So I Married a Werewolf (Entangled Covet) by Kristin Miller Page B

Carter could feel tension ratcheting through her shoulders. “How do you and Carter know each other?”
    “We used to date,” Paisely practically purred. And then she beamed. “Didn’t he tell you?”
    Yeah, he had.
    Faith took a hard drink. “No need to dig up old things from the past.”
    Carter buried his face in his glass to hide the grin stretching across his face. Faith had her claws out. Paisely smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes, and Nate ordered a scotch on the rocks.
    “Aren’t you a darling?” Paisely said tightly. “Where has Carter been hiding you?”
    “In his bed.” Faith pushed her drink across the bar. “Carter, what do you say we thank the Owenses for welcoming us into their home tonight?”
    “Lead the way.”
    They traipsed around a sparkling pool and across a wooden dance floor, to where the Owenses were seated and talking to the captain.
    Carter couldn’t help but notice that Faith walked with an elegant kind of grace. Was it the shoes? The dress? The expectations of the night? He’d never seen her look more regal than this moment.
    She was putting on one hell of a show.
    This fake engagement of theirs just might work…
    As they stepped off the raised dance floor, her ankle twisted. She pitched forward, gasping as she fell. He reached out to catch her, but it was too late. Everyone on the patio let out a collective moan as her knees hit the concrete.
    “Are you all right?” Cradling her beneath his arm, he helped her up. “Faith, are you okay?”
    “I’m fine,” she bit out, but she wouldn’t stand up straight. She flattened out the front of her dress. Re-strapped her heel, using his arm for balance. “I tore my dress. Look, it’s—”
    “Don’t worry about the dress. Come on, let’s sit you down.”
    When she nodded, Carter finally got a look at her face. Tears hung to her lashes and threatened to fall. The sight panged his stomach.
    “Dear, how are your knees?” Mrs. Owens asked, coming to help. “I’ve told Manny to put an easement against the edges of that dance floor, but getting a man to do anything is a pain in the behind. Are you hurt badly?”
    Faith hobbled to a chair at their table. “I think I just need to get off my feet for a moment.”
    “Do you want ice?” Carter asked.
    “Ice! Yes!” Mrs. Owens hollered. “Manny, get some ice!”
    “No, no, really. Don’t trouble yourselves.” Faith sat down and tried to hide the rip that sliced from her knee to the floor. “Just give me a minute.”
    “Sweetheart,” Carter said, with so much ease that it shocked him, “take all the time you need.”
    …
    He’d called her sweetheart.
    Don’t get used to this feeling.
    Faith had repeated those words to herself over and over again throughout the party, but they didn’t seem to be working.
    The more time she and Carter spent together this way, the more difficult it was for Faith to separate the act from reality. Carter looked at her as if she was his fiancée. As if he truly cared for her. His touch was soft, the gleam in his light eyes gentle.
    Don’t get used to this.
    They’d spent the next hour at a private table with the captain and the Owenses. When dinner was served, Mrs. Owens insisted that Faith and Carter stay and join them at their table. They talked over herb-crusted salmon and asparagus, and laughed heartily after a few glasses of wine. After getting over the initial embarrassment, Faith realized tripping over the dance floor lip was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to them: they got to sit at the table with influential people, while Nate and Carter’s ex—the freaking actress—had to sit near the pool.
    She didn’t want to be too hopeful, but it seemed like she and Carter were hitting it off.
    Carter leaned close. “How’s your ankle?”
    “Getting better.”
    “Good.” He smiled, warming her heart. “Want to take a walk? They just lit up the gazebo.”
    Faith followed his line of sight to the pier jutting