Read Online Having Faith by Abbie Zanders - Free Book Online Page A

Faith wasn’t sure what to make of that.  Was it a compliment?  Or was he politely telling her to mind her own business?
    Faith deferred to Matt to order on their behalf, then sat back and looked around.  There was a decent crowd, fun but not overly rowdy.  It was a nice place, and the prices were reasonable.  Anything was more than she had budgeted for, though, so she’d have to get extra creative for a week or two, but it was worth it to see the smile on Matt’s face. 
    Matt and Kieran handled most of the conversation.  When Matt found out Kieran was a seventh degree black belt, Faith swore she saw stars in the boy’s eyes.  For a while they talked about the programs offered at BodyWorks , and Kieran invited them to attend the free demo on the following day.
    “Kieran!”  Faith turned to see a very pretty young blonde woman balanced on sky-high heels waving and making her way over to their table. 
    “Natalie,” Kieran acknowledged with a polite nod.  Was it her imagination, or did she see a flicker of irritation in Kieran’s expression?  Was this one of the women Lacie had alluded to?
    Natalie tore her eyes away from Kieran only long enough to take in Faith and Matt and summarily dismiss them as unimportant.  “I had a wonderful time the other night,” she said silkily.  Suggestively .  Faith’s eyes widened as she felt the rush of color rising up into her cheeks.  Matt gaped at the substantial amount of cleavage revealed as Natalie leaned in a bit closer.
    * * *
    W renching his gaze away from Faith, Kieran cursed silently in his mind.  This was exactly what he had been hoping to avoid.  After spending the day around Sean, Lacie, Faith, and Matt, he’d had no desire whatsoever to return to his lonely room at the Pub.  He didn’t go out on his own much anymore, either.  It just wasn’t worth the hassle of being approached every ten minutes when women realized he was flying solo.
    Of all the women he dreaded running into, Natalie topped the list.  While unarguably stunning, she was about as far removed from what Kieran was searching for as possible.  Self-absorbed, vain, and spoiled were just a few of the words that leapt to mind, all within the first five minutes of their ill-fated date less than a week earlier. 
    Kieran did follow through with a nice dinner, but ended the evening as soon as respectably possible.  He had thought he’d been quite clear in his polite but firm assertion that he would not be calling her again.  He believed honesty was the best – if not the always the most welcome – policy, and wanted to avoid any false expectations. 
    But, he thought as her cloying perfume wound its way into his sinus cavities, he obviously had not made it clear enough.  Or, it was more likely that she just did not know how to take “no” for an answer.  As she had so often alluded during their few hours together, she was used to getting what she wanted.  At some point, unfortunately, she had decided that she wanted him .
    Kieran stole a glance at Faith, saw her feigning great interest in the laminated maps of Italy on the backs of the menus, discussing the different regions with Matt.  Head bowed, her dark waves cascaded over her shoulders as she tried to politely pretend she wasn’t listening.  Even from where he sat he could see the pink blush stealing across her cheeks.  Her discomfort made the unfortunate interruption even more so.
    In that moment, he knew what he wanted.  And it was not Natalie.
    “Wanna do it again sometime?” she pressed when Kieran didn’t seem likely to take her not-so-subtle bait. 
    She emphasized her point by leaning over the table, right in front of Faith, showcasing her fabulous cleavage even more.  Faith shrunk farther back in the booth, obviously uncomfortable.  Because his eyes had been trained on her, he didn’t miss it, and it annoyed him.  They’d been having such a nice time together.  Matt was funny and had a quick and clever