Page 42 of Muskoka Miracle

She pinched him. “Don’t patronize me.”

“I’m not. I’m enjoying you.”

“Hmph.”

He smiled, wondering how long it would take for her to tell him what had happened before. Honestly, if he didn’t know better, he’d start to think Jackie was some kind of stalker, the way she kept showing up.

She sighed again, louder and longer this time, and he bit back a grin. Here it came.

“I don’t understand why Jackie would invite me to one of their soirees.”

“What soiree?”

“She and Serena have these get-togethers with some of their friends, and Jackie invited me to one this Friday night.”

Huh. Good for her. “Well, why wouldn’t she invite you? You’re amazing, beautiful, and fascinating.”

“You’re biased.”

“I mean it. Lots of people are interested in knowing you. And I’ve seen some of those comments on your podcasts. Heck, even my friends think you’re amazing. I still remember telling my Original Six friends about you and some of them asking if you had a sister.”

“Really? Why haven’t you told me this before?”

“Because I thought you knew how amazing you were.”

“Yeah, right.” She scoffed. “I don’t feel like that at all.”

“Hello, who is the woman with more followers than me on Instagram?”

She snorted. “That’s because you don’t have an account.”

And it would forever stay that way. “Look, people think you’re interesting, and want to get to know you more, so it’s a good chance for them to do so.”

“I don’t want to go,” she mumbled.

“You don’t have to,” he assured.

“Hmm.”

He bit back a smile. He knew how his wife’s mind worked, her need to talk through scenarios and get his perspective, and let things settle before the instant ‘no’ softened into a ‘maybe’, before turning into a tentative ‘yes’.

The water lapped, lulling him to long blinks that beckoned him to sleep. “When is it?”

“This Friday.”

He yawned. “I planned to watch the playoffs with John. Brent Karlsson is in it again, so it should be fun.”

“You’re ditching me for hockey?”

He would if it meant she got her socializing on again. She needed more friends. Everyone did. “I think you’ll enjoy yourself more than you expect.”

“I could enjoy you…” she murmured, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

“And you can. Next week, you said. Which is why I’m watching playoffs with John this week.”

“Are you saying you want my undivided attention next week?” She trailed a hand down his throat.

He rolled over quickly, startling her to laughter as he kissed her jaw and throat. “I’m saying, that I think you’ll have more fun than you think. So trust God that this is part of His plans, okay?”

---