I spent the next week doing everything I could think of to make Faith feel comfortable enough to share with me whatever it was that was bothering her. I brought her all of her favorite things—food, flowers, wine. Opened up to her more about Declan. About the gambling. But it didn’t seem to matter what I did, she was still keeping the problem to herself.

All day long, I’d been reminding myself that I needed to give her as much time as she needed. But it didn’t help. I was officially at the end of my rope. I was all out of patience and wasn’t sure if I could last long enough for her to open up on her own without me pushing.

“You look like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.” I looked up and found my dad standing in the doorway of the office he’d given me. He was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest and a worried look on his face. “I didn’t throw too much at you too fast, did I?”

I shook my head. “It’s not that.”

He moved forward, shut the door behind him, and crossed the floor to drop down onto one of the chairs in front of my desk. “You sure? Because I can adjust your workload if you’re having a problem keeping up.”

I pulled three reports up on my computer and swiveled the monitor so he could see them. “These aren’t due until tomorrow, and they’re already done except for triple-checking my numbers to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes.”

He scanned the reports, running his finger down the last column on each of them before nodding his head. “Don’t waste your time checking these again. Everything looks good. You can go ahead and send them to me now, and I’ll make sure you get some new assignments to work on in the morning.”

I opened my email and wrote a quick note, attaching the files before I hit send. “Sent.”

“Great.” He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. “If it’s not a work problem, then it must be personal. Is it gambling or Faith?”

“I haven’t been to a casino in months, Dad.”

His dark brows rose. “How many months?”

I did a quick calculation in my head. “Almost seven.”

“Before you met Faith? Or sometime after?”

I looked down at my desk as I answered, “The last time was when I got the black eye. I haven’t been back again.”

“That would be before, then.” He flashed me a big grin. “Which means your mom was right to get the two of you together.”

“Like she isn’t always right?”

“You make an excellent point,” he chuckled. “But you not gambling in that long is more than even she could have hoped for.”

I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. “I’m not sure about that. Mom isn’t afraid to dream big.”

“That she isn’t.” He shook his head and chuckled again. “It’s one of the first things that made me fall in love with her, how much hope she has in her heart. And I quickly learned to work hard to make sure all those dreams come true.”

I’d been a witness to the lengths to which my dad was willing to go for my mom my whole life, but it didn’t help me much when it came to my woman problems. “Faith’s the opposite. She doesn’t dream much and is happy with what she’s already got.”

“But?”

“But what?”

“Dillon,” he sighed, shaking his head. “We both know there has to be a but in there somewhere.”

Of course there was, but that didn’t mean I was going to admit to it so easily. “Why?”

“Because you looked worried about something when I walked in here, and we already ruled out that it’s not work or gambling related. That leaves Faith.”

Talking to my dad about my relationship felt a little weird, but I’d already admitted to myself that I was at my wit’s end. It wasn’t like I had a lot to lose, and maybe he’d even have some good advice. He and my mom had certainly made their relationship work better than most other couples did. “She’s been a little distant over the past week, ever since she and Mom had their shopping day.”

“Your mom said they had a blast. She had a little too much to drink with lunch, and Faith drove her home.”

I thought back to that day and nodded. “Yeah, I remember. You guys stopped by before dinner to pick up the car. I’d only been home for a little bit, and she seemed okay. I didn’t notice anything off with her until after you guys left. She was tense. Moody. But she didn’t want to talk about what was bothering her. Said she was fine.”

“You do realize that ‘fine’ is usually code for ‘you should know what’s bothering me and you’re going to be in big trouble if you can’t figure it out yourself,’ right?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Not with Faith. She’s complicated and has her fair share of issues. But she doesn’t usually play games like that. If she was pissed at me about something, I’d know it.”

He didn’t look too convinced I was right, but he didn’t argue with me. “Then what do you think it is?”

I heaved a deep sigh as I considered my answer. “She seems…almost scared.”

“Montgomery men do whatever it takes to make sure our women have nothing to be afraid of.” He rose from his chair and stared down at me. “So figure it out and fix whatever it is.”

“If only it was that easy,” I muttered, tapping my fingers against my desk. I’d been trying to figure out what was bothering her for the past week without much luck.

“Nothing worth having comes easy.”

