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

wit.  And Faith was absolutely breathtaking when she was relaxed and smiling.
    “Maybe your friend would like to join us,” Faith suggested quietly.  She offered a polite smile.  Matt had not yet learned how to mask his feelings quite as well, though his scowl wasn’t as noticeable as it might have been.
    One look confirmed that Faith was pulling back into herself again.  Damn it!   She had just started to relax around him.  He didn’t like the tension in her shoulders or the way she wouldn’t look at him.  He wanted to see her eyes sparkling – she had the most amazing soft gray eyes that shone like polished silver when she smiled.
    Natalie looked thrilled with the idea and made a move to slide in next to Kieran, but he was not as amenable.  “No, I’m sure she wouldn’t,” Kieran said, flashing a warning glance at Natalie.  Their eyes met for a moment, and Kieran’s were not nearly as kind and courteous as they had been.  On the contrary, they were frosty and laced with warning.  “Your friends are waiting for you, Natalie.”
    As pouts go, Natalie’s was classic, but Kieran’s message apparently got through.  The waitress arrived with their food and Natalie stalked off to a different table to sulk.  Kieran didn’t look her way for the rest of the evening, but he could feel Natalie’s eyes on them.  Given the few uncomfortable glances he saw Faith make in that direction a couple of times, he was sure she was aware of Natalie’s less-than-cordial glares shot toward them during their meal. 
    “Sorry about that,” Kieran apologized into the awkward silence that had descended upon them with Natalie’s exit.  The comfortable, relaxed atmosphere they’d been enjoying only a few minutes earlier was gone. 
    “No problem,” Faith said with forced lightness.
    Any hopes he had of rekindling the easy comradery were quickly dashed.  Faith made a point of avoiding his gaze and kept her conversational contributions to a minimum. Thankfully, Matt didn’t seem to feel the same sense of discomfort; they managed to maintain a nice dialogue throughout the remainder of the meal.
    “I had fun tonight,” Kieran said later as he hung outside Faith’s front door, reluctant to leave.  “Thank you.”
    “We did, too,” Faith responded politely.  Her soft gray eyes flicked to his for just a moment, and he saw the blatant little white lie in them.  He silently cursed Natalie again.
    “I’m sorry about Natalie,” he began, hoping to explain, but Faith cut him off by raising her hand.  “Don’t be.  She seemed very, uh, interested.  I hope we didn’t make things too awkward for you.”  She bit her bottom lip, looking embarrassed.
    Kieran blinked, bemused.  Jesus !  Is that what she thought?  “What?  No, of course not. I - ”
    “Good,” she said quickly, looking anything but relieved.  “Thanks again.  Goodnight.”  Then she hurriedly stepped inside and closed the door, leaving him standing on the porch wondering what the hell had just happened.
    * * *
    “H e likes you,” Matt said, startling her.  She hadn’t even realized she’d been standing just inside the door.  Matt had already changed into a pair of pajama bottoms, so she must have been in a daze for a couple of minutes at least.
    “I think Kieran is the type of man who likes everyone, Matt,” she said, brushing aside the tiny thrill that ran through her at Matt’s words, even as images of the immaculately coiffed and voluptuous Natalie wormed their way into her mind.  If that was the type of woman that Kieran Callaghan courted, then she had even less than a snowball’s chance in hell of catching his interest.  Faith was the anti-Natalie. 
    “Don’t read anything more into it.”  There was no place in her life for silly things like that.  She was a grown woman, a single mother with a teenage son.  And Kieran was a nice guy. 
    A really hot, incredibly sexy, gorgeous, muscular, nice guy who helped them