Mine to Steal (Mine to Love) (16 page)

I notice a small stage being erected outside on the dimly lit patio when Lily returns with our drinks. “Welcome to Rome,” she says as she places them in front of us, eliciting a small laugh from me.

“To Rome,” Faith toasts, raising her beer to the center.

She waits for us to touch our bottles to hers agreeing, “Rome!”

I raise the bottle to my lips to take a swig and notice her lips pucker with her first gulp. It reminds me of those commercials I saw when I was a kid of someone drinking bad beer. Her eyes meet mine, but she averts them before anyone sees it, quickly downing another gulp. The beer isn’t terrible, maybe a little watered down, but it’s no worse than some other cheap beers I’ve had. Seeing Faith try to continue drinking, when she so clearly hates it, is entertaining.

“Alright, enough of that. Next round’s on me,” I offer, pointing to see what everyone wants before I make my way to the bar. Everyone laughs, even Faith.

“I’ll have a Roman Coke,” she coughs as she pushes the bottle away wrinkling her nose.

“Did you say ‘Roman Coke’?” I ask, trying not to laugh.

“No,” she coughs and shields her face.

“I think you did,”
Grayson chimes in and outright laughs.

“Alright, fine, yes I did.” She
throws her hands up in defeat.

“Leave the lady alone you two,” Cavette commands and winks at her for good measure.

The men order another beer, different brand of course, and I disappear into the crowd.

It’s almost impossible to push through the growing number of people filling the small bar, but most
of them are heading outside. Whoever is playing out there must be pretty popular because everyone is chattering about how exciting it is that he’s in town. The bartender looks over at me and nods, asking my order. When he brings the drinks over I hand him the twenty and ask who’s playing.

“Jamie Ray Jones,” he says, as if I should know who that is.

“Local?”

“Local, as in, Texas.” He tilts his head and nods it in the direction of the patio
. “Y’all should head out there and have a listen.”

Cavette, Grayson
, and Faith are engaged in a conversation, laughing and carrying on, when I arrive with our drinks. It isn’t long before Lily comes by to check on us. She looks at the bottles in their suspicious congregation at the center of the table and laughs as she takes them away.

“Rome isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, is it?”

“Not at all. I don’t think I’ll ever go to Rome again.” Faith laughs before taking a sip of the drink I bought for her.

“Told ya,” Lily offers before walking off with the half downed beer bottles.

“The bartender said we should head outside to listen to the music. Anyone up for it?”

“I’m fine here,” Cavette speaks up, effectively making the decision for everyone. There
are so many people outside, I doubt there’s any room for us anyway. “I came to dance, and Ms. Young, you and I are gonna dance.”

Faith has danced to at least three songs with the old man and now Grayson is spinning her around, and laughing every time they bump into someone. He has no moves, but she doesn’t seem to mind, and I don’t seem to mind watching her.

There is a strange fascination I have with this woman who appears annoyed with me, but flawless around others. She’s either a really good liar, or I’m an evil son of a bitch. I think it’s the former.

“Did you know Ms. Young is the
most awarded member of the sales team at Rock Solid?” Cavette brags with a grin, snapping me out of my Faith-induced inner lecture.

“I didn’t,” I lie, feigning interest. Truth is, last night after talking to Jett, I did some research and discovered she has only been with the company for about a year, and in that time, she’s the youngest member to handle the volume of accounts she does.

“Sure is. Very impressive, that one.” He nods, looking at her like a proud father. I find it odd he’s so invested in her story, not that I care. He continues droning on about her, “I was referred to Rock Solid by a friend, and
she
came highly recommended. They say she never hears ‘no.’”

I give him a sideways glance, curious if this is his way of telling
me that my being here is a formality, but he gives nothing away. The song ends, and Grayson leads Faith back to our table, putting a halt to the remainder of the conversation. Faith’s sweating and laughing; I think she’s truly enjoying herself.

Before she’s able to take her seat, I smirk at her and extend a hand
. “C’mon Young, let’s dance.”

“I thought you
told us you can’t dance.” For the first time since she was in my arms earlier, she seems unsure of herself.

“No, I said I don’t. Let’s go.” I incline my head toward the dance floor
, and she gives me a tight nod.

The rickety floor, covered in sawdust
, reminds me of something out of an old western movie. My shoes seem to sand the floor when I drag my feet as I walk. Faith follows me but keeps a safe distance; but I think it’s me that needs to keep my distance from her. I offer my hand, and she looks at it like she’s weighing her options before she places her small hand in mine.

“What’s your game here?” Her hand on my shoulder tenses momentarily as I begin to move us to the music.

Her face whips up, and she glares at me. “Excuse me?”

“
The other - I mean, say you’ve got a boyfriend, then you’re flirting shamelessly with Grayson. Poor guy’s going to get the wrong idea. Unless this is all part of your ploy to win the job.”

M
otherfu
-

I flinch and suck in a rush of air as I try to hide the pain because she stomped hard on my foot. “How dare you!”
she huffs at me, staring straight into my eyes. “You don’t know anything about me and what I do is none of your business.”

“And what about me?”
I spin her away before I say something I might regret and pull her back to me with a little more force than I need to. She lands against my chest with a thud, and I hold her tight to me enjoying the familiar feel of her in my arms.

Faith decides she wants to lead and spins us together on the dance floor, until I loosen my grip. “What about you?”

