River of Love

by Melissa Foster

  “You’re worried. I hear it in your voice.”

  “I’m not worried about Sam. I just don’t know how jealous I’ll feel if a bunch of girls he’s partied with show up. I could use a friend with me.” She paced her living room.

  “How do you know who he’s partied with?”

  “I don’t. And honestly, it doesn’t matter who he’s partied with. I know it must seem unbelievable given what you know about Sam, but I feel like he and I could take on the world. Like nothing could come between us.” She told Vivian about dinner at Tap It and the few times this past week they’d run into other girls he’d either partied with or hooked up with—she didn’t know and didn’t want to know—when they were out. Sam had handled each interaction with the same confidence and appropriateness as he had the first.

  “Wow,” Vivian said. “Seriously, Faith. He really did turn himself around for you.”

  “Right? And I promise, Viv, I’m not just seeing what I want to see. He’s the real deal. He’s romantic and thoughtful, and I’m an idiot for being nervous like this. It’s so embarrassing to know I might get jealous. But it’s normal, right? To be nervous about this? His family will be there, too, which is also nerve-racking and probably making me more worried than I should be.”

  “It’s totally normal, and of course I’ll come up.”

  Faith sighed with relief. “Thank you.”

  “I’ve got to run in a sec. Mom and I are getting mani-pedis and going shopping.”

  “She broke up with her boyfriend?” Vivian’s mother took her on the same mother-daughter date every time she broke up with a man.

  “Yup. That’s okay. The guy was a bore, and I like our breakup dates. Speaking of breaking up, I read on WAC that Lira is working with Sam. Is that true?”

  She filled her in on the boom in Sam’s business and the legal documents Brent had drawn up for WAC, and when she told her about how instrumental Sam had been in getting that done, Vivian was clearly impressed.

  “Faith, he really wasn’t just trying to get in your pants with that donation.”

  “I told you. He wants me to get involved with the small businesses here to solicit donations. I’m not sure about all that yet, but he has good ideas. I told you, Viv. He’s wonderful. It’s so strange to think we’ve come this far. It’s…”

  “Fate,” Vivian said. “You have finally found a man who deserves you. Don’t quote me on that, though. I’m withholding judgment until I see it for myself. We all know that orgasm goggles can be worse than beer goggles.”

  “You’re so crazy! First you make me doubt him, then you pull for him, and now you’re taking that back?”

  “I said I’m ‘withholding judgment.’ But he’s kind of giving me a girl hard-on for helping Lira and for helping you with the legal stuff. Now you’re officially a business owner. I can say I knew you when…”

  “Whatever.” Faith laughed. “Maybe you’ll meet a guy at the barbecue and eventually move here, too. How fun would that be?”

  “I’m still on my hiatus from all things male, sorry.”

  They talked for a few more minutes, and by the time they hung up, the bees in Faith’s stomach had calmed. Vivian would never let her act like a jealous girlfriend at the barbecue. She’d help her laugh it off, which was so much better.

  She went back to working on the resource page and her mind drifted to Lira. She was contemplating moving away from everything she knew, the town where she’d grown up, and starting over completely with a baby. She was running from humiliation and her broken heart the same way Faith had. But Faith had only had to care for herself during that time, and she had Vivian and her family’s support. And now her biggest worry was whether she would feel jealous over some girls who didn’t even matter.

  Her problems weren’t problems at all. They were annoyances. Lira had real issues: a family that not only didn’t support her, but made her life harder, and a baby to raise, hopefully with better morals than her own sister and mother had. Breaking that cycle wasn’t going to be easy.

  But anything was doable, if a person wanted it bad enough. Breaking cycles, habits, impressions.

  Wasn’t Sam proof of that?

  What Lira was hoping to do would take a Herculean effort, and she needed support. The hell with her crazy family. Lira had Faith, Vivian, and all of the other members of WAC emotionally supporting her day and night.

  She navigated to the WAC forums and found Lira’s latest post. There were fifty-seven responses by thirty-one unique users. Thirty-one friends pulling for her, offering advice, building her up.

