by Cindi Madsen
“You’re an ass.”
“And you have a nice ass.”
Faith stared back at him, her jaw clenched. She was wrong. She’d never dealt with this kind of guy before. He was a whole new level of cocky jerk.
“Are you guys coming?” Anna asked, sticking her head out the archway of the kitchen.
Connor gestured Faith ahead of him. He put his hand on her back as they started to walk toward the dining room and she slapped it away.
She heard his low chuckle behind her, and she wondered if Kaleb would be mad or proud if she turned around and decked the guy. Why was her brother even friends with him?
As soon as she sat down, Connor scooted his chair right next to hers. She shook her head, doing her best to ignore his hulking presence as they passed around the food.
“This tortellini is amazing, Anna,” Connor said after they’d all dug in. “And the marinara sauce tastes as authentic as the kind my mama makes.”
Anna waved her hand at his comment, but her entire face lit up.
How was everyone blind to how full of crap Connor was? He was one of those guys who said whatever it took to get his way, then burned you without a second thought—she’d know. She’d been fooled by several before, though Jeff definitely took the cake. Or condo and the future she’d planned, as it were.
Faith swallowed her bite of cheese-filled pasta—okay, it was pretty amazing—and turned to Kaleb. “By the way, I saw Paul and Brynn today. You never told me they were running the bait shop now.”
Kaleb bit into a breadstick. “They run the bait shop now.”
Faith nudged his leg with the toe of her shoe. “So helpful.”
He smiled, his cheek puffed up on one side because of the bread. “Not like I’m ever free to go fishing anymore. Maybe with training over, I’ll have some extra time.”
Anna raised her eyebrows. “Oh really?”
“I mean, after I take my beautiful wife out. Who wants to go fishing when that’s an option?”
Anna gave him a gentle shove and he winked at her.
“I’m sure your job will only get busier now,” Faith said. “How’s the whole”—she took a deep breath and forced it out—“SWAT thing work, anyway?”
Connor’s cup clinked against the table as he set it down. “It means we do our usual job at the police station most days, but if there’s ever an emergency, we’re on call.”
Faith kept her attention on Kaleb. “Will they call you for an emergency in Charlotte?”
“Depends on how big the emergency,” Connor answered. “A few years ago, three other departments in Mecklenberg County formed a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team—Pineville, Matthews, and Mint Hill. I’ve been on Captain to do the same thing for North Meck.”
Finally, Faith couldn’t not look at him anymore.
He rested his knee against hers, and she doubted it was unintentional. Connor continued. “It’s about making the most of our resources. We didn’t have enough guys to make a full SWAT team, but all together, we’re able to increase response time and have a bigger pool to choose from. If something happened in Huntersville, Mooresville, or here in Cornelius, we’d be called to the site, instead of having to wait for guys from Charlotte. Now, the Lake Norman area is protected.” He flashed her a toothpaste commercial grin. “Don’t you feel safer?”
Faith refused to admit that it did make her feel safer, knowing trained men were nearby. Because it didn’t change the fact that her brother was the opposite of safer.
“There’s really not much chance of us going to the bigger cities, but if we’re needed, we’ll go.” Kaleb glanced at Anna before looking back at Faith. “We trained for extreme circumstances. But we’ll mostly be doing the same thing. Just think, if Dad were trained like I am n—”
“Please,” Faith said, holding up her hand. “Don’t go there.” She’d spent years going over the what ifs, and it only made her feel worse. “You’ll never convince me that this is the safest option for you, because it’s simply not true.”
“But if—” Connor started.
She pointed her fork at him. “You don’t get a say in this at all. You have no idea what it’s like, and this is a family matter.”
“Faith,” Kaleb said in the scolding tone he’d used when he was in charge of her in high school. But she was old enough to make her own decisions now.
“It’s okay,” Connor said. “She’s right. I didn’t have to deal with what you two did, and I get why it worries her.” He turned his eyes on her. “You should probably know, though, that I consider Kaleb and his family my family, too.”
