Free Finding Faith by Reana Malori Page A

a little squeeze. She jumped slightly, as if just noticing that she already had his hand in hers. Moving slightly as if to release herself from his grasp and pull away, he stopped her movement by holding on a little tighter.  
    Leaning back, he waved at some of the passersby heading back to their respective homes for the evening. This was good. It felt right. It had been a good night for everyone. He felt as if things were moving in the right direction.  
    His little girl was happy. He was damn close to being happy. And his beautiful, lovely neighbor was sitting here, next to him. Their hands joined and the two of them simply relaxing. Quiet surrounded them as they sat nestled on his front porch as the night closed in around them. This was what he missed. This is what he needed.  
    “This is nice, Cooper.” Faith’s soft voice reached him as he considered the possibilities of where this could go.  
    “Yes, it is. I haven’t enjoyed a night like this in a long time.” Removing his hand from hers, he adjusted slightly. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her soft body into his, bringing her closer to him.  
    “I’m too heavy to be leaning on you, Cooper.” She tried to lift some of her weight off of him.  
    “No, you’re not. Stop that nonsense talk, woman. Just relax and lean on me. I’m more than strong enough to hold you and you know it. If you want me to prove it, just say the word, sweetheart,” he laughed in response.  
    Cooper knew she was talking about her weight and he wasn’t going to allow her to get away with that. On one or two occasions, he had heard her refer to her weight. Once or twice she had commented that she felt she was too big to do something, or wear some piece of clothing. After seeing her almost every day since they had moved in, he had enjoyed looking at every curve of her body and disagreed wholeheartedly. Faith was an exceedingly sexy woman and any man would be lucky to have her. Although if he had his way, there would be no other man vying for her attention. No one except for him, that is.  
     
     
     
    Later that week, Cooper was sitting next to Faith as the three of them relaxed at her house. A trip to the local park had been the original plan, but the weather had not cooperated. It turned out to be a rainy, dreary day, so they all decided it was best to order pizza and watch a movie. Of course, as long as Madison was around Faith, he knew that she would be happy with whatever they decided to do.  
    Still reeling from the events of the last two weeks, Cooper was analyzing what was happening to him. His feelings for Faith had been growing rapidly for some time now. Thinking of her as more than just a friend had begun shortly after he met her. Hearing her laugh, made him smile. Watching her walk toward him made him hard. Whatever it was, he knew it was real for him. It wasn’t that he was lonely and it wasn’t some rebound or passing phase. Not for him. There had been some women in the past two years that he had seen casually, but only recently had he actually considered the idea of dating just one woman.  
    He had begun dating a few months ago at the behest of some of his Army buddies who were still in the area. A few of his first dates had turned into a second date. Some resulted in a night cap, which usually turned into an overnight stay. Inevitably, that would end with him sliding out of the woman’s bedroom, and any need to see them again in the future leaving right along with him.  
    While he wouldn’t say he was proud of his behavior, he was honest. They knew what he offered and had no expectations of anything beyond that. At no time had he ever been careless and not worn protection, nor had he given them false promises. Just a mutual agreement that they would enjoy their time together. Luckily, none of them had turned stalkerish or had a hard time getting the message. Well, except for Dana. God, that was painful and he never wanted to go through