Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
He saw the tears building, and he couldn’t have that. He held her tightly.
“It’s not your fault.”
“How could it not be my fault? Look what he does. Look what he has turned into!” She pressed her face against his chest. “I’m a horrible person.”
“You’re not a horrible person.” This was not helping him because now all he wanted to do was go and beat the shit out of Nigel.
No one hurt Faith. No one.
He closed his eyes and counted to ten, trying to bring himself back under control.
“This is why you need to wear a condom. I know our time is for one month, but I can’t get pregnant. I couldn’t take care of my brother, and he was eleven. There’s no way I’d be able to look after a baby.”
“Hey!” He cupped her face and forced her to look at him. “I don’t want to hear you saying that kind of shit about yourself, do you understand?”
“But—”
“No buts.” He cut her off. There was no way she was going to take the blame for Nigel. “When did the problems start?”
“What?”
“With Nigel, when did they start?”
“Er, a couple of years ago. Just after he turned sixteen, I think.”
“What changed?”
Faith frowned. “He stopped doing his homework, er, he stayed out late. He hung around with different people.”
“There is only so much you, or any parent can do. You’re his sister and he knows you will take care of him.” He knew Nigel loved his sister. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have come to him for help. He’d have used her to get what he wanted, by any means possible. He watched the tears start to fall, and he wiped them away. “You don’t need to cry.”
“My parents would be so disappointed in me.”
“No,” he said. “They wouldn’t.” He’d never met her parents, but he had a feeling they would be pissed off with Nigel for doing this.
Gabriel wasn’t going to turn his back on the kid. Nigel was lucky that he wanted Faith. If not, he would have let the kid fall, but not anymore. He was on his radar, and even if it took the next fifty fucking years, that kid was going to get sober, whether he wanted to or not.
He wasn’t going to allow Faith to suffer for that little shit.
Anger rushed through his body. Yes, it was a good thing he was far away from Nigel. If he’d not been on vacation, Nigel would be fucking bleeding right about now.
“And I’m not wearing a condom. You will make one hell of a mother.” He knew he’d shocked her as her eyes went wide, and her lip quivered just slightly.
Gabriel couldn’t resist kissing those full, plump lips of hers, and then he took her hand and they walked along the beach.
“You want me to get pregnant?” Faith asked.
Yes, he did, very much.
“Did you always want to work in a fashion boutique?” he asked.
“You’re changing the subject.”
Gabriel refused to answer. Faith wasn’t ready for what he wanted. Not yet, anyway.
“I don’t know, in all honesty. Before my parents died, my dad had arranged for me to go to a career fair. I’d already gone to several, and got all the brochures, to try and figure out what I wanted to be. I mean, who really knows at eighteen what they want to be for the rest of their life? I was afraid of making the wrong choices. The same thing, day after day, for fifty plus years, just felt freaking scary.” She sighed. “Then my parents died. I didn’t make it to the fair that day, but I had already gotten the temp job working at Angela’s place by then. It was good pay, even for a part-time student. After I graduated, I refused to go to college. I took a couple of night classes and I passed them, but again, that sense of direction was just gone. My parents were gone, and my motivation was gone. I had no idea what I was going to do, so I increased my hours and worked my way up to become her PA in the shop.”
“Does she have more than one shop?”
“No, just that one. She has thought about expanding, but she likes that her brand is somewhat stationary, you know. People know that’s where she is, and if they want to shop in person, that’s where she stays. She expanded, so she has a website and stuff like that.”
“And you enjoy it?”
“Yes, I do. She’s a lovely person, and you have changed the subject.” Faith stopped and he watched her. “I’d like to dip my toes into the ocean.”
He let her go and he watched as she kicked off her sandals, picked them up, and ran toward the water. She spun toward him, laughing, and he knew in that one moment, he loved her.