Chapter 1
Chapter One
Faith grabbed her phone. Her thumbs flew across the tiny keyboard on the screen. SOS, she typed. Emergency. Help.
Within ten seconds, Sylvie’s name appeared with an incoming call.
“Faith? What’s going on?” She sounded breathless.
“This is a disaster.”
“What is? What’s happening?”
Faith looked at the piles of clothing strewn over the floor. “I just pulled every item from your closet, and I still have no idea what I’m going to wear.”
Sylvie blew air into the phone. “Jeez, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“My brain is stalled. I’m freaking out.”
Faith switched the call to video. Sylvie’s face appeared, fingertips pushing her chunky pink glasses up her nose.
She was in the Bennett Security workroom, a huge open space filled with desks and computer terminals, like Mission Control for NASA.
Faith could hear other people talking in the background. Houston, we have a problem.
“This has to be quick,” Sylvie said. “I’m swamped.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t usually bother you.” But, to be fair, Sylvie had worked late every night for the past three days. Faith hadn’t seen her since Tuesday, even though they shared the bottom floor of a townhouse and Faith’s “bedroom” was really the living room couch.
“Crap, Max is calling my work phone. Hold on. Here—talk to Tanner.”
Sylvie shoved her cell into the hands of Tanner Reed, who looked back at Faith mildly, like this wasn’t an unusual occurrence at five o’clock on a Friday. But Tanner was always completely calm. The man was a bodyguard and ex-Navy SEAL. Nothing flustered him.
“Hey, Faith. Did a suitcase explode?”
She sighed. “No, but it’s still a fashion-related emergency.”
Tonight would be her first time going out with a guy since she’d moved to California.
But even more significant? It would be her first date since leaving her husband.
And considering that she and Jon had been together since they were teenagers, and he’d never actually taken her on a real date to begin with?
This was kind of her first date…ever. At thirty years old.
No pressure or anything.
“I need to figure out what to wear on my date tonight,” Faith said.
“Just wear whatever makes you feel like yourself.” He ran a hand through his unruly curls.
“That is so not helpful.”
Faith wanted to be herself, but at the same time, she hardly knew what that meant at the moment. After eleven years in a loveless marriage, she wanted to find out what she’d been missing—in other words, everything.
But she had to be careful, too. This was her brand new start. She couldn’t mess up again. She knew how quickly one bad decision could drag you irreparably down the wrong path.
Maybe it was silly to pin so much importance on an outfit choice, but every single thing about this night felt significant.
“All right,” Tanner said. “Give me some options.”
“Here’s number one.” Faith picked up the first contender, a long black sundress. It went past her knees, and she didn’t mind the ruffles at the neck. A nice balance of flirty and conservative. Though it looked like something Sylvie might’ve worn to a funeral.
“And here’s another.” Faith lifted a tiered lace babydoll dress. This was more her best friend’s typical style, a mix of cute, funky, and sexy.
“Wait, are these Sylvie’s clothes? Is that why they’re all black?”
“Yes. Keep up, Tanner. Time is of the essence here.”
Faith had already ruled out every item of her own. The clothes she’d brought with her when she left Jon didn’t scream “going out.” They were either scrubs for wearing to work or baggy pants and blouses she could only describe as “church-appropriate.” Not the look she was going for.
Hence, the raid on Sylvie’s closet.
Men in West Oaks weren’t like the ones she’d grown up with in her small corner of the Texas Hill Country.
They wore fancy clothes and wrote screenplays.
Okay—not Tanner. But Luke, the guy she was going out with tonight, fit those descriptors.
He also seemed funny and smart, from their brief conversations so far. She needed to look just right.
She showed Tanner two more dresses.
He screwed up his lips, rubbing his beard like he was considering this decision carefully. “Definitely the one on the right. With the strappy things.”
“You don’t think it’s too short for a first date?” She was several inches taller than Sylvie.
“Only wear it if you feel comfortable. But if you were my date and wore that, I’d think you looked pretty amazing.”
Tanner had spoken matter-of-factly, which was the tone he used for everything. But Faith still felt her skin flush in a pleasant way.
Sylvie grabbed the phone. Her face reappeared. “Okay, I’m back, but Max needs me upstairs. Can’t this wait until I get home? I promise, I’ll help you tear apart my closet then.”
Faith huffed, dropping the dresses in a heap on Sylvie’s bed. “You said you’d meet me at the restaurant, not at home. That’s only a few hours from now.”
