They’d been planning their wedding, for goodness sake. Save the dates sent out. The invitations ordered. She’d already bought what he was sure was a ridiculously expensive dress.
He’d been humiliated, and everything about church felt dirty after that.
But as much as it killed him to admit it, Beth was right. He hadn’t forgiven Dayna or the pastor, and honestly, didn’t want to.
All the “seventy-times-seven” forgiveness sermons in his youth blared in his memory.
But hearing them and knowing it was the right thing to do didn’t make it easy.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he followed after Beth into the church. Lord, please let her not have gone back to the brunch. I don’t think I can face everyone—
Stepping inside the warm building, he breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Beth, sitting in one of the foyer chairs.
He drank in the sight of her, head bowed, elbows on her knees, hands folded.
How could he have ever compared a woman like Beth to Dayna?
This woman in front of him was—enchanting. Her hair that he almost never saw down fell in beautiful, wavy curls around her face. Her curves were enough to make any man—well, make any man think things he should not be thinking in church, and definitely not enjoying until he put two rings on her finger.
But her heart is what captivated him the most. She loved Jesus more than anyone he knew apart from his mother. She had enough crazy to keep up with him, she went along with his idiotic schemes and laughed with him. She was messy and fun yet challenged him in a way no other woman had ever done.
A yearning overwhelmed him to make sure she knew just how deeply, head-over-heels in love with her he was.
“Beth.”
Her head jerked up, revealing red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. “Garrett. I thought you left.”
In two strides, he reached her and knelt in front of her. “Beth, I—”
She reached out and clutched his hand. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I know you’re hurting, I just—”
Leaning forward, he cut off her words by claiming the lips that had captivated him since he was sixteen years old.
She tasted like a mixture of mint and salty tears. He drank her in, delighted when her rigid body softened and her mouth accepted his kiss. Not satisfied with mere acceptance, he ended the kiss and wiped away her tears with his thumb. “You were right.”
Her throat bobbed with a deep swallow. “I thought you were mad.”
“Oh, I was mad. But mostly at myself. I’m far from perfect. I wish I could sit here and say I’ve forgiven them, but—I realize I need to. It’s something I’m going to work on between God and me.”
Beth nodded, her eyes brimming with understanding. “That sounds very wise.”
Standing up, he reached down a hand and helped her up. But when she took a step away, he pulled her flush to him. “I have another confession to make.”
Her hand made a timid path up his arm to his shoulder, leaving hot shivers in its wake. “Well, I guess church is a good place for that.”
Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear. “I’m in love with you, Bethany Ann Jamison.”
She pulled back, her eyes wide. “You’re what?”
“I’ve been trying to deny it. Hide it. But the truth is, I’ve been in love with you since I was a crazy sixteen-year-old afraid that my best friend would pound me for having feelings for his little sister. Pretending to date you these last few weeks has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Tears welled in her eyes again, and instantly he regretted his words. How could he have been a fool to put his heart out on the line like that? Stupid, stupid, stupid. He started to pull away but stopped when she threw her arms around his neck.
Not able to do anything else, he wrapped his arms around her and held on for dear life.
***
Beth’s arms squeezed the man she loved.
The man who loved her back.
Joy was too mild a word to describe what she felt at that moment.
Suddenly hugging wasn’t enough. She pulled away and responded to the question in his eyes with her lips against his, tasting, giving, answering the only way she knew how, as she wasn’t sure her throat could squeeze out any words. His hands tightened on her back, his mouth urging to deepen the kiss, which she would gladly—
What was that noise?
Garrett pulled away at the same moment.
Clapping. Who was—
“Mother? What are you—?”
Beth stepped back and turned to see Pearl, Tilly, Betty and a few other women standing behind them, all grins and giggles.
Pearl did a little hop and flung her hands in the air as if she were praising Jesus with Pentecostal gusto. “Does this mean there won’t be any fake break up?”
What was she—
Tilly elbowed the older woman and whispered loud enough for the whole town of Sandwich to hear. “Hush. They aren’t supposed to know that we know.”
Garrett clutched Beth’s hand. “What are you all talking about?”
Betty rolled her eyes. “It’s over, everyone. Garrett, Beth, we’ve known for quite a while about your little fake plot to pretend to date. What you didn’t know is that tweddle-dee and tweddle-dum here” she motioned toward Tilly and Pearl “knew all along and were trying to give God a bit of help getting the two of you together.”
Tilly crossed her arms. “It was mostly just Pearl. She’s the one who read your private messages on Facebook.”
