The idea to cook dinner at her place had been a spur of the moment thing, but Lindsay was glad she’d offered it.
She and Brendan went to Trader Joe’s together, and shopping for groceries had never been so much fun. In fact, nothing had ever been as much fun as it seemed to be with Brendan. The most mundane activities turned hilarious; the briefest conversations held insight and discovery.
As they drove to her house, he pointed to a tall building on the way. “That’s where I live.” She’d looked at him in happy surprise. It wasn’t more than a half a mile from her own.
He’d grinned. “I know, convenient, eh? I thought so, too. You’ll have to come see my place soon. Apartment 1101. End of the hall. I think you’ll like it.”
“I’m sure I will.” Why wouldn’t she? She liked everything about the man so far. She had to keep reminding herself she’d known him less than a day. It felt as though he’d been in her life for as long as she could remember. And she found herself, as she unlocked her apartment door, hoping he’d stay in her life for a long time.
Maybe forever.
He’s the one, isn’t he, Lord? She was almost afraid to give voice to what she was feeling. He’s the one I’ve been waiting for.
“Aaroooo! Aarrrooooo!” Doofus greeted her with his usual vocal exuberance. It never mattered how long or brief her absence, he always acted, upon her return, as though he’d been afraid he’d never see her again. His low-slung, solid body would wag itself from one end to the other, and his ear-splitting “roo” would bounce off the walls.
Brendan followed her inside, watching as she did her best to quiet the wriggling basset. “Now that’s what I call a heartfelt welcome home.”
“Oh, it’s that all right.” She hugged Doofus and clamped her hand over his muzzle in the same motion. “I just wish there was a volume control.”
“Why don’t you let me try to calm him down while you get started on dinner?”
“Hungry, are we?”
“Count on it!” He scooped the dog up as though he were a poodle rather than fifty-five very solid pounds.
With a shrug, she hefted the bags of groceries and went to the kitchen. Some fifteen minutes later she laid shish kebobs on the grill on her balcony.
“Hey, would you like something to drink?” she asked, coming into the living room.
The scene that met her stopped her in her tracks. Brendan was sitting on the couch, leaning back, completely at ease. On the cushion beside him was an equally relaxed Doofus. The basset hound was in his favorite position: stretched out on his back, his legs dangling in the air, paws relaxed and drooped. His massive head was all but draped across Brendan’s jean-clad lap. Contented snores rumbled from Doofie’s snout as Brendan’s lean fingers scratched the dog’s long ears.
Brendan looked up at her. There was the lopsided smile again. She liked it more each time she saw it—and she liked the way it did something to her, making her heart dance and ache all at the same time.
Brendan held his hands out. “He does seem rather . . . content, don’t you think?”
“Ecstatic is more like it.” She moved toward the love seat opposite him. Obviously Brendan had passed the Doofie test. The basset was smitten.
“He’s a good dog.”
Brendan had the nicest dark brown eyes, and she really liked the way they were smiling at her. And the way they could grow serious and attentive when they discussed something serious. If the eyes were a window to the soul, then Brendan’s soul had to be in a class all its own—a very appealing class.
Maybe The Three Aunties were right about him . . . maybe he was perfect for her. Since this whole day was about being honest, she didn’t even try to deny the fact that she truly hoped so.
“You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”
His words snapped her back to the present. “The truth?”
Was she really going to say what she thought?
Don’t do it! It’s too risky! Her breath caught a moment. But she didn’t care. She’d been asking Brendan for honesty all day long. She wasn’t going to start dodging the truth now.
He captured and held her gaze. “Yes.”
“I was thinking about us, about today. About the way I’m feeling and how it should scare me silly. But it doesn’t.”
He remained silent, but for some reason that encouraged rather than threatened her. It gave her the chance to sort through her thoughts and express them. “Brendan, when we started out today I hoped we’d at least have a nice time. If we were lucky, we’d get to know each other a bit better than usual in a dating situation. But what’s happened is . . .” She searched for the right word.
“Extraordinary,” he supplied.
“Remarkable,” she agreed. “And rare. I mean, I’ve certainly never had anything like this happen before, have you?”
“Only in my dreams.”
In any other situation, that would have sounded trite. But she knew what he meant. It was true. She’d dreamed of meeting someone—her soul mate—like this. But she never believed it would happen.
Forgive me, Lord. You promised me wonderful things, and I didn’t let myself believe you. And now . . .
Tears sprang to her eyes, and for once she didn’t try to stop them.
Brendan eased Doofus aside and came to sit with her on the love seat. He took her hand, his grip firm, secure. He lifted his free hand and touched a gentle finger to her cheek, capturing a tear.
