Between Hello and Goodbye(60)

“I’m open,” I said. “Whatever you want to do.”

“Well, our physical exertions over the last two days have left me ravenous. Let’s get lunch, and tonight, I want you to meet Silas.”

“The good best friend.” I said.

She smiled. “The best best friend.” Then her smile slipped as a sudden thought occurred to her. “Oh shit.”

“What is it?”

She looked at me almost fearfully. “You said your mother became addicted to painkillers.”

I nodded. “Yeah, Oxy-something.”

“Oxy-Pro.” Faith murmured, looking dazed. “God, I’m so stupid.”

“What’s wrong?”

She faced me directly. “Silas Marsh is the CEO of Marsh Pharma, the maker of Oxy-Pro.”

I stared, my brain trying to work out the ramifications, the bizarre coincidence, as if Faith were playing a joke on me. I chuckled, disbelieving. “What? No…”

But Faith’s expression was uncharacteristically serious. “Yes.”

“Wait, you’re telling me your best friend…?”

She nodded. “But he wasn’t in charge then. His father and his cronies were the criminals, and Silas wrestled control from them. He’s been trying to fix it every day since.” She studied me, biting her lip. “I’m sorry. I could have told you sooner, but it wasn’t my story to tell. But now there’s a connection…”

“It’s okay,” I said.

“It is?”

I nodded slowly, surprised that it was the truth. I expected to be completely fucking enraged at Silas’s family for tearing mine apart, but the anger that simmered in me wasn’t running as hot as it used to. One look at Faith and I knew why—she was like a cool water over the burn, and when I was with her, the old pain seemed farther away. Less powerful.

She’s making me a better man…

“It wasn’t his fault,” I said, answering her worried expression. “Was it?”

“Well, no…” Faith gazed at me, her eyes full, then wrapped her arms around my neck. “You’re amazing. And you have every right to be hurt, but I promise you, Silas is a good man. And so are you.”

“Getting there,” I said, then kissed her.

“You arrived a long time ago,” she said and smiled tremulously, her eyes shining. “I’m a lucky gal.”

Then she turned away to conceal her emotions and made a joke, and I just smiled and watched her, thinking all the while about the crazy curveballs life threw at us. And that maybe the key to survival wasn’t trying to avoid them—impossible—but how we reacted to them. I could’ve ruined Faith’s night, ruined her anticipation of me meeting the guy who was so important to her, but what for?

Wrecking Faith’s happiness was pretty fucking low on my list of things I wanted to do, and instead of holding onto resentment or anger toward Silas, I did something that would make Momi proud and let it go.



We showered, and I put on dark pants and a lightweight jacket over a white button-down. Faith changed into a white dress with large, colorful flowers all over it, belted at her slender waist. She’d put on make-up, perfume, a few pieces of jewelry, and high heels. My heart stuttered to see her, so beautiful and so comfortable. Cosmopolitan, I guessed was the word.

Because she looks like she stepped out of a magazine.

“You don’t like?” she asked, twirling her dress.

“I like a lot,” I said. “You’re stunning.”

She kissed her finger and put it between my brows. “Let’s go.”

We stepped out to the street and instead of calling an Uber, Faith raised an elegant arm and a cab stopped immediately. Another guy standing nearby, not seeing me, rushed to open the door for her.

She smiled prettily at him and climbed in.

“I got it from here,” I told the guy with a glare. He backed off with a muttered apology.

“This restaurant is one of my favorites,” Faith said as the car took us into a section of the city that bustled with cafés, restaurants, and shops. Her hand gripped mine suddenly. “Are you okay being here? I remember what you said about your time on Wall Street and maybe… Shit, I’m sorry. I wasn’t even thinking.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s not like I have PTSD from being in a city. It’s more like…”

It’s more like I don’t belong here anymore. But she does.

“I’m fine, I swear.” I leaned in to kiss her. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being you.”

“I see what you did there.” She smiled slyly, but her cheeks colored again, and then she kissed me with a different kind of intention. Just because she wanted to.

We are so fucked.

We stepped inside the restaurant that was bright and busy with a glass wall behind the bar that made the bottles glitter. People in business attire sat talking with briefcases by their sides instead of beach bags. It all seemed loud and chaotic, but Faith was in her element. She chatted with the maître d’ as if they’d known each other forever, and then we were guided to the bar to wait for our table.

We hadn’t been there for longer than a minute when a gasp cut through the bar chatter.