The Bad Boy Bargain (Suttonville Sentinels #1)(17)

Faith shook her head, smiling ruefully, then shrugged. “Kyle, this is my best friend, Violet. She knows the plan.”

Violet sat up straight, eyes gleaming. “And I wholeheartedly approve. I will be your rumor mill, your publicist, your event planner. I’ll need your number in case we need to plot or something. Seriously, though, name the task and I’m yours.”

“Did I happen to mention that she’s like a high-voltage battery?” Faith said, grinning at Kyle.

“Shocking and full of pent-up power?” he asked.

Faith looked pleased that he caught on so fast. “Exactly.”

“Ooh, I like that.” Violet laughed. “I’m stealing that one.”

Looking at the two of them—one tall and warm with honey-colored skin and brown hair, the other tiny and all stark contrasts in black and white—they seemed like unlikely friends. Like he and Cade had been once.

“I like high-energy people,” he said. “I’ve been accused of being too chill.”

“Indeed. I couldn’t tell,” Violet said in a passable British accent. She turned to Faith and gripped her arm. “Girl, he’s an amazing straight man. This is going to work.”

“Yeah, it will,” Faith said. She nodded at Kyle. “So let’s start making plans.”





Chapter Twelve


Faith


Kyle had a funny expression on his face. It was this cute, faint wrinkle to his forehead, and his eyes had widened, so the blue sparkled in the afternoon sun. Faith couldn’t decide if he was confused, amused, or appalled. Then again, Violet tended to inspire all three in people, even guys who supposedly had seen it all.

Warmth filled her chest. How had she been so lucky to find a friend like her?

“So, I was thinking,” Violet said. “And I told Faith about this, but you two need to make an appearance at Dolly’s on Wednesday—a lot of people will be there then. I can find a way to make sure Cameron shows, too.”

Faith hazarded a glance at Kyle, nervous. What if he decided the whole thing was stupid? From everything she’d heard, he didn’t strike her as an “ice cream” kind of guy. Jack straight from the bottle maybe, not a chocolate chip cone with sprinkles. “If you don’t want to…I mean, I know it’s not your kind of place…”

“The drive-in?” He shrugged and picked up a rake. “I like a good shake now and then. That’s fine with me. I have practice that afternoon, but I could do it in the evening.”

What? He actually drank something other than malt liquor and Red Bull? “You’ve been there before?”

He turned to smile at her, and her neck grew warm. God, he had a nice smile, one that came out of nowhere and socked you between the eyes. He’d mastered the effect, for sure. This might be harder than she thought. What if she accidently developed more than a crush on him? She couldn’t stand to be tossed aside twice.

And yet she was still blushing.

“Everyone’s been there before,” he was saying. “Why wouldn’t it be my kind of place?”

“Because she thinks you hang out on dark street corners, smoking and playing with your switchblade,” Violet pronounced.

Faith groaned. And now I’m going to die of embarrassment. I won’t even see the new backyard.

Kyle leaned on the rake, studying her best friend. “You have a mouth on you.”

“I’ve heard you do, too. And that you know how to use it,” Violet said, standing up. “Fess up, hot boy. Tell me your secrets and I’ll tell you mine.”

His face turned bright pink, and he busied himself with raking up leaves, almost like Violet had frightened him. “I don’t have any secrets.”

“Which guarantees that you do.” Violet hopped off the steps. “Girl, I like this one. He’s multifunctional. There’s depth there.” She planted a kiss on top of Faith’s head. “Just don’t drown.”

“Wait,” Faith said, as Violet sauntered over to the gate. “You’re leaving?”

“My work is done here.” She glanced at Kyle, who stared uneasily back. “Dolly’s, Wednesday. And Kyle? Start talking big to your friends about her. Make it good. But not too good. Save the big story for Thursday after everyone sees you. It’ll require some acting, so maybe you two ought to practice actually looking like a couple. You know, try holding hands, kissing.”

With a devilish smile and a wave, Violet disappeared around the corner of the house, but Faith could hear her cackling madly. Her cheeks flamed, probably turning the same color Kyle’s had just been. Oh God, what had she done?

Swallowing down her embarrassment, Faith said, “Sorry. What can I say? She has no filters.”

Kyle started raking up twigs and leaves left over from his attack on her shrubbery. “I kind of like that, actually. You know exactly where you stand with her.”

Faith’s embarrassment melted a little. “That’s a nice thing to say. Most people don’t get her right off.”

He shot her that sweet smile again and she felt it in her knees. “My grandpa’s a lot like that. You should hear the things that come out of his mouth.” He chuckled. “He’s crazy.”

“And you love him,” she blurted out. But it was the truth—she heard it in his voice, loud and clear and unembarrassed. Who exactly was Kyle Sawyer? The stories she knew didn’t match the guy who tolerated Violet’s smack talk and spoke kindly about his grandfather. Hell, half the people she knew figured he was an alien, dropped here to weigh and measure the population. The other half, mostly female, worshiped his biceps in secret, praying he might spare each of them an hour of his time.