“But your date’s tomorrow.”
In the background, Tanner said, “Uh, no, it’s tonight. Keep up, Sylvie.”
Panic crossed Sylvie’s face. “Whoa, wait. That’s not possible.”
Faith sank onto the bed on top of the clothes pile. “Are you about to bail on me?” How could Sylvie have forgotten? Faith had only mentioned it about three million times.
“I am so, so sorry. I won’t be out of here until late.”
Sylvie and her boyfriend Nic were supposed to double date with her. Faith had wanted her friends to check Luke out and give their approval.
But maybe Faith should’ve expected this. Not because Sylvie was unreliable, but because her job was extremely demanding. The employees of Bennett Security were busy solving life-or-death problems and helping people in danger, which Faith totally got. That had to take precedence.
“It’s okay,” Faith rushed to say. “We could reschedule.”
Sylvie groaned. “No. Let me just see, if, um… Well, Nic could still go with you.”
“That’s not a double date. That’s a creepy three-way.”
In the background, Tanner was snickering.
“You could ask Ethan, too,” Sylvie suggested. He was Sylvie’s cousin and their upstairs roommate.
“Ethan has plans.”
Tanner’s head popped in again. “You don’t want to go by yourself?”
“No, she doesn’t,” Sylvie snapped. “I’m supposed to be her wingwoman. Nothing wrong with that.”
But her friend’s tone implied the opposite. Faith knew it was borderline pathetic to be thirty years old and this nervous about a simple night out.
It was one thing to chat with Luke from the next table at the coffee shop where they’d met.
But the idea of going to dinner alone with him made her feel like the room was spinning.
She’d only split from Jon a few months ago, left her family and her home, taken the biggest risk of her life…
It was like she’d needed eleven years to save up enough bravery to leave, and now she had nothing in reserve.
Maybe you can’t do this, she thought. Maybe you should just cancel.
She really, really hated that voice.
“I’m available,” Tanner said.
Sylvie looked over at him. “You and Nic are going to double date with Faith?”
“Nic’s your boyfriend, not mine.” Tanner shrugged a massive shoulder. “I’m a good wingman. I’ll hang out nearby to make sure the dude’s not a creep. I mean, if you want, Faith.” His large brown eyes met hers through the screen. “Up to you.”
“Um. Sure.”
She felt a little sheepish about bringing a bodyguard on her date, but maybe it would actually help with her anxiety knowing Tanner was nearby.
“You sure it’s okay?” Sylvie asked.
Faith managed to smile. “Yeah. I’ll owe you one, Tanner. Thanks.”
“No worries,” he said breezily.
If only, she thought.
She texted him the info on where and when to meet. Then she got dressed, taking extra care with her makeup. Most days, she didn’t wear any at all, but she’d looked up some tutorials on YouTube.
By 6:30, Faith was pacing the apartment.
And her laptop kept taunting her from its place on the bookcase.
You have to check it at some point, she told herself. Better to do it now when you have something else to look forward to.
Grumbling, she opened the computer and logged on to her email.
She’d blocked Jon’s number on her phone.
But she still needed a way to get in touch with him.
She didn’t have the money for fancy divorce lawyers who’d handle communications, and he certainly didn’t.
Plus, she figured if he didn’t have some way to vent, he’d do something more drastic. Jon tended to be impulsive.
Sure enough, there was an unread email from Jon Townsend, right at the top. Subject: Please read this Faith. SOS.
Holding her breath, she clicked on it.
It’s an emergency. I need your help. Please call me so we can talk?
The echoes of her text to Sylvie weren’t lost on her. She remembered other texts she’d sent to her husband over the years. SOS. Sometimes tongue in cheek. Other times, deadly serious. Who had started using that reference first, her or Jon? When would their lives cease to overlap?
The cursor hovered over the reply button.
They’d married as teenagers, for reasons that still tore at her heart. She’d tried for years to fit the image of the “good wife” that her mother and community had pressed upon her.
Giving up is weak, they’d said.
But not once had Jon considered what was best for her, and she hated how long it had taken her to realize it.
Finally, Faith had chosen her version of strength, even though her family would never forgive her for it. She’d chosen her own happiness.
And how’s that going? she asked herself. Happy yet?
Faith deleted Jon’s message. Her eyes felt damp. She rubbed at them, and her fingers came away black with mascara. Closing the laptop, she hurried to the bathroom to redo it.