Compared to all the bullcrap he spouted, that actually sounded genuine, and his expression matched. Appearing happy he’d cleared that up, he shoveled another forkful of pasta in his mouth.
Faith couldn’t help leaning in and saying, “Guess that makes us like brother and sister, then.” A smug sense of satisfaction ran through her when Connor nearly choked on his bite of food.
Point one to me.
“Uncle Connor?” Ella stood in the doorway of the kitchen, her blond curls mashed on the side where her face was also pink from being against the couch.
“Ella Ballerina!” He spun around in his chair and she ran forward and launched herself into his arms. “How are you today?”
“Dood,” Ella said, putting her chubby hands on the sides of his face.
It was quickly becoming clear that Connor spent a lot of time here. Not that Ella was that hard to win over. Gum or anything involving sugar or princesses usually did the trick. But her face lit up as Connor bounced her on his knee, and he was clearly comfortable with her as well.
He smoothed a hand down Ella’s hair and a crack formed in the wall Faith had built around her heart. And that simply wouldn’t do. He actually went out of his way to form a SWAT team. He was full of himself…
Okay, so he was sorta beautiful, with his olive skin and stupid muscles and sexy dark hair. And he was super sweet to her niece.
Point two to him.
“You hungry?” Connor asked, and Ella bobbed her head.
Anna started to get up and Kaleb put his hand on her shoulder. “I got it.” He took Ella from Connor, put her in her booster chair, and gave her a plate of food.
“So, Faith?” Connor said, glancing at her. “Why’d you move back here?”
“I just got my master’s in psychology, and I’m starting an internship at the UNC School of Medicine in the fall, where I’ll complete my clinical hours.”
“Psychology. Interesting.”
She didn’t know what he meant by that, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. As she’d gone through the curriculum, she’d sometimes felt like a fraud, studying all the information on talking about your problems and confronting your past, when she still hid from hers. But she liked to think that she’d used what she’d learned and gotten better at dealing over the years.
Didn’t mean she was perfect.
Connor draped his arm over the back of her chair. “Maybe you can analyze me sometime.”
Kaleb cleared his throat and shot a pointed look at Connor. Connor shrugged and held his hands up for a moment before dropping them to his sides.
Interesting. That point might go to Kaleb, but I think it’ll work in my favor.
They made small talk through the rest of the meal. Ella was covered in marinara sauce by the end. Kaleb went to bathe her, and Faith insisted on doing the dishes so Anna could kick up her swollen ankles.
Surprisingly, Connor offered to help. Faith rinsed plates and set them in the dishwasher, focusing on the task, so she wouldn’t focus on the way the muscles in his arms flexed as he cleared the table. He set the dishes in the rack of the washer and turned, running his eyes down her. “You know, you’ve got the kind of legs that make me wanna be pants.”
Faith burst out laughing. “That does not seriously work on girls.”
“It does.”
“Maybe desperate drunk girls.”
Connor leaned in so
close she could feel his warmth. “It’s working on you right now.”
“Sorry. You’ll have to do better than that.” She pushed him back with a hand to his chest and placed the last of the cups in the top rack.
“Okay, the line, while true, was more of a joke. But we should grab a drink sometime.”
Faith drew her eyebrows together. “That’s better? Here I thought you were some kind of player, and you don’t have any game.”
He put his hands on the counter, on either side of her. “Damn, you’re as cold as you are hot.”
“I don’t even know what that means. Maybe I should just call my brother in here and see what he thinks.”
Connor’s smug grin faded. So there had been some kind of discussion. Within seconds he recovered, though. “You need permission from your big brother?”
“No. I need a desire to go. And unfortunately for you, I’m immune to guys like you.” She patted his arm and moved past him. She could feel his eyes on her as she started the dishwasher, but she didn’t look at him again. As annoying as it was, confident men were sexy. Of course, they also used their confidence on any and all women, which was how they’d gotten so sure of themselves in the first place.