“ ‘You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.’ ” He looked down at her hand, as though studying it carefully. After a few moments, he looked up at her again. “Lindsay, I don’t know where we’re going. I don’t know what God intends for us together. All I know is that he’s done something today, something inside both of us. We agreed no games, no pretense, so I want to you to know this: you’re not alone in what you’re feeling. You move me like I’ve never been moved before. I want to care for you, to protect you, to be with you. And if I feel that way after one day, I can’t even begin to conceive how it’s going to be after a week, or a month.”
She sniffed. It was as though he was expressing her heart, too. “I feel the same way. And I don’t know whether to be thrilled or terrified.”
“How about if we’re just patient?” His smile was kind, tender. “Let’s take this slow, and build on the base God has given us today. I know it feels as though we’ve known each other a long time, but the truth is we haven’t. We have a lot to learn about each other. And I, for one, plan to enjoy that process.”
She lifted their joined hands to her cheek and closed her eyes. “Where did you come from?”
“From the same place you did.” His voice was choked with emotion, and he cupped her face with his hand. “From the heart of the Father.”
“Wurf!” Doofus barked.
Lindsay barely heard him, so focused was she on Brendan and the feel of his hands against her skin. She could hardly breathe. “Brendan, I—”
“Rowrf! Aroooo!” Doofus insisted.
“I—”
“Aaarrrrrooooooooo!”
“What??” Lindsay spun to scold the dog for interrupting such a sweet moment. But the words died on her lips, and she jumped up from the love seat with a yelp.
“My shish kebobs!” She raced for the balcony, which was cloaked in a cloud of gray smoke.
“Oooooohhh.” The blackened spears looked like columns of pure charcoal. “They’re ruined.” She looked at Brendan, who stood leaning against the sliding door, a bemused smile on his face.
“What?” She shook her head at him.
His slow smile was rueful. “I just think God has an interesting way of letting certain things burn out of control to keep other things from doing the same thing.”
She turned to survey the remains of their dinner, then chuckled. “So much for the best dinner you’ve ever had.”
“No sweat. Give me five minutes and everything will be fine.”
She looked at him. “Five minutes?” He couldn’t salvage those poor shish kebobs with five hours!
“Yup. That’s how long it will take me to find the number for pizza delivery. You can’t burn a salad, can you?”
She punched him on the arm, and Doofus took up another wail.
It was after ten when Brendan left. They’d agreed it was too soon to share a kiss. “Not until we’re more sure about this.”
She’d agreed with him, caught between disappointment and gratitude for his wisdom.
She’d followed him to the door, and he’d held her hands, then lifted one to place a soft kiss at the wrist, where her pulse beat. She’d read in novels about women nearly swooning when a man kissed her, but she’d always dismissed it as fiction.
Now she knew.
She grabbed at the doorway, dazed. When had she stopped breathing? And could someone please tell her how to start again? From Brendan’s dazed look, he wasn’t faring much better.
“Wow,” he muttered, and she agreed. Wholeheartedly.
She closed the door behind him, then leaned against it wondering how something so small as a kiss to the wrist could have such an enormous impact.
“Wow,” she mumbled, echoing Brendan’s reaction. “Wait’ll I tell The Three Aunts. . . .”
Better yet, why wait? It wasn’t too late to call. She jumped on the phone with glee and punched in the numbers. She would owe them for the rest of her life for this.
Big time.
“Hello?”
“Celie! You’re wonderful! And so are Phelia and Melia. You’re all wonderful! I mean it.”
Stunned silence met her enthusiasm. Then, “I take it the date went well?”
“ ‘Well’?” Lindsay laughed. “ ‘Well’? Oh, Celie, it was the most amazing day of my life!” She went on to recount the events of the day in detail, barely giving Celie a chance to comment.
“I mean it, Celie. I’ll never be able to thank you three for introducing me to Brendan. He’s the most perfect man—”
“Who?”
“Brendan. He’s funny, and so sincere in his faith. I mean, I can tell he’s got some issues—”
“Lindsay . . .”
“—but who doesn’t?”
“Lindsay . . .”
“What really matters is that we—”
“Lindsay Renae!”
Lindsay stopped in mid-rave at the alarm in her aunt’s voice. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Who is Brendan?”
“What?”
“You said ‘Brendan.’ Who on earth is Brendan?”
A small alarm sounded somewhere in Lindsay’s mind. “My date. The man you sent to take me out today.”
“Lindsay—” her aunt spoke in slow tones, as though speaking to a dense child. “The man I sent was Alex. Alex Winters. From church.”
The alarm was now a full-blown siren, blasting so loudly that she could scarcely think straight.
Cecelia went on. “This Brendan person may have been your date, but I didn’t send him. Lindsay, I have no idea who that man is.”