Page 105 of Wish You Faith

Evan had so many questions about Rosie’s encounter with Mom, but he had to put them aside as he refocused his mind on the meeting. Oddly enough, even without breakfast, Evan felt a renewed vigor. Maybe it was the caffeine. Maybe it was seeing Rosie. Maybe it was both.

Or maybe Rosie’s prayers were effectual.

Ultimately it was God who answered prayers.

The meeting went smoothly, albeit long. Evan had expected it to last an hour, but it went on twice as long. Fortunately, Lloyd suggested a mid-meeting break, knowing that Evan hadn’t eaten any breakfast.

The cafeteria downstairs brought in a cart of mid-morning snacks. Evan went for a cup of yogurt sprinkled with nuts and berries. The others indulged in something heavier, such as bruschetta or samosa.

Evan wondered if Rosie wanted anything from the cart that he could bring back to her. He took a photo of the entire cart and texted her.

She didn’t reply.

He started to worry, but the meeting resumed, and he had to concentrate on answering and asking questions. Connor’s consultants were expensive. Evan appreciated his brother’s effort to help him win Mom’s approval.

He didn’t want to think about the possibility that Connor might want to get rid of his little brother who was always in his shadow.

No, Connor wasn’t like that.

The meeting adjourned later than expected. At that point, Evan was so mentally exhausted that he couldn’t think about “what if” scenarios if his plans failed to convince Mom, the future chairman of the board overseeing Cavanaugh Shipping.

He traipsed back to his office, hoping to have a good chat with Rosie…

Only to find her fast asleep on the couch.

He sat down at the edge of the couch and watched her sleep. She had put on some light eyeshadow, but that seemed to be all. Her skin was smooth and she had little to no blemishes on her face. Her lips were full and so kissable that Evan had to stand back up and step away.

Back to work, Evan!

He went back to his desk, thanked God silently that the meeting went well, and praised God for giving him this opportunity to see Rosie so soon. He’d thought they wouldn’t see each other for a few more months, if at all.

At first he thought he couldn’t possibly work with Rosie napping in the same office, but the opposite turned out to be true. Since he could see her right in front of him, he had no worries about being a continent away from her. Therefore, his heart was calm, and he was able to focus.

He texted his team and Connor’s staff to set up the next meeting, which would have to be Monday or Tuesday. Then he corrected his proposal while it was still fresh on his mind.

He worked for another hour until 11:30 a.m. and then decided to keep working because Rosie was still sleeping.

Hmmm.

Didn’t she get any sleep the night before?

He took a mini break and went over to the couch to check on her. She was still breathing. Whew.

Slowly her eyes opened. She didn’t say a word. She scooted over a bit so that Evan could sit down.

“Hello, sleeping beauty.” Evan sat down by her side on the couch and held her hand. “You must be tired.”

“We were supposed to fly out of Savannah yesterday afternoon, but the jet had engine problems,” Rosie explained.

“Yikes.” Evan was too stunned to speak. “Thank God you all arrived safely.”

“No worries. They discovered it before the plane took off. My mom and your mom chatted all evening.”

“At the condo?”

Rosie nodded. “Then we all slept. Your mom was in the guest bedroom, so her assistant slept in the living room. She woke us up at one o’clock in the morning and we went to the airport.”

“No wonder you’re tired.” He was still holding her hand.

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