A Splash of Hope (4 page)

In place of Carter’s normal business attire, he wore a pair of khakis and a polo shirt, open at the collar. The tiny amount of skin showing at his neck kept drawing her gaze. Her mouth watered at the sight. She knew that spot. It belonged to her. A wave of love and longing washed over her, laced heavily with a good dose of possessiveness, taking her by surprise. She would be so heartbroken one day soon. Until then, she planned to enjoy every minute of her time with him. Carter shifted in his seat. Digging around in his pocket, he pulled out a diamond bracelet. It shone brightly as it caught the reflection of the candle, twinkling off the walls. She was going to be sick.

*

“I have a present for you.”

Serenity eyed the bracelet Carter held between his fingers as if he were holding out a snake instead of a gift.

“What is that?” The horror in her voice took him by surprise. He twisted the jewelry for a better look, wondering if there was something wrong with the piece. He didn’t know all that much about women’s jewelry. Of course, he had to assume that, at the price he’d paid, it would be as close to perfection as possible.

“I don’t want it. Please take it back.” Her open distress left Carter off balance. He was screwing this up, but damned if he knew why.

“I wanted to give you something special,” he told her quietly, hoping to calm her.

Her eyes fell closed as if his words physically pained her. When she opened them once more, he could tell she was genuinely hurt. The realization caused the muscles in his stomach to clench. Being with Serenity meant more than he could repay with a thousand bracelets.

“I don’t want you to buy me things, Carter. It makes me feel…”

The truth dawned, making him wonder why he hadn’t noticed it sooner. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Even if he lived to be a hundred, there would never be another Serenity for him.

He shoved the bracelet back into his pocket, leaned over, and reached to the vase sitting in the center of the table. He plucked a daisy out and shook off the excess water. For a moment, Carter simply twirled the flower between his fingers before holding it out to her.

“I have a present for you.” A luminous smile lit her face as she accepted the flower. She tucked it behind her ear.

“I love it.”

Carter brushed his knuckles over her cheek, because he was incapable of not doing so. As Serenity leaned into his touch, his chest felt heavy. Being with her was half pleasure, half pain. He spent every other waking moment expecting to lose it all at any moment. The other seconds he spent praying he never would.

“Oh, and for the record,” he said, unable to stop himself. “I know you don’t expect expensive gifts from me. That’s not why I bought you the bracelet. I did it because I’m in love with you. A bit desperately, actually.”

Chapter Seven

Faith: Present day

Her feet hurt, and she’d moved beyond stickiness from the heat over two hours earlier. Faith was also sick beyond tears from knocking on doors no one bothered answering. At the thought of being forced to stand even one second longer in the blazing sun, Faith beat her fist harder against the solid oak door. It was standing between her and Adam. That was unacceptable. She waited a moment longer. When she thought she’d throw her arms up in defeat, the door swung open. A disgruntled-looking Adam stared out at her. Faith let her eyes travel the length of him. His hair stood on end and his shirtless state threatened to make her swallow her tongue. His chest and stomach appeared as if they’d been carved from stone. The baggy gray shorts he wore, might have at one time been sweatpants. That is, before someone took a pair of scissors to them. They were more appealing than the most expensive of suits.
Holy shit
. She had to tear her eyes away.
Not hers
.

Faith was almost certain she’d pulled Adam away from his workout by her incessant knocking. Unfortunately, he was so goddamn yummy she forgot why she was there. She was staring at the line of hair that disappeared beneath his waistband until he cleared his throat.
Damn it
. She thought she’d already forced her eyes away. Nope. She was still gazing at the deep lines etched into his stomach. Lifting her gaze back to his, Adam’s eyebrows rose in question, but his smoke-colored eyes distracted her once more.

“I’m assuming this has something to do with Serenity,” he said, when she remained silent.

Oh yes, Serenity
, Faith reminded herself. She was here about the sister who’d snagged him. “I went to her apartment earlier, but one of her neighbors said she wasn’t living there any longer.” Faith purposely omitted it had been four months since Serenity had lived there.

Adam stood, obviously waiting for the punchline, until it seemed to dawn on him that was all Faith had. “You don’t know where your own sister lives?”

Faith shifted uncomfortably beneath his open disbelief and condescending tone. “Things have been kind of crazy lately. Not to mention, Serenity has become more distant in the past year. I really don’t know why I’m explaining myself to you. If you’d simply give me her new address, then I will be on my way, and out of your hair.
Again
,” she added, for pure spite.

It was Adam’s turn to look uncomfortable. “I don’t know where Serenity lives,” he admitted. “It never occurred to me to ask.”

Frustrated, Faith ran her fingers through her hair, barely resisting the urge to tear it from the roots.

Adam shrugged. His indifference on the matter couldn’t have been more evident. “It’s not as if we’re in love or anything.”

Faith’s confusion grew. “Then why were you getting married?”

“She’s a beautiful woman. I needed to give the appearance of a steady life. She was willing.”

“I don’t understand. Since when do you care about appearances? And really, what did Serenity get out of all this?”

Adam’s smile tinged with bitterness as he threw his arms wide. “Take a look around, Faith. What do you think she was getting?”

Faith did as he bade. She wasn’t impressed. The two-story brick building was similar to every other one on the block. It was big and stylish. Not to mention, it obviously required a gardener and pool boy. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a nice home, but it felt cold and money wasn’t everything. “Serenity isn’t the type of woman who would marry for monetary gain.” As she said the words, her certainty grew. Serenity wouldn’t have cared about his home.

“Don’t be a fool.” Adam’s statement dripped with scorn. “
Everyone
has a price. Don’t they?”

She flinched as his jibe hit home. “Well,” she said, recognizing her cue to leave. “I’m glad I stopped by. I might’ve driven myself crazy with worry if I hadn’t. Now I realize my sister made the right decision. Have a nice life, Adam. Let’s not talk again soon.”

