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He frowned. “I’m the one who brought up the fact that I’m a single dad of an eight-year-old, which kind of makes me an island.”
“No man is an island.” She gave him a sad sort of smile. He wasn’t sure how to interpret that. “You live here in Misty Mountain, remember? We all help each other. So, think of your daughter as part of the community.”
If his daughter was part of the community, couldn’t Faith be part of the group helping raise his daughter? Wasn’t there some way to keep her a daily part of his life, even when she wasn’t working for him?
No. The answer to that was no. And no amount of rationalizing to himself would change it. He just had to accept the fact that she was in his life, as so many were, for a season.
But he couldn’t help but believe she’d been sent to him for a reason. And as he watched her gleefully take her first bite of onion ring, he knew part of caring about her meant he had to let her go when it was for her own good. He couldn’t tie her down for life with a man who had so much baggage.
24
Getting ready at Charity’s house was the right thing to do. That was what Faith told herself as she stood in front of the full-length mirror, admiring the dress she’d bought at the outlet mall earlier that day.
Charity stepped from her bathroom, moving over to stand next to her sister at the mirror. After staring at their reflection for a moment, Charity commented, “Nobody will get us mixed up tonight.”
Faith had picked a classy black knee-length dress with lace on the arms, while Charity went with an A-line bright red dress that shimmered in the light. Charity wore ballet flats that gave her more of a girl-next-door look, but Faith had on heels that gave her an air of sophistication.
“I have just what you need to really make that dress pop,” Charity said. “Hold on.”
Charity rushed back into her bathroom and came out with a bold red lip stain that promised to stay in place no matter what she drank or ate. She stood still and trusted her sister to make the lipstick look decent on her. Usually, bolder colors made her look pale and ghostly.
But when she once again faced the mirror, she was stunned at what she saw there. The lipstick color worked on her. It made her lips stand out in a way they never had.
“Holden’s going to love this look.” Charity smiled. “Not that he doesn’t always look at you like you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. Oh…to be that newly in love.”
Faith turned to stare at her sister. “You’ve been dating Nic for what? Four weeks?”
“Yeah, but you two are reminding me of those earliest days for some reason,” she said. “I don’t know what it is.”
“I’m moving back in with Mom and Dad,” Faith blurted, mostly to change the subject.
But right away, it was clear she should have chosen a different topic. Charity’s eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. No words came out.
“Just to give me a little space from things, you know?” Faith said.
She was digging a deeper hole here. There was no way to crawl back out. Not that she could see.
“Come over here,” Charity said.
She reached out a hand, and Faith slid her hand inside. She had no idea where they were going until they were across the room, where there was a chair near the window. Charity gestured for her to sit, and she complied, while Charity plopped down on the nearby bed.
“Talk to me,” Faith’s sister said. “What’s up with you two? You haven’t been completely honest from the start. You’re not really engaged, are you?”
Now Faith was the one left staring, stunned. Had her sister known all along? Of course, she had. Her family knew her like nobody else. Why she thought she could fool them was beyond her.
“I was dumped for another woman in England,” Faith began. “I had to fly home, tail tucked between my legs. I knew the entire town would be talking, including my own family. I had to do something.”
“You know your family would’ve had your back, no matter what.” Charity leaned forward, narrowing her eyes at Faith. “You don’t ever have to hide what’s really going on from us.”
“Mom and Dad know, don’t they?”
Charity took a deep breath, then nodded. “They weren’t going to say anything, but that first night—Christmas Eve—I pulled them aside and asked what was going on. They said that they couldn’t know for sure, but they were guessing that you and Holden were pretending to be engaged for appearances.”
“He was having trouble getting investment money.” Faith laughed. “I think he realizes now that it wasn’t necessary, but apparently one of the investors over in London asked if he was married. He thought he lost the deal because of that, and that it would be easier to land funding if he looked like he had his personal life together.”
Thinking about it now, hedidhave his personal life together. J.J. was happy and healthy and wanted for nothing. Of course, she’d be happier if her mother was still around, but that didn’t mean he needed to bring in a fake fiancée to give that sort of appearance. They might’ve done more harm than good with their plan.
“It was a mistake,” Faith blurted. “I thought I could pretend to be engaged to him and not get my feelings involved, but now...”