  And, Faith realized, Lira had Sam giving her a path toward a new job and, possibly, a new life.

  Her Sam. Have faith in me. She had faith in him, all right.

  Thinking about how lucky they both were for having Sam in their lives and of what Vivian had said about fate, she posted a comment.

  Lira, it’s the tough stuff that makes or breaks us. I’m so proud of you for not letting your ex break you! I think fate might be on your side, and I think everyone in our group would agree that the families we create through friendship are often stronger, and more helpful, than those we’re born into. I have faith in you, Lira. If you want to make a change bad enough, you’ll make it happen. Good luck with the job. I’m here to help you in any way I can.

  **

  IT WAS AN ambush, and probably unfair, given that Cole and Leesa had just returned from their honeymoon. It was selfish of Sam to wait for Cole on his front porch, but word traveled fast in the Braden family, and Cole deserved the respect of hearing about Sam going against his word directly from him.

  He paced Cole’s front porch, his stomach knotted up as a black sedan pulled into the driveway. Sam and Ty had both offered to pick them up from the airport, but Cole had wanted to extend their lavish honeymoon to the very last second. Giving Leesa the best trip of her life. Sam hadn’t understood why Cole would go to such efforts when the honeymoon was over, but now that he was with Faith, the motivation behind his brother’s efforts became crystal clear. Sam loved Faith’s smile so much he’d go to the ends of the earth just to see it. He loved all of her smiles. Her embarrassed touch-me smile, her flirtatious I-know-you-want-me smile, and her confident I’m-a-career-woman smile. But the one he loved most was the smile that played on her lips in the first seconds after she awoke. The smile that told him there was nowhere else she’d rather be, no one she’d rather wake up next to than him. The smile that told him she was his girl.

  Cole helped Leesa from the car, both smiling, tanned, and beautiful. Sam had never seen Cole look so relaxed as he draped an arm over Leesa’s shoulder and looked at her like she was his world. Leesa tucked her blond hair behind her ear, returning that smile tenfold. Sam got that, too, because he felt it every time he was with Faith. He felt like a voyeur and second-guessed his intrusion.

  “Hey, Sam.” Cole’s voice jerked him from his thoughts.

  “I thought I’d welcome you back.” Sam sprang into action to settle his nerves and grabbed their bags from the driver.

  “I can get those,” Cole said, eyeing the luggage.

  “You’ve got your hands full.” Sam leaned in and kissed Leesa’s cheek. “You guys look great.”

  Leesa sighed. “It was unbelievably lovely. Your cousin really knows how to make a person feel special.”

  “Treat arranged for massages, nightly champagne, exclusive use of a beachfront restaurant on our last night there.” Cole unlocked the door, and Sam followed them in. “He went all out.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Sam said. Everything Treat did was elaborate. He’d arranged for their distant cousin Blake Carter’s double wedding on an island, and when a storm ruined not only the wedding, but everyone’s attire, he’d had new duds brought in within twenty-four hours. The wedding took place just as beautifully as they’d hoped, in another of Treat’s exclusive resorts.

  “I promised Tempe I’d call her as soon as I got in, so I’ll leave you two alon
e.” Leesa kissed Cole, and Cole held her against him, taking the kiss deeper.

  Sam turned away, but Leesa’s giggles couldn’t be missed, and Sam couldn’t be happier for them.

  “Love you,” Cole said in the soft tone of a gratified lover. Then his hand landed on Sam’s shoulder, and his tone went serious. “Welcoming committee?”

  “You’re not buying it?”

  “Hardly. Come on.” Cole led him out to the back deck.

  A breeze swept off the ocean, bringing with it memories of their youth. They’d spent too many nights to count hanging out by the water, talking about whatever floated their boats at the moment.

  “Good to be home?” Sam asked, trying to calm his nerves.

  Cole pointed to the chairs, and they settled into them. “Good to be anywhere as long as I’m with Leesa.” He leaned forward, elbows on knees. “I got your texts and thought about calling, but I knew if it was a problem with Mom or Dad you would have called. So what’s up, Sam?”

