Page 42 of Playing for Keeps
“This is amazing. Sorry—” Justin covered his mouth still full of meat. “Sorry. It’s so good.”
“It’s my grandmother’s recipe. Baking isn’t the only thing I like to do.”
Justin reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “You’re like the perfect woman. I don’t even understand it, but I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Jason from Bible study invited me to a men’s conference at his church next weekend.”
“That sounds great. Maybe you’ll like it there.”
Justin hadn’t grown up in a Christian home, but it hadn’t taken him long to start asking questions about Jesus once they got together. Soon, he started visiting churches around campus and found one he liked.
Justin pushed his food around the plate, keeping his chin down. “I wish I could go to church with youhere. I have a lot of questions, and you always know the answers.”
“I don’t always know the answers, but I’ve been studying the Bible my whole life. It’s all new to you. Give yourself grace.”
He looked up at her then, and his smirk was back. “You’re too good.”
“Why do you do that?” she asked, a nagging irritation rising in her chest.
“Do what?”
“Diminish your own goodness. I don’t know what your dad told you, but you’re a great man. If anybody told you differently, they’re wrong.”
Justin reached for her hand across the table again. “Sorry. I love that you see the good in me and everyone else in the world. Please don’t ever change that.”
She flipped her hand over to link her fingers with his. “No one could ever stop me.”
When they’d finished dinner, Justin took their empty plates to the sink. “Can I have a cookie now?”
She chuckled as she lifted the plate stacked with the goodies. “Happy birthday.”
He took the plate from her instead of a single cookie. “Living room?”
“What are we watching?” she asked as she followed him to the couch.
“What’s that show you’ve been watching? Wait, don’t tell me.When Calls the Heart?”
“Yes, but I doubt you’ll like that one.” She took the remote and found the game show channel.
Justin sat on the side of the couch they usually cuddled on and patted the cushion beside him. “Have you sat down today?”
She made her way behind him and slid her hands over Justin’s shoulders. “I sat down for a few minutes this morning before work.”
Justin let his head fall back against the cushion and looked up at her. “Sitting down to put on your makeup doesn’t count.”
Applying pressure, she kneaded the muscles in Justin’s shoulders. “Well, then I guess I haven’t. I don’t need to sit.”
Justin’s eyes fell closed. “Yes, you do.” He let out a soothing hum as she dug deeper into the tense areas. “That feels amazing. Best. Birthday. Ever.”
“Oh, speaking of your birthday, I have a present for you.”
Justin’s head snapped up, and he turned to face her. “You got me a present?”
“Yeah. You want it now?”
Justin stared back at her with a crease between his dark brows. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
Caroline waved a hand dismissively. “Did you think I wouldn’t? Of course, I did.” She skipped to the coat closet in the hallway and pulled out the small box wrapped in green paper with a tiny white bow on top.
