Free Pucker Up by Valerie Seimas Page B

back to work.”  A door slammed as he disappeared
from the room.
    “It’s
okay,” Peter said, reaching a hand out to Faith.  “It’s been over three years,
so we learned to make our own tarts.”
    “This
was a stupid idea,” she murmured, watching the crust crumble as she broke the
tart into pieces.  “Isn’t going well at all.”
    “We’ll
just have to change that then.”
    Faith
studied Peter’s face.  “You were expecting me, weren’t you?”
    “Why
would you say that?”
    “Come
on, out with it, Panda.  You were.”
    A
smirk appeared on Peter’s face.  “Expecting may be too strong of a word.  I am
not a psychic.”  He stood and peered down at her with intelligent eyes.  “But
only a fool would think a glance across a restaurant would be the end of this
story.” 
    Faith
blanched.  She’d thought it was the end; she’d wanted it to be the end. 
Jackson had made it different.  Or was that just something that she told
herself, a lie to make her feel better?  Would she have been able to put his
face to rest, put him to rest, if Jackson hadn’t provided her with this excuse
to see him?  Her hands itched for a guitar to help her find the answer. 
    “The
real mystery is what kind of ending we’re in store for.”
    “I’m
not sure,” Faith replied with absolute honesty.  If possible, she was more
mixed up now than before.  Dustin’s face had clarified nothing.  And she still
had divorce papers in her purse.
    Peter
smiled.  “Let’s take a walk and see if we can find out.”
     

Chapter 7
    Dustin
stared at his desk but wasn’t seeing anything on it, breathing labored like
he’d run a marathon.  His adrenaline was pumping, fight or flight activated. 
All he could do was stare straight ahead, trying to focus as memories assaulted
him.   Was this what a panic attack was like?
    He
closed his eyes, but they immediately popped back open.  All he’d seen was her
– even more gorgeous than he remembered, beautiful laugh that made his heart
stand up and take notice.  And then when she looked at him, sincere concern in
her eyes, he could feel himself becoming undone.  He didn’t need this right now
– didn’t need her, didn’t need her concern, didn’t need her proximity.
    For
the first time in ten years, he wished he wasn’t such a loner.  Maybe then his
crew would be helping him remodel the extra bedroom instead of being at the
other job site.  Maybe then he could get lost in the sea of people, and Faith
could get lost in all the commotion.  Who was he kidding?  Faith West, the
cheery girl next door, she didn’t blend.  She stuck out, bright like a ray of
sunshine breaking through the clouds on a dreary day. 
     What
the hell was she doing here?  Just passing through – not this time of year, not
this week.  He had seen it in her eyes.  She had been just as reluctant as him. 
She didn’t even think he lived here anymore.  Which meant she’d come out all
this way to see Peter.  What the hell did she want with Peter?
    Anger
bubbled up inside him.  She did this to him – got him all riled up with nothing
to show for it, nothing to do about it.  He picked up a glass on the end of his
desk and threw it across the room – it hit near the window frame and
shattered.  Water dribbled down the wall, and he felt better.  The mess would
stay for a while; it made him feel better, more in control.
    Dustin
took a deep breath and sat back down behind his desk.  He really did have work
to do, though not too much.  He always cleared his calendar this week so he
could get the solitude and exhaustion he needed, but the more successful he
got, the harder it was to disconnect from all of his responsibilities. 
    He
pulled a ledger across the desk and started checking material costs and invoice
amounts.  One thought kept strumming in the back of his head, reluctant to
leave.  Why was Faith West really here?
    “Have
you talked to Bea lately?” Faith asked, casting