A Splash of Hope by Charity Parkerson

stop. Her cheeks warmed as she watched his hands. She could still remember the way they felt on her skin. Of course, Adam being Adam, he chose that moment to glance over. She looked away in embarrassment, but not before she caught a glimpse of his mouth turning up in one corner as if he knew her thoughts. Memories of his mouth joined the memory of his hands. She knew the time had come to break the silence.
    “So,” she began haltingly. “What have you been up to?”
    A low, sexy chuckle fell from his lips at her ridiculous question. His eyes shined as if he enjoyed her discomfiture. “Nothing much,” he answered, somehow managing to keep the ridicule from his voice. As much as Faith appreciated the gesture, an open mockery would’ve been preferable to the elephant sitting between them. Faith fell back into silence, unable to think of a single topic to discuss. Adam did nothing to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation. When the car came to rest in her driveway, he finally broke the silence between them.
    “He’s not the man for you. You know that, right?”
    “Who?” Even to her, she sounded confused.
    Adam nodded in the direction of her door. “That guy.” She spotted Tristan sitting on her front steps.
    Faith kept her expression carefully blank. She didn’t bother telling him Hell would freeze over before she allowed Tristan to touch her. If anyone should know that already, it was Adam.
    “You’re a survivor, Faith,” he said, before she could respond. “He’ll never understand that. He’ll never understand you, not the way I do.”
    Faith’s eyes snapped to his at the words. He leaned closer and she noticed for the first time his eyes weren’t merely blue. There were tiny specks of silver dancing throughout them. Faith managed a bland smile, while trying not to show how his nearness affected her, since her feelings were mostly unwanted. “He’s the guy who caused my sister’s death. He doesn’t have any more interest in me than I have in him.”
    Adam gave her a look that said clearly he thought she was a fool. It made her wonder which part of her statement he thought was the most ridiculous.
    “Good. Then he won’t mind when I do this.” Before Faith could guess at his intentions, he swooped in, sealing his mouth over hers. She couldn’t pretend she was unaffected by his touch, but her mind didn’t go blank the way it had the night of their first kiss. Instead, a thousand warning bells sounded inside her brain and a loud tapping began. At first, she thought it was the sound of her heart beating until Adam pulled away, allowing her to—once again—focus on her surroundings. Only then did she realize she was hearing Tristan’s knuckles against the passenger side window. She glanced briefly in his direction before her eyes returned to Adam’s face. While her heart raced and her breathing felt labored, he appeared unaffected by the scorching kiss. His face remained blank. His gaze flickered briefly over her shoulder to the window, before returning to her. His mouth turned up in one corner in a sardonic smile. “Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “Perhaps, not as disinterested as you think.” His statement left her to puzzle out if he meant Tristan or himself.
    ***
    Tristan’s eyes followed Adam’s Audi R8 as it backed out of Faith’s driveway. “Adam Monroe,” he said, raising his eyebrow in question. Faith merely stared him down, daring him with her eyes to make a comment. Tristan, not one to be intimidated, added, “He kissed you,” sounding impressed. “I knocked on the window because I thought you might need rescuing. Of course, then I realized you were enjoying yourself and I felt like an idiot.” Faith held a stony silence. “Did it taste like brimstone?” he asked jokingly, and she had to force herself not to laugh at his childishness.
    “What do you want, Tristan?”
    “This was delivered to my house this morning,” he said holding out her cell phone. “Some girl who