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“Faith?”
A man had moved to stand next to Buster at the bar, and one look at him had every muscle in her body clenching.
“Hello, Blair.”
He seemed genuinely pleased to see her, almost like the last time they’d met Faith hadn’t bloodied his nose. He was about her height and good-looking in a smooth, not a hair out of place way, and she’d thought him seriously hot when they first met.
“You work here?”
“I own this place with my brother.” As she said the word “brother,” he was there at her side. Arm around her shoulders.
Noah knew her better than anyone, and sensed she wasn’t happy to see Blair, so he was there, as he’d always been when she needed him.
“Hi, I’m Noah.” He held out a hand, and Blair pumped it.
“I can’t believe this is your place. We have to catch up. Me and a few friends came in for Pete’s birthday. We rented a cabin just out of town.”
Faith’s eyes went to Ryan. His were on her.
“How do you know my sister?” Noah asked in a voice that suggested he was just curious, no big deal. The fact that his arm around her was stiff with tension told her otherwise.
Blair was just about to speak when he noticed Ryan.
“Hey, are you that guy from Talon?”
“Ha ha, that always happens,” Buster said. “Nah, he’s the local fudge maker. Lived here his entire life. But when outsiders come to town, they always think he’s that loser.”
“The guitarist from Talon is not a loser.” Blair sounded annoyed. “He’s one of the best in the business. That last concert was amazing. But then I guess you don’t get out into the world much.”
Smug bastard.
“You haven’t heard our local band then,” Buster said managing to sound sincere. “He does covers, and an amazing rendition of—”
“You are not seriously trying to tell me a local who lives here could compete with Ryan Lawrence?” Blair looked disgusted.
“They book out the hall,” Ryan said in a voice that was so thick with a Texan twang it was hard to understand what exactly he said.
“He lived in Texas for five years perfecting his recipes,” Buster said. “He makes this pecan and ginger fudge that people in Eng-a-land order.”
Faith and Noah started filling drink orders while Buster and Ryan led Blair on, embellishing their story.
“There is noaafter thegin England,” Blair snapped.
She’d thought Blair had been someone special once. Thought he was this really nice guy who wanted to help her settle into a life that was so different from the one she’d always lived. Turned out she’d been wrong there. He’d wanted to get her into bed no matter what it took.
“What did he do to you?” Noah growled softly.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not. Just leave it, Noah. He was in my past.”
“And Talon can book out Hollywood Bowl in LA,” Blair was saying.
Ryan whistled. “That singer, he must be a good one. Can’t say as I’ve heard of them myself.”
Faith shot Blair a look, and she knew what he was thinking. Country folk equals simple folk. If only he knew.
