Page 33 of When Forever Stays

It takes him a moment before he dives into the story of how he learned to play the guitar in high school after his music teacher gifted him one. Our conversation morphs into other topics as we snack on the appetizer and any discomfort I had before vanishes.

A few minutes later, our waiter arrives again, this time with our entrees. As soon as he steps away, Rhett reaches across the table and takes my hands, then we both bow our heads.

“Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for this woman and for giving me this second chance. Please help us to honor You and do everything for Your glory today, tomorrow, and each day to come. Bless this food to our bodies and help us to live for You in all that we say and do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

“Amen,” I whisper.

Rhett catches my gaze from across the table, and my heart skips a beat. The look he gives me is so tender and sweet that my legs turn to jelly, and I’m grateful I’m already sitting down. He gives my hand a gentle squeeze.

I repeat “we are just friends” in my head to keep myself from falling too hard and too fast…again.

THIRTEEN

RHETT

Everything with Dana is easy. Natural.

The last couple of days have flown by as Dana and I have fallen into a comfortable rhythm. We’ve spent every evening together since our “not date,” and I’ve found myself looking forward to seeing her more and more every day.

We now share dinner together every night sometimes at my place and the others at hers. After dinner, we listen to music, at least two songs from my favorite albumThe Raven’s Songby Phantom Echoes. Each night, either Rosa or Crew has joined us, and it feels as though I’m courting a girl like they did in the early 1900s. Which, in some ways, I am.

She softens toward me after each of our days spent together. The idea ofusfeels like more of a possibility every day. There’s one big problem: she doesn’t know who I truly am and I haven’t been able to work up the courage to tell her.

Tonight. I’ll tell her tonight. I’ll bite the bullet while ripping off the bandage. We can’t move forward into anything deeper or more without her knowing everything. It may already be too late.I just hope I don’t lose all of the progress we’ve made once I lay everything out on the table.

“Lord, give me the strength and courage I need to tell Dana the truth tonight. To lay it all out there and tell her who I am—who I was. I pray that despite my deception she’ll fully accept the possibility of us. Amen.”

There’s a soft rapping at the door. It’s go time.

But when I swing the door open, finding Dana on my porch wearing a sundress and a bright smile, all conviction goes out my open windows. I can’t lose this. I can’t lose our progress. I can’t lose her.

“Hey,” she greets then steps through the door.

I look behind her, expecting to find Crew or Rosa ready to come in too. “Where’s our chaperone?”

Her smile widens before she releases a girly laugh. “We don’t need a chaperone.”

I close the door behind her. “Then why have we had one up until now?”

She bites her lip and shrugs. “I wanted to make sure you knew where we stood, and I figured having Crew or Rosa with us would help make that clear.”

“And you think it’s all clear to me now?”

Her gaze flits to the floor and she’s silent for a beat. Finally, she meets my eyes, looking at me from beneath those long lashes. “Maybe…” She bites her lip, looking shy with a blush covering her cheeks. “Maybe I’ve changed my mind.”

Her words shift the air between us. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Are you ready to give me a second chance?”

All traces of shyness are gone. “I still want to take things slow, and we still need to get to know each other more. But I can’t deny our connection.”

My brain needs a few moments to catch up with her words and my heart needs to slow its race with the anticipation building inside.

Dana’s face falls. “Or maybe this pull I feel is just one-sided.”

“No.” Without thinking, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against me. “Definitely not one-sided. Not before and certainly not now.” I brush a strand of hair behind her ear, allowing my finger to trace down her jawline until it’s at her chin. Tilting her head up, I meet her eye to eye, hoping to convey the sincerity of what I’m about to tell her. “The pull I have toward you is so strong I can taste it. The feel of you in my arms right now is like taking the strongest hit of epinephrine. My heart feels like it can finally beat again. Like I’ve been brought back to life.”

She inhales a sharp breath. “Wow.” She rests her hands on my biceps and slowly runs them up over my shoulders until her arms are wrapped around my neck. I bend forward a little so she doesn’t need to stand on her tiptoes.

“That’s how I’ve felt about you since the moment you set foot on my tennis court: wow.”

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