“Someday,” he said, his voice softening as he laid his hand over hers, “I hope you will have enough faith in me to share parts of your life you won’t share with anyone else. And when that day comes, I will do the same. Until then, can we agree to just take each other at face value?”
His hand was so large and warm over hers; his eyes so blue, looking at her so earnestly. Face value. Asking for nothing more than what they already shared. Not delving into inglorious pasts or asking awkward and humiliating questions, making judgments. Yeah, she could do that.
“I’d like that,” she said honestly.
––––––––
Several days later, Faith sat in one of the employee break rooms of the Celtic Goddess, absently fingering the remains of her apple with one hand while she sketched with the other. Normally she would just work through lunch, but the Pine Ridge location was much more adamant about employees taking a break if they were scheduled to work for more than four consecutive hours. She had given up lunches a long time ago, a sacrifice to her necessarily tight food budget, and her body had adjusted. It was a good thing, too. The bigger Matt got, the more he ate, and she had promised herself a long time ago that her son would never go hungry.
Her hand moved automatically, drafting the images from her head without conscious thought, recreating the décor of the opulent new suites the way her mind’s eye saw them. She didn’t think anything would ever come of it; her sketches were for her and her alone. It gave her hands something to do while the more alert parts of her brain concentrated on something infinitely more complex: Kieran Callaghan.
She still felt the echo of warmth from his hand where he had held it over hers. Still envisioned the sincerity in the depth of those bottomless blue eyes. Still heard his deep, soft voice, telling her that he liked having her around.
She was paraphrasing, of course, but the overall gist was clear enough. The biggest question, the one that had been haunting her ever since, was, why?
Why would a man like Kieran care about her one way or the other? He owned and operated a highly successful business. Was stunning beyond belief. Had a large, close family that obviously cared for him. Women would give their right arms to simply be with him. What benefit could he possibly find in her?
No doubt his brothers’ wives had been asking themselves the same question. The converse to that query – what benefit could Faith find in Kieran – unfortunately had several definitive answers, every one of which made Faith appear to be what her mother would call a ‘gold-digger’. They were about as far apart on the equality scale as they could be and still live in the same town. Obviously, she wasn’t the first one to have come to that realization.
She had nothing to offer him except her friendship. To be fair, he had asked for nothing more. Maybe that was the key right there. There were so many women that wanted him for something, something that would benefit them like wealth or power or the prestige of being on his arm. She hadn’t asked anything of him, and maybe that was all he really wanted – a person he could hang out with, no strings, no pressure. Someone who didn’t care about his money or his job or the fact that he looked like something right off the cover of a romance novel. All good things, to be sure, but they didn’t matter to Faith.
Well, she thought ruefully, that wasn’t exactly true. If Kieran hadn’t been so gorgeous or successful, she might allow herself to acknowledge some of those unfamiliar feelings simmering inside her, the ones she kept tightly lidded and hidden away, even from herself. As it was, he was as unattainable as it got.
“Those are incredible,” said a soft-spoken voice from behind her, startling Faith from her musings.
Faith looked up to see Lexi Callaghan peering over her shoulder, checking out her sketches. She had managed to capture a perfect balance of the cultures defining the Celtic Goddess, created with a series of raised layers of flooring, steps, and columns that had a decidedly Greek feel, mixed with the old-world charm and appeal of ancient Ireland.
“Thanks,” Faith murmured as she hurriedly closed the cover of her sketchbook. With the exception of her son, she didn’t allow anyone to look at her etchings. Kieran had seen them that once, too, but she was more apt to overlook that. He had seemed to like them, though he hadn’t mentioned them since, either, so maybe he’d just been being polite.
“We met the other night,” Lexi said, looking disappointed when she tucked her sketchbook away. “I’m Lexi Callaghan.” She extended her hand. Faith looked at it for a moment before taking it.