*

“Goddamn it.” Adam could hear the growl in his voice as he slammed the door closed behind Faith. He was powerless to stop it. She was still a fucking coward, even after all this time. Moving to stand by the window, he watched Faith’s retreating form until he couldn’t see her any longer. He barely resisted the urge to put his fist through the wall. Why did her “have a nice life, Adam” have to sound so much like “go to hell, Adam”? She looked tired. Her eyes held a hard edge. It hadn’t been there the last time he’d seen her. Despite those things, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. How was it he’d spent the past two years missing her while she seemed to look right through him? If she’d been the one set on marrying someone else, he would have been beating his chest like a possessive caveman… right after he fucked up some dude’s face. With another growl of frustration, Adam headed back to the weight room. He needed to release his anger somewhere before he tore out after Faith, ruining all his well-laid plans.

Chapter Eight

Serenity: Four months earlier

Serenity threw open the door when she realized Carter stood on the other side. “Hey!” Her voice sounded breathless, even to her ears. She brushed her hand subconsciously over her ponytail and t-shirt. “I didn’t know you were coming over today.” His eyes moved over her body, but his expression remained blank. Her heart plummeted.

“We need to talk.”

At his solemn tone, she stepped aside, watching mutely as Carter crossed the threshold. She noticed he didn’t bother to sit.
He’s probably afraid to soil his expensive suit on my cheap furniture
, she thought bitterly. She knew she was being uncharitable with her thoughts. Since she was about to get dumped, she felt she was allowed a bit of unfairness. Settling down on the couch, she tried not to fidget as he paced the floor. At his continued silence, she found herself twisting her fingers hoping against hope she wouldn’t cry.
God, let her hang onto some pride.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty,” she burst out, unable to stay silent a moment longer. He froze. A startled look passed over his features.

“What?”

“For breaking it off,” she clarified. “I will not cry or fall into a fit of hysterics. Maybe. I hope.”

“What?” he repeated.

Serenity felt the first tear trickle down her cheek. “Okay, so I lied. I’m going to cry.”

In one quick motion, Carter was across the room, gathering her into his arms. With her face pressing against his chest, his hands ran through her hair and over her back. She knew she was ruining his expensive shirt, but she didn’t care. “I don’t want you to hold me,” she lied childishly as she clutched him tighter.

He chuckled into her hair. The sound vibrated against her cheek. She wanted to hang onto the memory of how it felt. “God, I love you, Serenity.”

“If you love me so much, why are you dumping me?”

“What?” He practically screeched the question, leaving her confused That is, until he left her speechless instead. “I’m not dumping you, Serenity. I’m asking you to marry me.”

Well, wasn’t that how every girl imagined her first marriage proposal?

*

“What?”

Carter looked down at Serenity’s tear-streaked face. He bit back a laugh at her stunned expression. He would have let it loose if he weren’t so fucking furious she would think he was capable of breaking things off with her. “I came here to ask you to marry me. Why would you think I was dumping you?”

Serenity sniffled. “Because you don’t need me.”

“Don’t need you?” He repeated the words slowly, wondering if maybe she was insane. “I don’t need a two hundred thousand dollar car. I don’t have any special requirement for or attachment to half the shit I own, but I absolutely do need you. I spend every waking moment I’m not with you, plotting how I’m going to see you again. There is this constant fear living inside me that one day you’re going to wake up and realize I’m too old for you or not exciting enough. Then what will I do?”

Serenity burst into action, knocking him backward before straddling his hips. She kissed him, nipping at his lips when he didn’t act quickly enough in his surprise. Ripping his jacket open, she growled in frustration when it tangled around his arms as she tried tugging it off. His arms were too busy being wrapped around her to allow it.

“Why do you always wear so many goddamn clothes?”

He did chuckle then. With his head thrown back, he laughed harder than he had in his life. He‘d never felt more triumphant than he did in that moment.

Serenity dropped her forehead to his chest. “I love you, Carter,” she said quietly, but he heard the words as clearly as if she’d yelled them in his ear.

He tilted his head to one side bringing her eyes into his line of sight. “Does that mean you’ll marry me?”

“Oh, yes, Carter. You aren’t getting away from me.”

Chapter Nine

Faith: Present Day

It took longer than expected for Faith to answer the door. Her car was sitting in the driveway. Adam knew she was at home. When the wooden slab standing between them finally swung open, he took one look at her swollen eyes and baggy pajama pants, and said the first thing that came to mind, proving he was still an idiot.

“Are you sick?”

She waved away his concerns. “You woke me up.”

He could only stare at her in disbelief for a moment, before—yet another—stupid comment popped from his mouth. “But it’s one o’clock in the afternoon.”

Her mouth quirked up in one corner sardonically. “Some of us have to work for a living.”

“But it’s Sunday.” Well, he was really on a roll now. He knew it but couldn’t seem to stop the words from coming. “And I work for a living,” he heard himself add, sounding childish even to him.

She smirked at the asinine comment and realization struck him like lightning. “You’re still dancing,” he said, unable to hide the accusation weaving heavily in his voice.

Faith didn’t flinch at his words. Instead, she held his gaze steadily. Her expression a blank canvas. “You, of all people, know exactly how I put Serenity through college with no education of my own to speak of.”

Adam didn’t know what to say. He could count on one hand the number of times someone had left him speechless. He was almost certain Faith was responsible for at least two of those times. A part of him was pissed as hell she’d not changed professions since leaving the small nightclub he owned on the side. On the other hand, he was so damn amazed by her strength that his anger refused to fully surface. Life had dealt Faith Hope a shitty hand, but she stood tall and faced it head on. She was incredible.