Serendipity by Carly Phillips

Faith wasn’t just a woman he could fuck and walk away from. And with his track record in life, it would be nice if he could prove to family he was trustworthy before he started thinking about a woman.
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    Serendipity had one restaurant for date night named Laguna and it was family-style. Nick insisted on picking her up and taking her there. She agreed, despite the fact that she wasn’t in the mood for company. She and Nick had business to discuss, including the terms of her lease and moderate construction work on the store. She hadn’t seen the place yet, but she already knew she’d need shelves at the very least. And if Nick held any lingering notion that they’d get back together as a couple, Faith needed to dispel that too.
    She didn’t dress up, choosing jeans and a simple T-shirt, careful to keep herself as casual as her intentions. As they walked into the restaurant, she realized Laguna hadn’t changed in all the years she’d been gone. The place still looked like a scene from Lady and the Tramp , with red and white checkerboard tablecloths, a wine-bottle-shaped candleholder on each table, and bread sticks in the center. If Nick asked her to share spaghetti, she was leaving, she thought wryly.
    The maître d’ greeted Nick, but when he caught sight of Faith, his welcoming smile turned to a frown. “Your father should be ashamed,” he muttered under his breath as he led them to the table.
    Nick hadn’t heard and Faith wasn’t about to cause trouble by mentioning it. She swallowed the painful lump in her throat, and by the time she was seated across from Nick she’d managed to calm down. God, she resented the mess her father had left behind. No wonder her mother secluded herself in her house, Faith thought. It would have been easier to just pack up and leave, but it took courage to stay. Maybe she ought to cut her mother some slack.
    â€œIs everything okay?” Nick asked her, a smile on his face.
    â€œOf course.” She forced her attention to her ex-boyfriend, achingly aware that not only weren’t there sparks, but that she also couldn’t stop thinking of Ethan—the intense time they’d spent together in her old room and how he’d shut down when she’d said she had plans. But Nick’s voice distracted her and she forced herself to concentrate on him.
    An hour into dinner, they’d reminisced about high school, discussed the lease, agreed on a fair price that she could pay when her first job brought in income. She was grateful.
    They finished their meal with myriad interruptions from people Nick knew and many Faith remembered. Most people were warily friendly to her, whether it was for Nick’s sake or genuine, she’d never know. And only a few dropped a snide remark or two about her father. Not bad for a night out on the town.
    Nick drove her home and Faith was eager to get inside and be alone. But he insisted on walking her to the door and an uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She’d managed to keep the conversation friendly throughout the evening, but the gleam in his eyes as they stood by her apartment made her uneasy.
    No doubt Nick, with his dark brown wavy hair and his chocolate-colored eyes, was a good-looking guy. Thanks to the construction business and hard manual labor, he’d filled out since high school. Any unattached female would love to have him gaze at them with that interested expression. Any female who hadn’t already experienced Ethan Barron’s intense gaze and incredible kiss, that is. Just as he had in high school, Ethan had ruined any chance of her developing deeper feelings for Nick.
    Lost in thought, Faith didn’t see the sudden dip of Nick’s head, so his lips on hers caught her by surprise. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Didn’t want to make him feel like an idiot for the attempt.
    So she let his mouth linger for a few