Faithful to a Fault Read Free

was a snake oil salesman, all false charm and empty eyes. But there was warmth instead, and sincerity. And the Millers seemed to like him. So she gave herself a break on the attraction. The Millers weren’t ones to be fooled. If they liked him, she trusted their judgment. To a point, anyway.
    There’s nothing to trust , she chastised herself as she listened to the chitchat of the Miller family and Pete. He’s only here for a visit.
    But when she glanced out the corner of her eye at Pete, he was watching her, the corners of his mouth curled up. She looked away, annoyed at the heat that flushed the back of her neck. Damn him for being good-looking.
    Maria nudged her and whispered, “There’s someone coming in.” Which was basically code for Man your battle stations. Back to the bar.
    “Right. Well, it was nice to meet you, Pete. You too, Tony. I’m sure I’ll see you around before you leave.” She ducked down to give Collin a peck on the cheek and hurried back to the bar. Never once did she look back.
    But after putting in an order and refilling drinks for the memory-laners, she couldn’t help but peek at the Millers’ table. Someone said something amusing and they all laughed. Then Pete’s gaze caught hers and she dashed behind the server wall.
    Wow. Impressive work. God, she was acting like she’d been raised in a convent. She knew how to handle men. She used her tricks all the time to keep them at a distance. Knowing how to anticipate their every move and not be roped in by their slick ways was her “thing”.
    At least she thought it was.
    Apparently her “thing” was broken. The inconvenient moisture coating her panties, however, said her female hormones were working just fine, and they were yelling You’ve neglected us for too long! We want to play with him!
    Yeah, well, small town. You can’t sleep with someone and not have everyone know about it. No need to be thought of as the town slut. Time to get over it.
    It then occurred to her that she was, more or less, giving a pep talk to her pussy.
    She needed to get out more.
    And maybe she’d found a good man to get out with.

Chapter Two
     
    Pete learned three things about Sarah Cassidy during their afternoon playing touch football in the Millers’ backyard.
    One. She was quick as hell and almost as impossible as a special forces unit to catch.
    Two. When she flushed, she looked like she was on fire.
    Three. She might be small, but she was a handful when lying under him.
    After dividing the teams up, Pete found himself guarding Sarah. And surprisingly enough, he had to concentrate pretty hard on keeping up. What she lacked in brute strength she made up for in speed and agility.
    So when he tried to stop her from reaching Mr. Miller, their all-time quarterback, it wasn’t hard making the diving leap convincing. She landed in the snow on her side, then quickly rolled to her back, spitting out snow.
    He couldn’t help but grin at the cute picture she made. Face flushed with exertion, nose red with cold, eyes flashing fire at being caught. Not to mention the surprising curves she was packing under the winter garb.
    “Do you mind?” she asked testily and squirmed a little.
    “Not really,” he replied with a wink. The smartass answer helped mask the raging erection he was fighting off thanks to her wriggling and wrestling under him. Remove a few layers of clothing and add in a warm bed and this would have been a very appealing scenario for both of them.
    Her lips twitched as if she was holding back, but a smile crept onto her face all the same. Giving his shoulder a halfhearted punch, she said, “Time to get up now.”
    “Aww, Mom,” he teased. “I’m comfortable.” It took everything he had not to grind into her just a little. Just to show her what she was doing to him.
    Something, he wasn’t sure what, passed through her eyes before she pushed a little harder. “I’m soaking to the skin here.”
    The reminder of how cold she must be forced