Chapter Thirteen

A gentle buzzing, buzzing.

Faith, eyes still closed, cocked her head towards the sound.

And frowned, furrowing her brows.

It didn’t sound familiar.

She opened one eye, startled at first.

This is not my room. Where am I?

Then she remembered, and relaxed.

Turning her head, she noticed Rick watching her, a smile curving his lips, his eyes sparkling.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured sexily.

“Morning,” she said shyly.

“How did you sleep?” he inquired, stroking her cheek.

“That was nice,” she said. “Peaceful. Is it six already?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Dammit.”

She sighed.

“I guess I’d better get going then.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Not on such short notice. But at some point,” she added, as she reluctantly rolled away from him and out of bed, "I’ll take at least one day when you don’t open the store and spend it with you. Deal?”

“And when will that be?”

Faith tilted her head, grinning.

“Let me get quarter-end closing done, and we'll plan something,” she called out from the bathroom where she’d gone to put her clothes back on and pull her hair back.

She came back into the bedroom, handed him his pajamas back, slipped her boots on, and put her purse on her shoulder.

They headed to the lift.

Rick walked her toward the front door of Book Keepers, then grabbed her and kissed her tenderly.

“When can I see you again?” he asked, brushing his lips with hers.

“When do you want to see me again?” Faith asked playfully, feeling sixteen again.

“I don’t want you to leave to begin with,” he nipped her bottom lip. “But that’s your call.”

“Hm,” she responded. “How about dinner Friday night, after you close the store? My house. I want you to know which townhouse is mine.”

His smile was a mile wide.

“Ah. Progress. I look forward to it.”

He unlocked the door, opening it for her.

“See you later, Faith Thomas. Have a wonderful day.”

She grinned, then started for home.

***

Rick locked the door and returned upstairs. Ordinarily, he’d have rolled over and gone back to sleep if he’d woken at six a.m. on a Monday.

But this Monday morning had been special. He had awakened to his future lying beside him, and the mere thought of that had energized him. He was wide awake and revved.

He fired up the coffeepot, then his computer.

***

Faith arrived right on time to work.

As she made her way toward her office, Jan, the receptionist, called out, “Hey, Faith, looking great today! How was your weekend?”

“Fabulous,” Faith replied, with a million-watt grin.

***

Tomorrow's just too long until I see you again, Faith. I’d love for you to come over for dinner tonight, Rick said when he emailed her Thursday morning. Around eight?

I’ll be there. Anything I need to bring? she replied and smiled to herself as she hit 'send'.

The answer was immediate.

Just your beautiful self.

***

When he met her at the front door of the bookstore, he noticed she had a little backpack slung on her shoulder and was smiling secretively like she had something up her sleeve he wasn’t privy to – yet.

As they stepped off the lift he said, “I need to check on dinner.”

He took her hand and they walked to the kitchen, and he gestured to the cozy two-seater table, then to the barstools lining the opposite side of the countertop from where he pulled open the oven door.

“Pull up a chair, your choice.”

“Something smells amazing. What are we having?” Faith asked, as she once again appreciated the long, clean lines of marble countertops accented by beautifully built wooden cabinets in a cherry wood finish.

“Thanks,” Rick replied. “Keeping it simple tonight. Angel hair pasta with chicken and mushrooms tossed in garlic and olive oil. And fresh bread. The buy-and-bake kind from the market,” he grinned.

He tested the pasta and nodded.

“Perfect. Time to drain.”

He did that, then pulled the bread out of the oven and started assembling the pasta to bring to the table.

“Want some help? I can slice the bread,” she offered.

“Sure,” he said. “I already have butter, salt, and pepper on the table, so we need the bread, the pasta, and us, and we should be ready to eat.”

She found a bread knife and sliced several pieces from the still warm loaf, placing two on each plate. Then she filled two glasses with ice and sweet tea and set them on the table.

Rick brought the bowl of pasta over, set it on the table, then pulled out her chair for her and lit the lone candle in the middle to complete the table before being seated himself.

“Faith, I’m happy you’re here.”

“Thanks. I’m happy you invited me.”

He took a drink.

“I have to tell you - I was pretty nervous about this. First real chance I’ve had to show off my culinary skills in over four years.”

“Really?”

“Really. But I figured we click so well I’d take a chance on it.”

“Smart move, this looks and smells fabulous. Pass the butter please?”

“Sure.”

He scooped some pasta onto his plate, then grabbed hers and did the same for her.

“Thanks.”

She twirled up a forkful, stabbed a sliver of mushroom and chicken to go with it, and closed her eyes, savoring the flavors.

“Rick, this is really, really good.”

“It’s one of my favorites. Like I said before, I was stationed in Sigonella, Italy for a while. Learned to make it there.”

“So how was your day?” he asked.

“Funny you should ask. We got hit by a ransomware virus at work yesterday afternoon, and all hell broke loose,” she replied. “Everything is down. The boss has called in an outside IT group to work with our guys to see if anything can be done.”

“I’m pretty good with tech,” he reminded her. “Happy to take a look, if you guys need me to.”

“I appreciate that. Hopefully, they’ll be able to get it sorted out soon. How's your day been?”

"Got another set of files from Max this afternoon, and I can already tell this one's gonna be a doozy. I'm jazzed. Ready to get started on it."

***

Finally, Faith put down her fork and sighed.

“I want more, but I can’t take another bite.”

Rick laughed.

“Me either.”

They worked in companionable silence side-by-side to clean up after the meal.

When the last dish was dried and put away, she said, “Hey, you don’t mind if I crash here again, do you?”

“Careful, Faith Thomas, or I might think you’re sweet on me.”

“Well in that case, I’ll just use your bathroom right quick, then head home.”

She went into the bedroom and shut the door, and Rick mentally kicked himself for being a smartass.

He was standing in his living room trying to figure out how to apologize for being a jerk when he heard a strange rustling noise and looked over.

She stopped in the doorway between his bedroom and the living room, and he gawked.

Faith had taken her hair down and was wearing an extremely sensual floor length black silk robe, loosely tied in the front. He could see just enough to see she wasn’t wearing much else.

“Faith. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“I don’t want to rush you.”

“You’re not.”