  Sam had mentally practiced this speech for days, and now he couldn’t remember a word of it.

  “I wanted to tell you in person, before you heard from anyone else.” He held Cole’s gaze, seeing so much of his father’s calm, even demeanor, so different from his own. It was oddly comforting. “I’m seeing Faith.”

  Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Faith, as in my employee? The only person in Peaceful Harbor I asked you not to toy with?”

  “Yes, and I’m not ‘toying.’”

  Cole laughed under his breath. “Sam, that’s all you do. You take, you play, you mess around, and you move on.” He rose to his feet and paced. “You promised me you’d stay away.”

  “No. I promised you I wouldn’t fuck up her life, and I’m not.”

  Cole stared at him in silence for long enough to make Sam’s gut ache. When he finally spoke, his tone was even, calm, not accusatory. “Why Faith, of all people, Sam? She’s a nice, smart girl, and she has no family here to pick her up when you toss her aside. And”—his eyes turned stern—“she’s my employee.”

  Sam bit back his visceral reaction and tried to answer calmly, which was what Cole reacted best to. “Because I’ve wanted to go out with her since I first met her. You know that, Cole. You know my trips to your office were more often than not because I wanted to see her.”

  “Right, the whole challenge thing. I forget about that with you.”

  Sam closed the distance between them, anger storming inside him as he met Cole’s opposing stare. He had an insurmountable amount of respect for his brother, and it was that respect that kept him from blowing up.

  “You’ve never steered me wrong,” Sam said in a heated tone. “Not in business and not in other aspects of my life. And yeah, I was the guy who took and played and messed around. You’re right about all of that. And you’re right that Faith is good and smart. She’s also sweet, and sexy, and funny, and all of those things drew me to her.”

  “You were drawn to her looks. She gets so flustered around you she can barely see straight.”

  Sam nodded, fuming inside. “Isn’t everyone attracted to looks first? Weren’t you with Leesa?” He didn’t wait for Cole to respond. “And yeah, she got flustered around me. Sometimes she still does, and that makes me fall harder for her every time. And maybe you’re right about the challenge thing.”

  He broke away from Cole, too restless to stand still as he verbalized what he’d known all along. “Maybe it started out as me wanting to win her attention.” He drew his shoulders back and met his brother’s gaze again. “But it sure as hell didn’t stay that way. Everything changed the night of your wedding.”

  “Jesus, Sam. You slept with her the night of my wedding?”

  Sam scoffed. “That’s what you think of me?”

  Cole lowered himself to the chair again with a heavy sigh. “Isn’t that what everyone knows of you?”

  Sam crossed his arms, his chest deflating with the piercing truth. He sat across from Cole, wondering why he’d thought this conversation would go any differently.

  “Yeah. That’s what everyone knows of me.” Sam scrubbed a hand down his face. “But it’s not who I am anymore. Not with Faith. And I thought of all people, you’d understand that.”

  Cole searched Sam’s face, and Sam wondered what he saw. A disappointed brother? A man standing on the precipice of emotions so enormous he had no idea which way was up? Or the guy he used to be?

  “Sam, I want to believe you. You’re my brother and I love you. And you’re a Braden, which means somewhere beneath the rough, playboy exterior is a man who knows how to be loyal to more than just his family. Hell, I want you to fall in love and be as happy as Leesa and I are, and you know I think the world of Faith. I’m just skeptical. What happens when you get bored?”

  “Christ, Cole. Do you even know her? She’s incredible. I won’t get bored.”

  “You don’t know that,” Cole said in a kinder tone.

  “I do know it, Cole.” He smacked his hand over his heart. “In here, where it matters. I never thought I’d have to prove myself to you, of all people.”

  Sam rose to his feet and Cole followed. When he stepped away, Cole grabbed him by the arm and spun him around.

