Page 7 of A Heart of Little Faith

“Yeah, I’m a marketing executive with a pharmaceutical company. That was one of my associates on the phone back there. I don’t often take my work home with me, but we have a new drug we’re introducing next month, and there are still some details to work out.” He shifted slightly. “Samantha said you’d recently moved here from Philly?”

“I grew up in this area, but I moved back here from Philadelphia.” As the theater darkened, the previews began. Lily made quiet comments about them, which made Gideon chuckle. The sound reverberated low in her belly and she shifted in her chair.

After the movie, they crossed the busy street to a nondescript coffee shop. It smelled of grounds, grease and garlic, but somehow, the combination was not unpleasant. Muted sounds of patrons’ conversations provided background noise and they found a table toward the back as they flagged down a waitress and motioned for coffee.

They talked about the movie, and Samantha reminisced about events and stories from their childhood. Gideon drummed his fingers on the cool Formica table as Samantha’s stories dragged on. He glared at her, but it had less effect than Lily’s laughter, which seemed to encourage her. He cleared his throat, but Samantha offered him a glass of water and continued.

“Do you remember the time we were in the tree house and you saw Sarah across the street?” Samantha reminisced.

“No, I don’t,” Gideon interrupted. His look should have silenced her, would have done so with most people, but had no effect at all on Samantha. Undeterred, she continued.

“Yes, you must. Sarah was your current crush and—”

“Samantha!” he said. Her eyes widened at his murderous tone. With an apologetic glance, she tipped her head and changed the topic of conversation.

Lily tried to figure out the siblings. Gideon resembled a huge block of granite, and she’d bet he felt as hard and unyielding under her fingertips. In contrast, Samantha was a butterfly, as she waved her arms with animation and her light, flowery perfume gently wafted through the air. Her face became fluid as it changed expression and the table moved under Lily’s arms as Samantha jostled it.

She didn’t understand why Samantha’s stories annoyed Gideon. Maybe it was his personality. He grumbled a lot, she’d noticed, and he certainly didn’t hesitate to grumble at her. Unless children were around. She’d seen a totally different side of him with Claire—gentle, funny, understanding. Obviously he liked Claire better than he did her, even if he thawed out some during the movie.I am not jealous of a six-year-old. Besides, he seemed to like Claire better than Samantha at this moment too. She glanced around with a slight shake of her head. He was an enigma. Her mind raced, trying to figure him out.

After about an hour, they decided to go home. Outside on the sidewalk, Samantha grabbed Gideon’s chair. He spun around and glared at her, but with a quick glance at Lily, remained mute. She gazed across the street as cars whizzed by, her hands in the pockets of her coat, and pretended not to notice. Brother and sister definitely had issues, and she preferred not to be involved. A moment later, the storm passed.

“Good night, Sam, Lily.”

“Good night, Gideon,” Samantha said. “See you around.” He headed home, and Samantha and Lily caught a cab to their own building.

“Sorry, Lil,” Samantha said.

“About what?” she asked.

“Gideon and I were having a silent argument. It was rude of us and I’m sorry.” She smirked and turned away as if to hide it.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad it had nothing to do with me.” Her voice trailed off and her stomach fluttered. He was intriguing and attractive, but complicated. The last thing she wanted was complications.

****

Gideon had just entered his apartment when his phone rang. He rolled into his apartment’s second bedroom and booted the computer. He used it as a home office and home gym; it held the sport chair he used for basketball, free weights and his computer. Like the rest of the apartment, the room had cream walls, beige-carpeted floors and large windows. Family photographs personalized the place, which prevented it from appearing cold and inhospitable.

“So, what did you think?” Sam asked.

“We already discussed the movie.” He sighed as he waited for her to continue what was bound to be an annoying conversation.

“I wasn’t talking about the movie, Gideon, and you know it.” Her voice reminded him of their childhood, when she’d accuse him of bothering her on purpose. She’d been right then, and she was right now, but he wasn’t in the mood. He clenched and unclenched his jaw.

“No, what I know is you’re going to butt your nose into my business.” He scanned through his emails as he made an effort to reign in his temper. Shaking his head, he tried to mentally ward off the headache he could feel coming. She’d taken it upon herself to be his personal matchmaker, despite all of his protests, and he’d had enough. It was time she allowed him to sort out his own life.

“I don’t butt in, Gideon, I facilitate.”

“Oh, is that what you call it?” He ground his teeth. “And just what are you facilitating?”

“The resumption of your life. Now tell me what you thought of Lily.”

His body heated at the sound of her name and he paused to clear his throat. “My life does not need to be resumed.” He deleted junk mail with a hard tap on the keyboard, much harder than he’d intended. If only he could delete his sister’s current train of thought as easily. She’d never been one to surrender easily. She was stubborn. Just like him. “It flows along quite nicely without your help.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Her tone was sharp, as if she had any right to be annoyed.

Gideon held his breath. She was just about to cross the line…

“What did you think of her?” she persisted.