Pearl turned a light color of pink. “Now, don’t go throwing me under the bus. You’re the one who told me to keep reading them. And you helped me hang that mistletoe up.”
Beth couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You knew the whole time?”
Garrett’s mom turned up her nose a bit. “I was on the receiving end of more than one of Garrett’s pranks back in the day, even though I could never prove it. So when I opened the laptop to get on the Facebook a few weeks ago and happened to see your conversation already on the screen, I thought it was the perfect time to pull a little prank of my own. But enough about that. You never answered the question. Does this mean you won’t be doing that horrible fake breakup? Although I must say, the whole bit with the pastor—I’m hoping that was an accident and not part of the prank. Because I think you scared ten years off poor Pastor Calvin’s life. And I never knew a woman could blush as red as Kathy did.”
Garrett threaded an arm behind Beth and shook his head. “No that was just—unfortunate.”
“So, no break ups?”
He turned to Beth and wiggled his eyebrows. “What do you think, partner in crime?”
She pretended to consider the matter. “I don’t know. It was going to be a really good breakup. I was looking forward to yelling at you.”
Pulling her closer, he looked into her eyes. “What if I promise you can still yell at me from time to time? I’m pretty sure I’ll deserve it.”
His mother piped up. “You can say that again.”
She shrugged. “I guess we can see where this goes then.”
A chorus of cheers erupted from the foyer, followed by Tilly announcing that they all needed to get back to the brunch already in progress.
After the room had cleared out, Beth turned back to Garrett, knowing exactly what she needed to say. “You remember Jared?”
His mouth turned into a frown of epic proportions. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“He was, in a way, a little prank of my own. One I’ve felt guilty about ever since.”
“What do you mean?”
She quirked her mouth into a smile and took a step forward, letting her fingers trail up his arm. “Well, you see there was this guy I liked. But he was older. He thought of me as a little sister, and I was desperate for him to see that I was no longer a little girl. That I was turning into a woman.” Her fingers reached his shoulder and trailed up his neck to his ear. “So, poor Jared, I kinda sorta dated him to make you jealous
.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You did what?”
“I’ll have you know I gave up my first kiss to that boy in an attempt to make you jealous. But then Dad banned him from the house, and you left for college, and my heart was pretty much crushed.”
His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. “Had I known, I would have never left for college.”
“Well, you make an amazing chef, so it’s probably a good thing you didn’t know. God has a way of turning things out for good, hm?”
He leaned down for another kiss, but she stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Just to make sure we are clear here, Garrett Sebastian Hanson. I’ve been in love with you since I was thirteen years old, and I don’t plan on ever stopping. Got it?”
This time, it was his turn to answer with a kiss.
Dear Reader:
It is my sincerest hope that you have enjoyed these three visits to the town of Sandwich, Illinois! I hope you loved getting to know Rachel, Cameron, Tilly, Adam, Beth, and Garrett as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you!
If you haven’t already, check you my novel, Sandwich, with a Side of Romance, to read Maddie and Reuben’s story!
For those who are curious, yes, Sandwich, Illinois is a real town. I was born there and lived there until I was five! I have ton of memories of Sandwich, but most of them are quite dated. While a few items are updated in the sandwich books, I have also enjoyed a bit of nostalgia in writing them so not all the places mentioned in these books are still there, so please forgive my liberties as I took a trip down memory lane! And of course, a few other things, such as the Sandwich Emporium, I just plain made up! That’s why they call it fiction!
Also, I’d be honored if you could take a moment to share your quick thoughts on the book in a review on Amazon—your thoughts may very well influence someone else’s purchase and would help this author out a great deal! And while you’re there, check out my other books available on Amazon as well!
As always, I pray for you, my reader, that you will continue to draw closer to Jesus and that my little books can be just one small tool to help you do so.
You are loved,
Krista
Sandwich, With a Side of Romance : A Novel
She moved to Sandwich, Illinois,
in search of a new life, but
ended up in a giant pickle.
Available in paperback, ebook, and audio!
About Krista Phillips
Krista Phillips writes inspirational romantic comedy. She believes a sprinkle of laughter (and a wee bit of chocolate) makes everything a little better! She blogs regularly about life as a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, and mother of a child with a rare congenital heart defect at www.kristaphillips.com.
You can also find Krista at:
www.facebook.com/authorkristaphillips
www.twitter.com/kristaphillips
www.thewritersalleyblog.com
A Side of Faith, Hope and Love: The Sandwich Romance Novella Collection Page 29