Page 74 of A Lot Like Forever
Chapter 17
Faith ran her hands over the fabric of her skirt, more used to being in jeans than pencil skirts that hugged her body tight and made it impossible to take more than a small step. She’d gone out and bought a new outfit to wear to Clay King’s funeral, it only seemed right to make an effort for a man that had been as good as a legend for longer than she could remember, but it was Nate she was all sweaty palmed over seeing. In all honesty, she’d come for him, but the suffocating feeling of waiting for the moment he came near was almost unbearable.
“You okay?”
She nodded and smiled as Sam squeezed her hand, leaning in close to her. “Fine, thanks. I’m just hot.” It was the truth. She had a silk cami on underneath her jacket, and the fact that they were outside in the sun with her wearing all black wasn’t exactly sensible.
“We can go on over and take a seat if you want,” Sam suggested, gesturing to the rows of white chairs beneath a huge tent with no sides.
She shook her head, more content to swelter in her suit than risk running into Nate or his brothers. She wanted them to know she’d been here, but the idea of seeing Nate again, being up close and personal with him for even a moment, wasn’t something she’d ever be prepared for. Faith sighed. She might have been the one to walk away from him, but it didn’t meant she didn’t miss him like crazy still.
“Hey, Faith.”
Faith hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until she let it go. She turned and came face-to-face with Chloe.
“Hey,” she replied. “How are you holding up?”
Chloe blinked away visible tears. “Okay. It’s just hard seeing the guys so cut up.”
Neither of them had said Nate’s name, but it was hanging between them, and Faith decided she’d rather be the one to bring it up than wait for Chloe.
“And Nate?” Faith asked, wishing her brother wasn’t standing right beside her, listening to the entire conversation. “How’s he been?”
“Not bad, considering.” The deep, commanding voice that rang out behind her made every tiny hair on her body stand on end, her skin covered in goosebumps. She swallowed, took a deep breath, and slowly turned.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Nate,” she managed, meeting his gaze head-on and suddenly wishing she hadn’t come at all. His dark eyes were stormy, slightly bloodshot, his dark hair pushed completely off his face. It was longer than it had been when she’d been with him, slightly unruly now even though he was obviously trying his best to tame it today.
“Thanks for coming,” he said, eyes never leaving hers as he spoke, his voice powerful even though he was in pain. “You too, Sam,” he continued, turning to her brother and holding out his hand. “And thanks for coming by the other day. It was good to see a friendly face after the afternoon I’d had.”
Sam shook his hand, patted him on the back, and said a few words. Faith could have listened, was standing right beside them, but all she could think about was Nate. About the fact that he was standing so close, that this big, incredible man was less than two feet from her, a man she’d voluntarily walked away from because she was so damn scared of falling for him, when what she should have done was hold him close and try to never let him go.
“Faith?”
Her head snapped up, suddenly tuning into the conversation when she heard her name.
“I’m sorry?”
“Nate wants a word with you.” Sam looked between them. “In private.”
Damn it!Why hadn’t she stayed tuned into what they were saying? “How about you, ah, go get us a couple of seats and I’ll join you in a second.”
Sam stared at her long and hard before nodding and walking away. Chloe had disappeared without her even realizing it, and suddenly it was just the two of them. She could only watch Sam walk away for so long before she had to change the angle of her body and face him.
“Nate . . .”
“Faith . . .”
They both laughed at the same time, only instead of keeping his distance like she had been, Nate reached for her hand.
“You go first,” he muttered, staring into her eyes and rubbing his thumb across her palm, making her go all kinds of crazy at the direct skin-to-skin contact.
Faith’s mouth was dry, all thoughts gone from her head. She hardly even remembered exactly what she’d wanted to say, except for the fact that . . . what? That she shouldn’t have left him? That she was in love with him? That she couldn’t be with him even if she wanted to be?
When she didn’t say anything, he smiled. “How about I go first, then?”
Faith nodded, wishing he wasn’t touching her.
“I want to take you somewhere.”