Ella came bounding into the room, dressed in a pink nightgown with Disney princesses on the front. This time, Faith was the one she ran to. Faith pulled her niece into her arms. “Should we braid your hair?”
“And paint nails?”
“Sure.” Faith grinned at Connor. “You want to paint nails, too? We’ve got a glittery pink that’s to die for.”
“Oh, I’m man enough to pull it off, but I’d better get going. Gotta get up early for my morning run. You wanna meet up? You did promise to give Penny a break from me.”
Faith shook her head. “Nice try. But I like to run alone.” Where I can hold my side and gasp for air halfway through.
“Suit yourself.” Connor leaned down and kissed Ella’s forehead. “See you later, Ella Ballerina,” he said. Then he pressed his lips to Faith’s cheek, and his low voice rumbled in her ear. “Till next time.”
Faith hugged her niece tight, telling herself that the goose bumps spreading across her skin didn’t mean a thing.
Nope, not a thing.
Chapter Three
Faith woke up to the sound of knocking. She glanced around, trying to get her bearings. Last night she’d decided to watch a movie. Since she hadn’t wanted to keep anyone awake—or risk waking up Ella—she’d used Kaleb’s wireless headphones. They were on the floor now and Faith’s neck was kinked from sleeping on the couch.
When the knocking came again, Faith padded to the door and swung it open. Connor stood on the other side. He wore a light blue collared shirt with a police logo, black pants, and a belt with all the bells and whistles, including a gun and handcuffs.
In other words, he looked like uniformed police hotness, and she wasn’t entirely uninterested in being cuffed. Wait. That’s a bad thought. I don’t mean it. She took him in again, her throat suddenly dry. Well, she didn’t exactly not mean it, but she knew better than to want it. Or something like that. She was still too asleep to think clearly.
Oh no. I can only imagine what I look like. Not that it mattered, since his type was obviously women in general, but she’d rather not be aware of the fact that her hair was sticking up on one side. Or that she was wearing her worn-out I love carbs T-shirt. Especially since it had holes in it. It probably looked like all the carbs in the house were gone and she’d taken bites out of it in desperation.
At least her shorts showed off her legs. Maybe he could focus on that. Wait—when’s the last time I shaved?
“Morning,” Connor said, and she had the unnerving feeling that he could read her every thought.
She crossed her arms and squinted at the bright outside light. “What are you doing here?”
“Picking up your brother. We carpool.” He shot her a way-too-perky smile. “In case you haven’t heard, it’s good for the environment.”
“I’ve… It’s… You… Ugh…” She ran a hand over her face, most likely smearing yesterday’s makeup even more.
Connor stepped past her, his chest brushing against her arm. “Wow, I’m disappointed, Blondie. You usually have much better comebacks.”
She frowned at him. “I just woke up. Haven’t even had coffee yet.”
“I’ve already run five miles, plus showered—where I was naked, because I know you were wondering.”
She rolled her eyes. “How ‘bout you run one more mile and get the hell away from me?”
“And leave the warmth of your sunny disposition? No thanks.”
Faith’s brain was too fuzzy to come up with a response. So she simply turned and walked away. She knocked as quietly as possible on Kaleb and Anna’s bedroom door. Kaleb popped his head out, his hair still damp from the shower.
“Your ass of a friend is here,” she said.
“Can you tell him I’ll be right out? My alarm didn’t go off, but all I have to do is throw on my uniform and I’ll be good to go.”
Faith groaned. She really didn’t want to go back. If she pulled up her hair or washed her face, Connor would notice and think she cared what he thought. So she zombie shuffled back down the hall. “He’s running late. It’ll be a few minutes.” She flopped on the couch and pulled the blanket over herself, hoping he’d at least take the hint to leave her alone while he waited.
The couch sank with Connor’s weight a moment later. “You’re not going to offer me breakfast?”