It was one of his favorite sayings. One I’d heard at least a thousand times growing up, but it didn’t do me much good at the moment. “You got any better advice for me than that, Dad? Because I could use it right about now.”

“Yup.” He nodded. “Go big or go home.”

I started to roll my eyes because he’d just tossed out another one of his favorite sayings that shouldn’t have helped, but then an idea hit me. One that might make Faith feel at least a little more in control of her life. “You know what? You’re right.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “I am?”

“You are.”

He beamed a smile at me. “It’s been a while since you’ve admitted that to me. At least since before you hit your teens.”

“It’s not my fault Mom’s the one who’s always right,” I razzed him, feeling energized as I jumped out of my chair and grabbed my wallet and keys from the corner of my desk. “And since I’m already done with all my work for tomorrow, I’m going to cut out of here on time tonight instead of staying late like usual.”

“I should give you a hard time after that crack,” he muttered. “But I’ll cut you some slack since you’re worried about Faith and tell you nobody’s going to judge you for leaving on time every once in a while. From what I’ve seen myself and heard from the team you’ve been working with, you’ve already proven that you more than deserve your job.”

It felt damn good to hear my dad say that since I’d been busting my ass to show everyone that I hadn’t just been given my position because I was a Montgomery. That I’d earned it. “Thanks, Dad.”

He slapped me on the back as I walked past him. I was full of determination to do as good a job as Faith’s boyfriend as I was at work. When I got to my SUV and pulled out of the parking lot, I called Faith.

“Hey, you working late again tonight?”

“Nope, I’m on my way home to you as we speak.”

“Oh.”

That wasn’t an excited ‘oh’ like it should have been. Instead, it sounded more like she knew she was supposed to be happy I was coming home early, but it wouldn’t have bothered her at all if I was working late. If I hadn’t already decided that her time was just about up to spill on her own, then that one little syllable would’ve done it.

“Meet me in the driveway in about ten minutes?”

“Are we going out?” She didn’t sound the least bit excited by the possibility, but I wasn’t going to let that deter me.

“Yup. Be ready when I get there or else we’re going to be late for the appointment I made.”

“Appointment? For where?”

“You’re just going to have to wait and see.”

“You and your surprises,” she laughed, finally sounding more interested.

“My tough girl loves ‘em, and it makes me happy to give her what she wants.”

“Dillon.” It sounded like she sucked in a shaky breath before she continued. “You’re so good to me.”

“Of course I am, baby. I love you.”

She sniffled. “I love you, too. You know that, right?”

“I do.”

“And I want to be just as good for you as you are for me.”

Shit. Was that what’d been worrying her? That I was giving her more than she was doing for me? If so, my plan for tonight could backfire in a major way. It was something we’d already talked about, but the price tag was high and it might reinforce the feeling that I was giving more than her in our relationship. At least financially, but that shit wasn’t important. Between my trust fund and what my job with my dad paid, I had more than enough money. But there was only one woman who was meant for me, and that was Faith. “Don’t you realize how fucking amazing you are? The impact you’ve already had on me is insane, Faith. You’ve changed my whole world for the better.”

“Are you sure?”

I didn’t hesitate to respond. “There isn’t a single doubt in my mind.”

“I just—”

It killed me that she didn’t know how important she was to me. “Faith,” I snapped to get her attention. “Before we met, I struggled with losing Declan every damn day, and I felt like I’d never find an end to the darkness that was my life. My mom was able to arrange for us to finally meet because I got into a fight at a casino, and I was in deep shit with my parents. My life was a shit show back then.”

“And now?”

“I still have bad days, but instead of heading to a casino to gamble my way through them, I go home to you.” I wasn’t used to saying shit like this, but I’d open a damn vein for her if that’s what it took to make her happy. “Where there used to only be darkness in my world, now there’s light...because of you.”

“Really?” Her question was whisper soft, as though she didn’t believe she had such a big impact on me. I was going to have to work on that; get her to the point where she felt more secure about her place in my life. Convince her that the value she brought to our relationship was priceless.

“Really, baby.”

“Okay,” she sighed.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” That time she said it with more certainty.

I knew we hadn’t solved everything with one conversation, but at least now I had a better idea of what was going on inside her head. I figured that was half the battle. “Then you’d better get your ass in gear so you’ll be ready to go when I get home.”