Page 51 of A Lot Like Forever
Faith burst out laughing, wiping away tears from her cheeks she was laughing so hard. “Nate, just let him be angry with you for a bit. Listen to him rant and rave, then tell him what he needs to hear.”
“And what is that, exactly?” he asked.
“That you won’t hurt me. That I’m the one far more likely to hurt your poor heart than vice versa.”
“Oh really?”
She laughed. “Look, we both know what this is, and we both want to spare Sam from being hurt. So what does it matter what we say so long as it keeps us all happy?”
“Let me get this right,” Nate grumbled. “I thought we were keeping the two of us under wraps? Now you want me to confess my sins after I told him I’d stay away from you?”
Her smile was contagious as she grinned at him. “We are. I just don’t think we can completely pull the wool over Sam’s eyes. He’s going to know something is going on. Will already, in fact.”
“Fine.” Nate pulled open the fridge and took out the steaks, wrapped in brown paper and with a smiley face drawn on the front from his sister-in-law. It made him smile, which only reminded him just how much he was starting to enjoy having so many women permanently in his life. It wasn’t a shock to him that he loved female company, just a shock that he’d opened himself up so readily to his brothers’ wives, and now Faith.
“How about I make a salad to go with that,” Faith suggested, trailing her fingers across his back as she passed.
Nate took out some utensils and headed for the grill, just outside the side door. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
He walked outside to the sound of Faith’s laughter, shaking his head at how easily she’d managed to rub off on him. After he spent so long putting up walls around himself, it had been damn easy for a few particular women to find an opening and just wander on in.
* * *
Faith ran her hands down her skirt, not used to having sweaty palms. She was seated in the office, waiting, having been shown in by an older woman with a wide smile. It had settled Faith for a moment, until she’d been left alone.
“You must be the amazing young woman Nate told me about.”
Faith blew out a breath and rose, game face on. “Faith Mendes. Thank you so much for taking the time to meet me.”
The owner of the gallery was probably fifty, maybe older, but his head of thick silver hair made it hard for her to pick. She liked that he held her eye contact, and she calmed down as she sat.
“I took the time to look through the gallery first. I love some of your contemporary pieces.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Which ones caught your eye?”
She recognized the challenge, knew he wanted to catch her out in case she was bluffing. “I’m a huge fan of Eddie Martinez, so naturally his piece caught my eye. The colors he’s used in his recent collection are stunning.”
“Any other favorites?”
“Contemporary painters?” She smiled. “That’s tough, I could rattle off names all day, but Katherine Bernhardt from Canada and Zeng Fanzhi would be two who always surprise me with their forms and textures.”
“You know your art.” He chuckled. “I didn’t think Nate would personally recommend just anybody, but now I know for sure.”
Faith maintained her smile, felt like it was going well.
“So what are your plans after you graduate? Where to next?”
She watched as he settled back in his chair. “I’m not going to deny that I want to live and work in New York, at least for a time, but I want to learn everything I can and I would really like the opportunity to do that here first.” She paused, not wanting to sound desperate, wanting to portray confidence. “I’m a hard worker and I’m not afraid to put the hours in, and I’m impressed with the art you have here.”
Faith dug her nails into her palm, still smiling, waiting for his response.
“Sometimes things happen for a reason. It just so happens I was about to start advertising for an intern, but now that I’ve met you I’m not sure that I need to.”
She couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. “Really?”
“Look, you clearly know what you’re talking about, you have genuine passion, and you seem like a capable, driven young woman. Not to mention the fact that your knowing the King family might help me in making some sales to Nate or the old man!”
“So do I have the job?”
