“Faith!” Kieran walked out of BodyWorks into the parking lot with Matt. “Got a sec?”
He kept his pace relaxed, and Faith had to admit, he looked damn good. It was the fourth day in a row she hadn’t gone into BodyWorks, choosing instead to text Matt from the car when she arrived. She’d told Matt it was because they were having some trouble with the alternator in the Taurus, and she was afraid to turn the car off for fear it wouldn’t start again without a jump.
That was only partially true. Faith had been making a concerted effort to keep her distance from Kieran. It wasn’t easy, and she wasn’t willing to give him up completely, but hopefully reducing their face-to-face time kept her from being called to Lexi Callaghan’s office again.
“Sure,” she said, hoping he hadn’t picked up on her slight hesitation. He was a smart man, though, so chances were he had probably already figured out that she was avoiding him.
“Matt told me they delivered the new roofing shingles. I thought maybe I could come by on Saturday and help you get them on.”
Faith shot a glance at Matt, who suddenly seemed to find his shoes terribly interesting. Matt knew quite well that they had been invited to a barbecue being hosted by one of their neighbors. Neither of them wanted to go, but as Faith had already politely declined several such invitations, she didn’t think she could do so again without hurting the woman’s feelings. Mrs. Campbell was at least eighty, and had looked so hopeful when she explained how everyone else on the street would be there, that Faith hadn’t had the heart to say no.
Her decided lack of a backbone was really starting to become a nuisance, she realized.
Now Matt was trying to enlist Kieran unknowingly, no doubt in an attempt to avoid said barbecue.
“I’m sorry,” Faith said, meaning it. “We can’t.”
She’d much rather spend a day on the roof pounding nails than at a neighborhood shindig. Secretly she hoped that there would be enough people there that she and Matt could stay only long enough to be polite and then return to their cottage. And she really did miss Kieran, even if they would never be anything more than friends. She’d hoped by keeping her distance it might prove to his family that she really didn’t want anything more than that.
It was a lie, of course, but a moot one.
“Oh,” Kieran said, his face falling.
Damn it! It was hard enough to stay away from the man as it was, but when he looked at her with those soulful eyes, her resolve melted away completely.
“It’s not that we wouldn’t love your help,” Faith said, searching for some way to get rid of that crestfallen look (and eliminate her own ache at the sight of it in the process), “but we kind of got roped into attending this barbecue one of our elderly neighbors is hosting.”
“Not Mrs. Campbell?” Kieran asked, leaning his forearms against the driver’s side door. It placed him close enough that she couldn’t mistake the unique but familiar scent of Kieran – clean, warm, spicy male. Or the obvious amusement that had so quickly replaced the hurt in his eyes. Did they always sparkle like that, or had not seeing him for a couple of days made her forget?
Faith nodded, trying not to let either get to her too much. It wasn’t easy. She concentrated on their conversation instead, definitely not looking at the finely carved forearms and biceps just inches from her face. No man should be that attractive. It was so not fair.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“Elsa Campbell is a legend in these parts,” he chuckled. “She knows everything there is to know about everyone, and apparently, she’s set her sights on you. I’m surprised it’s taken this long for her to get her talons into you.”
Faith thought about the sweet, white-haired old woman with the mischievous blue eyes. “I’ve been had, haven’t I?”
“Afraid so.”
Faith pinched between her eyes where she felt a headache coming on. It was one thing to be politely social, another to unknowingly sacrifice yourself to the town gossip.
“Any words of advice?”
Kieran seemed to give it a moment of serious thought. “You could try a little ipecac in some baked beans.”
Matt, now ensconced in the passenger seat, snorted in laughter. Faith shot him a warning glance but found her own lips twitching as well. “That bad, huh?”
*
Poor Faith, Kieran thought. She had no idea what she was in for. He kept the teasing smile on his face, but inside he was squirming. Elsa was as notorious for her matchmaking as she was for her penchant for gossip. Five minutes with Faith, with her quiet, gentle demeanor, and Elsa would no doubt be networking faster than Ian’s quad-chip processor.
The thought clawed at his chest. He was taking things easy for Faith’s sake, but there was no way in hell he was going to let Elsa Campbell dangle her out there as bait for the hungry wolves.