She kicked at him and he grabbed her foot. She was about to jerk it away, but then he started massaging it, and oh. My. Gosh! A sigh was trying to escape her lips and she had to clamp them to hold it in.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” he asked.
Faith lowered the blanket to look at him. Was he really going to act like this was normal? She really should pull away. When he let go, she told herself it wasn’t disappointment running through her. But then he grabbed her other foot and put it in his lap, working his magic.
“I, uh, think I’m running errands with Anna and Ella.” Wow, her life sounded so exciting. Maybe that was for the best. He’d realize she was boring and stop hitting on her.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Connor leaned over her, his hard body pressed against her legs. He grabbed her cell phone off the side table and typed something into it. “There. Now you can give me a call.” He placed the phone in her hand. “I get off work at six.”
He stood as Kaleb came into the room.
Then they left, leaving Faith wondering what the hell just happened.
And why she hadn’t done a better job of shutting it down.
…
Connor glanced toward the house one last time before climbing in the squad car, Faith’s image burned into his mind. When she’d first opened the door… Well, it’d looked like she’d just had a romp in bed, and he wanted to be the one rolling around in the sheets with her.
His breath went shallow thinking about it.
Kaleb laughed, and Connor tucked the image of Faith away for later—when he wasn’t with her brother. “What’s so funny?”
“I was a little worried about Faith being interested in you, and that I’d have to explain you didn’t do relationships or worry you’d try to sleep with her. But she’s totally immune. In fact, I’m pretty sure she hates you.”
“She doesn’t hate me. We worked things out last night when we cleaned up the kitchen together.”
“Funny, because she told me, ‘Your ass of a friend is here.’” Kaleb laughed again, and Connor gripped the steering wheel. It wasn’t that funny. And his insistence that Faith wouldn’t go for him only made him want to prove Kaleb wrong. Not to mention that the more interactions he had with her, the more he wanted. There was something about the way her eyes lit up when she talked to him, a sarcastic comment always at the ready.
Maybe it was time to try something new.
“I’ve had relationships,
” Connor said.
“Dude, I think you had one that lasted a month since I’ve known you. It’s not like I care; as long as the girl you’re after isn’t my sister, do whatever with whoever you want. But it’s my job to keep Faith from getting hurt again. The girl attracts total tools, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to restrain myself from kicking the shit out of a few of them.”
Total tools. Connor frowned, wondering if he were included in that. Granted, he probably wouldn’t want a guy like himself to date his sister, but he was always upfront about what it was, no pretending it’d ever be more. It was mutually beneficial for all parties involved, and he’d had no complaints from women so far, even though he could tell some had wanted more. Whenever things reached that point, he’d end it as nicely as possible. No hurt feelings on either side. No messy complications that’d end in screaming matches.
“The last guy, though…” Kaleb continued, his hand curling into a fist. “If Anna hadn’t talked me down, I would’ve driven to Atlanta and probably got myself arrested.”
Usually his partner was cool-headed, but Connor had seen him get angry enough to know he could beat a guy to a bloody pulp—not to mention his sharp-shooting skills. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off the guy who was supposed to have his back every day.
Then there was the fact that their father was one of his heroes. It was why he’d gone out of his way to meet Kaleb in the first place. But the guy had quickly become his best friend. So despite the fact that he’d had trouble getting Faith off his mind from the first moment he saw her, he needed to keep himself in check. Mess with her, sure—because that was way too fun to give up—but he’d keep things light. Friendly.
Shouldn’t be too hard, considering she apparently hated him anyway.
…
Faith loved her niece more than anything. But when the girl wasn’t crying, she was screaming or giggling or running around in circles. Anna’s errands had taken forever, from the post office to the bank to a stop at the grocery store, and so Ella missed her regular nap. She refused to sleep, was cranky because of it, and by five thirty, Faith needed a break. So she headed to the Rusty Anchor. The other night she’d been angry at her brother and distracted by the crowd, so she hadn’t taken the time to really be there.
