her.
That was odd. She and Steven had become friends the last few days.
Reuben followed her into the limo. The partition was up between the front and back.
“Is something wrong? Is Steven okay?” she asked.
He frowned as he reached over to buckle her seatbelt. “Why do you care how Steven is?”
Was that jealousy in his voice? She gaped at him as the car moved away from the curb.
“You’re not jealous, are you? We’re just friends.”
“I don’t like the way he looked at you. I’ll have words with him.”
Alarm filled her. She didn’t want to be the reason that Steven’s job could be at risk. She leaned toward Reuben, then realized she had her belt on. Reaching down, she unbuckled it. Then she slid along the seat.
“What do you think you are doing?” His arm came out and slammed her back into the seat, stealing her breath in surprise.
“Reuben?”
“Never take your seatbelt off in a moving car.” He grabbed the middle belt, putting it over her.
“You don’t even have yours on.”
“I’m not as precious as you.”
“Yes, you are,” she countered, feeling mad. Faith didn’t get angry that often, but right now, her temper was stirring. “Do you think I wouldn’t be upset if something happened to you? Well?”
Reuben stared down at her. Normally, it was hard to read his expression, however he looked a bit shocked.
“Well, I would. I’d be really upset. I don’t want anything to happen to you. So put your darn belt on.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, muttering to herself. What the heck was this nonsense about her being more precious than him? Was he nuts?
What would she do without him?
Oh God.
She felt sick. Did she . . . did she love him?
No! That was impossible.
Sure, they had spent the last three months together day after day. But that was a working relationship. It wasn’t exactly conducive to building a romantic relationship.
Right?
No, she couldn’t love him.
Not yet.
Reaching out, he cupped her chin and turned her to face him.
She grimaced. Oh crap. What had she just done? She’d forgotten that he was her boss. She shouldn’t talk to him like that. Make demands.
Would he fire her?
Apologize.
“I’m so sorry,” she said hastily. “I didn’t mean to tell you what to do. Please don’t fire me.”
He eyed her curiously. “You shouldn’t worry about me firing you. What you should worry about is me spanking you.”
Her mouth dropped open. Seriously?
“I won’t ever fire you, Faith,” he murmured. “No matter what.”
Good to know she guessed.
“I thought I’d made that clear already. Now you just have to worry about me punishing you in other ways.”
Right.
Yikes.
“And you don’t need to apologize for what you just said. I wouldn’t fire you for caring about me.” His lips twitched. “That little display of temper was actually quite cute. I’m surprised you didn’t stomp your foot.”
Her face was bright red, she just knew it was. “I never have temper tantrums.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Hmm,” he mused. “Perhaps you never felt safe before to let your temper out.”
That couldn’t be true. She always felt safe with her parents, right?
Except . . . with three older brothers and her parents both working full-time on the farm, there wasn’t always a lot of time left for her, was there?
For some children, that might mean they’d throw tantrums to get noticed.
But Faith had tried to be the good girl. The one that made life easier for her parents.
So they’d love her.
Jesus. That was ridiculous. Of course they loved her.
“I . . . that’s not true.”
“Hmm. Remember rule two.”
Honesty. Right. That was a tough rule to follow.
“Actually, we should talk about rule four since you just broke it.”
Rule Four. Safety. He’d messaged that one to her last night.
Crap.
“Didn’t take you long to break that rule, Little Blossom,” he drawled.
She looked around the limo so she didn’t have to look at him. “Do you own this limo?”
“No, it’s hired.”
“But you use your own driver?” she asked.
“Yes. Although I’m thinking that might have been a bad idea.”
“There’s nothing between me and Steven,” she told him hastily. “We’re friends.”
“I don’t like you being friends with him.”
“You are not going to tell me who I can and can’t be friends with, Reuben.”
He shot her a hard look. “Hard to be friends with someone who is no longer around.”
He wasn’t threatening to kill Steven. . . was he?
No.
“I’ll send him to work in Antarctica if I have to.”
She breathed out a sigh of relief. Shoot. What was wrong with her? Why did her mind immediately go to Reuben threatening to kill him?
They slowed down for traffic.
“You’re not sending him away, Steven is an excellent driver. Besides, I can be friends with someone without being interested in them.”
“And what about him?”
She threw her hands in the air. “Steven isn’t interested in me. He has a girlfriend.”
Reuben’s eyebrows rose. “He does?”
“How do you not know this when he’s worked for you for years?”
He shrugged. “Lack of interest?”
Faith sighed. He was hopeless sometimes.
“You’re not dictating my friends. Hard limit,” she told him.
“There are no limits between us.”
“That’s not true, because this is one.”
“We’ll see.”
Dear Lord.
“You’re gonna be lucky if I don’t snap and smother you in your sleep one day,” she muttered.
“You’re too sweet to do that.”
Ha! Everyone had their breaking point. And she was fairly certain that Reuben Jones was hers.
Then he drew her close to him and cupped the side of her face with his hand.
His lips brushed hers. And she tried to hold out. She really did.
She managed it for all of five seconds before her lips parted and he slid his tongue into her mouth to tease her. Play with her.
“I have been dying to taste these lips again,” he whispered. “The memory has been torturing me these last few days.”
She felt the same. He kissed her again and her whole body tingled in response, wanting more of him.
“Tempted to fucking skip this banquet and just take you home with me.”
Crap.
She wanted that too. Only she knew it was a bad idea.
“I still don’t want anyone looking at you. Then again, I never want anyone looking at you.” He studied her.
“Do you like the makeup and clothes? I don’t know if I’ll ever get my hair to look this nice again on my own. Cammie spent hours getting me ready.”
“I like it.”
Her stomach dropped. She guessed she could make more of an effort with her hair and makeup. Her clothes.
“But you don’t really look like my Faith,” he admitted. “So while I think you look beautiful, I also like when you’re dressed in one of your cute dresses with your butterfly clip in your hair.”
“It’s in there,” she admitted with a shy smile, pointing at her hair.
“What?”
“I wanted to wear it, even though Cammie told me that I couldn’t. I couldn’t come to such a big function without it.” It was her good luck charm. “So it’s in the middle of my hair-do. I had her hide it.”
“Don’t do that again.”
Huh? Was he honestly worried that it would slip out and someone would see it?
“You don’t ever have to hide who you are, Little Blossom.”
Dear Lord.
Just as she was about to kick his ass, he said something sweet. Something that made her think this could work.
Maybe.
When the limo came to stop, he undid her seatbelt. Then his own.
He’d done up his seatbelt and she hadn’t even noticed.
For her.
Okay, he was possessive and jealous and demanding.
But he’d also put his seatbelt on for her.
Being with this man would never be easy.
Sometimes, though, the good just outweighed the bad.