“What was that earlier at the showers? Or before when you were doing everything you could to touch me somehow?”

She throws her head back and laughs a genuine laugh, but it’s at me. “Trey, you need to seriously get over yourself. You’re reading into things.”

“Am I? Because I’m pretty sure you -” I stop myself before I mention that night. “Never mind.”

“No, you were going to say something. Don’t hold back now.”

“I’m merely questioning your tactics.”

“I don’t need tactics when I’m good at my job. And make no mistake, I
am
good at my job.”

“Touché.”

Damn.

Confident, smart
,
and
beautiful; she is likely the best asset Rock Solid has, and they probably don’t realize it. Hell, she probably doesn’t even know.

“By the way, good luck winning this contract. Do you really think you have what it takes to handle a company like Cave? I mean, aren’t they a little too large for you?” There is a hint of smugness in her voice
, and it reminds me a little too much of her boyfriend. When I look down at her, the gleam in her eye confirms my suspicion. “Brad told me a few things about you,” she adds with a shrug.

“So
you’ve been asking about me, huh?” It’s the only part of everything she divulged that I want to focus on. I find it interesting this is the way the story has been spun all this time. I don’t want to tell her what an asshole her boyfriend is. When she mentioned his name earlier, and the fact she works for Rock Solid, I had pretty much come to the conclusion it was Brad Emerson. Her confirmation causes me to question those she chooses to surround herself with.

I hated working with the guy. He was one of those brown-nosing, ass-kissing types who really didn’t know how to do his job, but his ability to bullshit and lie was an art form, at least to management.

“No,” she objects weakly and turns away so I can’t see her eyes. “It’s called research.”

“You can
research
all you want, or you can ask me yourself.”

“I think I know everything I need to know,” she says lamely.

“How is Brad?” My lip curls in disgust at the mention of his name.

Brad and I started at Rock Solid at the same time and were initially friend
s. The better I got to know him, the more I began to hate working with him. Personally, when it came to people, he was a douche. But in business, he was worse. He used questionable means to land clients, then overcharged them and then pawned them off on others to deal with. Yet, when his cutthroat and seedy ways got him promoted, I realized it wasn’t the place I needed to be. I have never looked back.

“I’m not going to talk about him with you. Especially after what you did.”

“What, exactly, did I do?” I ask. This time, I stop moving and step back to gape at her insinuation. I have no idea what she’s talking about, but whatever it is, it sounds like
I’m
the asshole.

“Keep dancing,” she orders through a clenched jaw as she tugs my hands to resume our movements
when she spots Cavette grinning at us. I wait for her to answer, but when she doesn’t I pull her a little closer than I mean to and she gasps.

“You were saying I did something.”

“The Miller boys were always slightly shady, right?”

Being called ‘shady’ by someone who slipped out of my bed in the middle of the night is laughable, but I’m curious.

“Will you say whatever it is you think you know about me? That chip on your shoulder has to be getting heavy.”

“Did you ask Jett what he remembers about me?”

Yes.

I hold her hand and twirl her behind my back, giving myself time to cover what little I do know. She said she hated my brother but never anything about us as a pair.
I didn’t know the girl
. When she is facing me again, she gives me an expectant stare,

“Nope. I don’t need to know. My brother isn’t perfect, and sure he’s done some strange things, but it’s been years, don’t you think you should let it go? Besides, if you have something to say, maybe you can say it yourself.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Can we finish this dance?”

“Are you going to tell me what you
think
you know about me?”

“I don’t think this is the time or place.”

“Well, then I guess you’ll have to believe whatever story you’ve been told, because I don’t think there will ever be another time or place. Besides, I don’t need to defend myself to you or anyone else.”

Neither of us look at each other or
say another word after my comment. Thankfully, the song ends, and we can’t get away from each other fast enough. It’s unexplainable the pull I feel to be near her, but once there, I want to retreat. She can burn me with a look, and I need to stay away from the fire. Still, I’d like to know what it is I was supposed to have done when I was at Rock Solid.

“Pops ordered some food,” Grayson informs us when we get to the table. “Should be out soon. Anyone want anything else to drink?”

Everyone is in agreement when we pass on the drinks. It’s been a long day, and I’m ready to eat and head back to try to get some sleep. However, the heat is stifling, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to get any shuteye anyway.

* * *

What in the hell was that?

I sit up in my sleeping bag and listen to see if I hear the noise again, but there’s only the sound of the crickets in the woods around us. I shake it off and assume I must have been dreaming, but as soon as I lay down, I hear it again.

“Stop,” Faith’s muffled voice sounds. “Let go.”

I can’t get out of my tent fast enough. The zipper glides up
, and I grab a stick nearby so I can charge whoever it is in her tent.

“Please, let me go,” she cries silently, causing my heart to pound and my stomach to drop.

I reach her tent and drop to my knees while I fumble with the zipper to open it. When I finally unzip it, I find Faith alone, murmuring and writhing in her sleep.

“Faith,” I whisper-shout to her. “Wake up.”

She doesn’t hear me so I move to her side and place my hand on her shoulder, “Hey, you’re okay.” She bolts upright and covers her mouth, her eyes welling with tears before she leans against me.

“Are you okay?”
I grimace while I continue looking around to make sure it was really only a dream.

“What are you doing in here?”
she asks between rapid breaths.

“I heard you calling for help, assumed someone was hurting you, and here I am. So?”