  “Sam—”

  “What?” His anger couldn’t be disguised, though he wasn’t sure if he was angrier at Cole for not believing him, or himself, for having boxed himself in with his reputation. He shrugged out of Cole’s grip. “I respect your honesty, and I’m glad you had a good time on your honeymoon. I didn’t mean to fuck up your homecoming. I just wanted you to hear it from me before you heard it from Jon or Ty, or anyone else.” He took a step away, then looked over his shoulder, meeting Cole’s tormented gaze. “Just do me a favor. Don’t let any of this affect Faith’s job.”

  “Come on, Sam. You know me better than that.”

  With a curt nod, Sam walked away, swallowing the jagged pill of knowing he’d have to prove himself to every goddamn person in town—and he had no one to blame but himself.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  MONDAY MORNING SAM went for a run before the sun came up. He hated leaving Faith, but he’d been stewing over his reckless past since his conversation with Cole, and if he was honest with himself, he was disappointed in Cole’s reaction. All of those emotions had him tied in knots, and if he didn’t run off some of the restlessness, he’d explode.

  He pushed himself hard, running farther than normal. The familiar pounding on the forest floor usually helped him clear his mind. He crossed the road and entered a trailhead by Nate’s place, catching sight of his brothers heading toward him. He kept up his pace, knowing Nate and Ty would catch up. A few heavy footfalls later, they fell into step beside him.

  “Thought you weren’t running today,” Nate said.

  “Needed it.”

  “Trouble with Faith?” Ty asked.

  Sam slid him a get real look. “If there were, I’d be with her, not trying to run the fucking frustration out of my body.” He couldn’t believe they hadn’t heard what was going on. He was sure Cole would have confided in one of them.

  “What’s the issue?” Nate asked.

  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “No doubt,” Nate said. “But why go it alone?”

  Sam chewed on that question as they ran up a hill, then fell into a single-file line to navigate the narrow trail between a patch of pine trees. They’d always leaned on one another, but he’d gotten his reputation fair and square. He’d earned it, even encouraged it, on his own. He could deal with the reputation, but the trouble was, he wasn’t dealing with it on his own. Faith was right there with him, willing to face those who knew him when and hold her head up high, despite how uncomfortable it might be. Goddamn Cole. He’d shaken up Sam’s rock-hard confidence. If his own brother didn’t immediately believe he was serious about Faith, what would the people he used to party with think? And how much bullshit would he have to deal with at the barbecue?

  The trail widened and leveled
out, and they ran side by side again.

  “I’m not going it alone,” Sam finally said. “Faith’s right there with me. And I hate knowing people might not believe I’m serious about her. I hate knowing she might see all the bullshit that went along with my past.”

  “Ah,” Ty said. “Now I get it. It’s one thing to know it, but another to see it. That’s easy. You can handle blowing off anyone who comes onto you, and I’ll play interference.” He flashed a devilish grin. “Not like I mind.”

  “I can handle anything, but I worry about Faith. I told Cole we’re dating, and he gave me shit. That didn’t help.”

  “Of course he did,” Ty snapped. “That’s Cole. He’s the steady hand, the straight-and-narrow road walker. He can’t handle the trails like we can, or the shit that comes with them. He’s worried about his employee, and he knows you can handle anything. But Faith? Shit, Sam. She’s worked for him for a long time. He’s going to worry about her as if she were his sister.”

  “Maybe that’s the trouble. I thought he’d see how serious I am about her and accept that I’ve changed, regardless of how fast it happened, but instead he made me feel like I was playing Russian roulette with her life.” At first he hadn’t told Faith what Cole had said, partially because he didn’t want to upset her and partially because Sam knew he’d prove his brother wrong and it would soon be water under the bridge. He’d simply told her that Cole wanted to be sure he wasn’t going to hurt her, which was true. While it wasn’t a lie, he’d omitted part of the truth, and that had gnawed at his gut. He’d come clean last night, and Faith had seemed as pissed at Cole as Sam was with himself for having the reputation in the first place.

  “You know Cole has to look at things from all angles to put the pieces together,” Nate said.

  “Not with Leesa.”

  “Don’t fool yourself,” Nate said. “You think he didn’t approach his relationship the same way he does everything? He might not have shared it with us, but you can guarantee he dissected the hell out of his emotions.”