Page 37 of To Bring You Back
“I can’t hide out. I have a house to take care of. And work.”
“I’m sure they’d understand.”
“My bosses? Yeah, but I need the money.”
He could cover the lost wages. A food truck and a church. Neither could pay much more than minimum wage. But the offer would offend her. “The press won’t get that bad anyway. Lakeshore is secluded.”
“It used to be.”
“I’m sorry.” Would he ever say the words enough to garner her forgiveness?
She clasped her hands in her lap, her shoulders rounded under the oversized sweatshirt. The gentle curls at the ends of her hair looked so soft. Maybe he did want more than a hug. He wouldn’t mind running his fingers through that hair, smelling her skin, kissing her.
“Why are you here?” she asked. “Why now?”
He swallowed, chiding himself for entertaining the daydream. “Why not now?”
“Harper English.”
So she had seen the same headlines his mom and the people back home questioned. At least she was giving him the chance to explain.
“Harper and I aren’t together. Never were. I did let her stay at my apartment one night while I was here, and that might’ve been a misstep. It definitely fed gossip, but I wasn’t in the state, and Harper’s dating Colton Fremont.”
Surely she’d heard of the actor. Had probably watched a few of his movies. Hopefully had never developed a crush on the guy.
Gannon pushed that thought aside. To prove the relationship between Harper and Colton, he could pull up a montage of pictures—the couple wasn’t shy about PDAs—but that’d be stooping to the same level as the tabloids.
“So you’re not sleeping with her.”
The question stung. Mostly because, from her, he deserved it. “No. There’s never been anyone else.”
She moved her foot, and a rock clacked. “For nine years?”
“Never, Adeline.”
A wave washed in and out.
“Then why is your love life such a tabloid favorite?” She stressed the last two words, but he couldn’t guess why.
“Because I say Christ has made me different, and when they claim they can prove that’s not the case, it sells. Every time I’m seen with a woman, it’s reported as a scandal.”
She turned her face toward the parking lot. “So tonight …”
“That’s why I was careful about picking you up.” And hopefully the precautions would be enough. If this veered off course in the press, he’d never get to talk to Adeline in person again, let alone hold her or earn that kiss.
“You know what the worst part is?”
That he couldn’t sit next to her? That he couldn’t seem to get past her anger?
“They would never guess something as bad as the truth.”
A thorn of shame twisted. He’d prefer to blame Fitz or Harper, but the truth was, his own actions caused the distance between them. And yet … No. He wouldn’t bow to shame. Wouldn’t let the past define him.
For him and Adeline to have any hope of a future together, she had to live in forgiveness too.
“We’ve sinned, yes, but I believe in the God of David and Bathsheba, the God who forgives and uses us anyway. In Christ, we’re not defined by our sin. We’re defined by grace, and we can’t waste years on regret or in fear of what people might think if they choose to believe the tabloids.”
Her tone rose to match his. “If they choose to believethe truth.”
