Page 33 of Off the Hook

“To be honest, I’m out of practice with music. But I have a hell of a lot of fun doing it when I get the chance.”

“Maybe you should do more of it,” she said with a smile.

“I should. It’s like an escape. It helps me relax. Maybe I’ll see if I can play a few songs at Trouble’s wedding.”

“Trouble?”

“My younger brother, Trevor. I couldn’t say his name when he was born so it came out sounding like Trouble. We still call him that.”

“Ah, of course, Corinne’s boyfriend.”

“That’s right, you met Corinne– when you showed up at her office to interrogate her.”

She nodded, a hint of remorse in her eyes. “It was procedure. But you should be grateful. All she did was confirm that you’re a genuinely good person.”

“I guess I'll have to buy them a nicer wedding gift now.”

“When’s the big day?” she asked with a grin.

“February eighteenth.”

Faith’s eyes grew wide. “Wow, that’s soon.”

“They figured why wait? With the baby on the way, and her belly growing every day…”

“Right, for the wedding pics,” she snickered.

“You ever been married?”

She nearly choked on the bite she was swallowing. “Nooooo!” She chuckled, washing down the food with a sip of wine. “Thought I might once–the guy I dated in college. But he always hated the idea of me being a cop– said it was too dangerous, not what he wanted for the mother of his children. Not that he ever asked me if I even wanted children,” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “Didn’t matter anyway. He bailed the week before I started the academy. I guess I kind of married the force instead.”

“His loss,” I said, pushing another smudge of potatoes onto the fish on my fork. “I’d say you made the right choice. Any man that can’t accept you for who you are and encourage you to follow your dreams, doesn’t deserve you.”

Faith blinked at me, a sweet smile on her lips. “You always say the right thing.”

“The truth is always the right thing.”

The softness in her eyes made my heart skip a beat when she said, “I suppose that’s another thing I really like about you.”

The more we talked, the more I was drawn to her. She was real, honest. Maybe it was the way she talked about her family, or the way she laughed at the silly stories I told about my brothers’ antics growing up. But it felt like she saw me, the real me.

Whatever it was, I knew one thing for sure: I wanted to know her better.

CHAPTER 17

FAITH

Coulter’s culinary skills had blown me away. I placed my paper napkin on my empty plate and raised my glass of wine. “To the best meal I’ve had yet in the Keys.”

“To good company,” he said, his eyes twinkling as his glass clinked against mine.

He was right about the wine pairing. The subtle notes of citrus and green apple went perfect with the fish. I was surprised when he topped off our glasses that we’d nearly polished off the bottle.

“Let’s take this out to the dock,” he suggested. “It’s too nice a night to stay indoors.”

I nodded, grabbing my glass and following him outside. Now that it was completely dark, the blanket of stars took my breath away. “Stars are brighter here in the Keys, far from the big city lights of Miami.”

“Everything is better here than in Miami,” he chuckled. “After you,” he gestured at two Adirondack chairs. I settled into theone on the left, and Coulter stretched his long legs out after he settled in the other.

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