Love Me True (Love Me Book 2)

Chapter 23

"You enjoyed that little scene back there, didn't you?" he asked, crossing his arms and looking down at her with a stern expression.

Faye didn't have to ask what he was talking about and she grinned up at him. "I did, are you mad?"

He gave her a small smile that was a bit crooked. "I couldn't be mad at you when you smile like the liefje." They stared at each other for a moment and then he turned and left her standing alone in the room

*******

Faye grabbed the pizza she was supposed to bring with her and headed toward Lia's door, which was thrown open before she got to it.

"Finally, what took you so long? I'm starved!" Lia said as she grabbed the pizza and turned around into her kitchen with Faye following her.

Chloe was already on the couch with Huck and a glass of wine.

It was a girl's night and it had been a long time since they had had one. Ever since Ben and Silas came onto the scene things had changed. Lia was always with Ben and Chloe was always with Silas.

"What are we watching, have we decided?" Faye asked, throwing her wallet and keys on the counter and reaching into Lia's fridge for a soda.

"You're not having wine?" Lia asked with a smirk.

"No, last time it didn't turn out so well, I fell down my stairs," Faye said, grabbing herself a piece of pizza as Chloe joined them.

"You did? Were you hurt?" Chloe asked as she reached past her for a piece of her own.

"No, but Dr. DeGraff saw it and I suffered a great loss to my dignity." Faye sat at the table and Lia and Chloe joined her lead.

"He didn't!" Lia giggled. "Did he pick you up and carry you up the stairs with all of his strong muscles."

Faye rolled her eyes, Lia must have already had a glass of wine or two. "No, but I couldn't get the key in the door lock, so he had to help me." Faye wasn't sure why she was sharing but it felt good to talk about him a little.

Both Lia and Chloe busted out laughing.

"I was feeling very sorry for myself and told him I couldn't even get drunk right and he said he thought I was doing a good job of it," she added, and they started laughing even harder, Lia even snorted a little. "Then I insisted I was a cheap date and he said, 'not if the medical bills are anything to go by' or something like that." Lia and Chloe fell over howling with laughter.

"I told you he was funny Lia!" Chloe exclaimed around a mouth full of pizza.

"Well I haven't seen it yet, he's helped me out before, but he wasn't particularly sympathetic." Lia sipped her own wine

Chloe shrugged. "He's a supportive friend, but he's not one to show or talk about his emotions. I don't know that he feels anything all that deeply. I have always thought that his actions of support come more from a sense of fairness than anything else." Chloe leaned toward Lia. "What did he help you with?"

"Ben's ex brother-in-law said he had something on Ben that would prove him to be guilty of his wife's murder and he wanted to meet me to discuss it. It turned out to be nothing, but Silas offered to go with me to meet him in case something happened."

Chloe and Faye stared at Lia opened mouthed and she shrugged.

"Was this when I interrupted you in the Cafeteria that day?" Faye asked, remembering it well. "You said didn't want to talk about it."

"I didn't, Chloe would have told me to do what I thought was best and you would have told me to tell Ben," Lia said looking at Faye. "Silas said it sounded like my mind was already made up since I wouldn't talk to you and offered to go with me."

Chloe nodded. "Yep, that sounds like Silas."

"But I still don't know why he offered." Lia shook her head.

"I stopped trying to guess what goes on in that man's mind a long time ago." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"You've known him a while, what is exactly between the two of you?" Lia asked, watching Chloe look away from them. "You said he was married once but he's not now."

"I said I think he was married once, I'm not sure, I really know nothing about him. I'm only helping him with his book," she insisted, which told Faye nothing more than she already knew.

Although it did please Faye that she knew more about Silas than Chloe claimed to, she knew he felt things very deeply, and that he was tender, kind, and romantic. Faye hid her secret smile behind a bite of pizza, yep he was romantic and a good kisser.

"What about you and Ben, how is the fake engagement going?" Chloe asked putting Lia on the spot and redirecting the conversation. They both knew there was more to Chloe's story, but she wasn't sharing. Faye knew it because she had witnessed Silas holding her, and she was with him at weird hours, which she had to admit could be them working on a book, but Faye didn't think that was the case.

"It's still on, for now," she hedged.

"What's that mean?" Faye asked.

Lia shrugged. "It means that he shaved his beard, bought a suit, and went on tour with his beautiful agent."

"You're jealous!" Chloe exclaimed, glad to be off the hot seat.

"It's not like it matters since it's all pretend." Lia turned to Faye. "What about you and the policeman who asked you out a few weeks ago, how is that going?"

"It's not, I told him the house was going to be sold and I would be lucky to break even then he headed for the hills." Faye gave a small smile. "He did kiss me though."

"How was that?" Lia asked with a smile.

"Meh," Faye rocked her hand back and forth and they all busted out laughing again.

"Are Hayes and Alyssa really going to want to sell?" Chloe asked with a frown.

"Yes, they keep reminding me of the fact." She turned to Lia. "I don't suppose you want a roommate?"

Lia grinned. "Sure, you let me know. I have to get Ben out of here first though."

That led to a long discussion about the house restoration, and they went across the street to check out the changes before they settled in to watch a movie.

They both ended up staying the night with Lia, and Faye was happy when she returned home early the next morning, carrying her shoes and wearing the same thing she had worn the previous day.

She saw Silas standing in his doorway watching her as she entered the courtyard and greeted him with a smile before heading up the stairs.

There, she thought, let him wonder about who I've been with for a change. She gave a giggle as changed and crawled into bed to go back to sleep.