Julia let out frustrated groan. “I don’t know. I only wanted to tell you I ran because I was scared.”
“I know that.”
“No, you don’t understand.” Explaining seemed so hard. “I was afraid I was going to screw everything up and hurt you, and then I’d lose everyone. Grace, Sarah, baby Mary. Mostly, I couldn’t hurt you.”
“You could have let me make that choice.”
“I know that now. That’s why I ran over here. I wanted to tell you how I felt before you proposed to Amy, so you could choose. I didn’t want you to marry her because I told you to.”
“I wouldn’t marry anyone because you told me to.”
“You dated her because I told you to.” Yes, the observation came out huffy, but she couldn’t help it. Weeks of watching Amy and Seth coo at each other like a couple of morning doves had left her cranky.
“Because I was hoping—” he broke off.
This time Julia leaned closer. “Hoping what?”
“That what I was feeling was only a general need to love someone again. When Beth died, I thought that part of me died, too.”
“Was it? A general thing I mean?”
“No. I missed you,” he said, a smile playing about his lips. “I missed your sass and fire. Your sarcasm and your prickliness.”
“What a romantic.” Two fingers tapped against her chest. “Be still my heart.”
Seth reached out and touched a strand of her hair. Wrapped it around his finger. “I missed this hair. The way it seems to sizzle like you do. I missed the way your eyes see right through me. I missed looking at you.”
The man did have a way with words. Drawing in a shaky breath, Julia took his hand. “If we weren’t in a church, I’d jump you right now.”
The evil man chuckled and swooped closer. “Jump away.”
“Forget it.” She shoved a hand against his chest. “If I’m going to be dating the minister, I have to act like a proper lady. Making out in a church pew is not ladylike.”
“Guess what?” Seth asked, hooking a hand behind her neck. “I don’t feel very ministerial right now.”
Okay, one kiss…
****
Didn’t she say only one kiss? Julia gasped out a strangled “enough” and shoved away from him. Strangled laughter bubbled up.
“What?” Seth asked, trailing a hand down her hair.
Catching his hand, Julia studied the grooves in his palm as if seeking an answer. “I’m wondering how we got here, that’s all. There couldn’t possibly be two more opposite people in the world. How did you know? I only figured it out last night.”
An answering laugh rumbled up from his chest. “Then last night was one for discoveries. I was driving home from the Session meeting and—”
For a moment, all thoughts of their relationship disappeared. “The one about Meredith? What happened? Did you do what I said and knock some heads together?”
“Yeah. One of the guys said he’d never seen me so inspired. Meredith’s job is safe.”
Letting out a scream of joy, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “My hero. Tell me what you said. I hope you used the stones verse.”
“Yes on that, too.”
How could he keep information like that from her? Irritated, she socked him in the arm.
“Ow,” he complained. “What was that for?”
“Why didn’t you call me last night?” she asked, brows pulling down in a ferocious frown.
“I wanted to. I’d planned to come over and tell you in person.”
“Did you get lost on the way home?”
A finger traced across the furrow between her brows. “No, I found myself,” Seth said. “When I realized you were the first person I wanted to tell, I knew I’d been denying the truth for a long time. So, I had to make another stop.”
“Where?”
“I went to Beth’s grave.”
Every fiber in her being froze at the mention of his wife. “Why?”
“To tell her about you… and to say goodbye.”
A lump rose in her throat. She pictured Seth standing in front of a grave marker that hadn’t yet become discolored and aged by time. She knew how hard it must have been for him to take that final step and let go.
“I wonder if she’d be happy? I’m sure she wouldn’t think anyone was good enough for you.”
Seth’s smile was full of relaxed confidence. “Beth would have liked you.”
“Are you absolutely sure you want to get mixed up with me?” Julia asked, ready to give him one more out.
He waggled his eyebrows. “Didn’t I just prove that a few minutes ago?”
“That could be a biological thing. Pheromones.”
“I’m all for pheromones.”
“Wicked, wicked man,” Julia scolded. “But seriously. Amy probably is better suited—”
“Amy is like kudzu,” Seth said.
“Huh?”
“It’s a vine, like ivy, and it slowly engulfs everything in its path. Ends up killing all the other trees from lack of sunlight.”
“Amy was engulfing you?”
“She was smothering me.”
“Meredith said Amy had all these childhood hero-worship expectations.”
“She had them all right. I could feel the weight of them every time she looked at me. She even took me to this house she’d fallen in love with as a child. The one she’s always wanted to live in.”
“One guess who she pictured as her husband in this fantasy.”
A grimace twisted his mouth. “It took me a while to pick up on the clues. Then, when she showed up here today in that dress, I knew it was going to end badly.”
“I think she picked it out because it would complement a ring.”
“That’s right. Shove the knife in deeper,” Seth said, closing his eyes as if in pain. “I feel like I pulled the wings off a butterfly.”
“If it helps, I don’t think Amy’s a butterfly,” Julia said. “Far from it, actually. Would you have broken up with her anyway?”
“Yes.”
“I wasn’t a convenient excuse, was I?”
A look of great offense came her way. “There you go again. I thought I did a pretty fantastic job of convincing you.”
“Pheromones.”
He put his hands over his chest. “My heart. And body and soul.”
Okay, that was awesome, but keep it together, Julia. “Did you mean what you said? The part about not caring what people thought here?”
“Amazing, isn’t it?” he said, a smile returning to his lips.
“What about the faith part? What if I can’t believe what you do?”
“I’ll have to pray for you. A lot, and with great passion.” He brushed her hair out of the way and nuzzled behind her ear. “Or I could come up with other enjoyable ways to convince you.”
How was she supposed to concentrate when he was doing marvelous such things with his lips? “Is this an accepted method of persuasion?”
Hot puffs of air sent shivers down her neck as he laughed. “I don’t know, but I’m seriously considering adopting it as a new form of conversion.”
“Seth—”
“Julia, you talk too much,” he said, as his lips covered hers.
Did she say only one kiss?
“Umm… Reverend Graham?”
The tentative question came from a discreetly dressed woman in her early fifties who seemed to have magically appeared by the pew.
The scream came from Julia.
Seth turned his head. “Hi, Gladys. Have you met Julia?”
If Gladys found anything unusual in finding the minister necking in a church pew, she didn’t show it. “I haven’t had the pleasure, no.”
Julia studied the older woman, looking for outrage or scorn, but it was impossible to read anything in the other woman’s expression.
“I’m so sorry to disturb you, but Ethan Thomas is here,” Gladys said.
A reluctant sigh escaped Seth before he answered. “I’
ll be there in a minute.”
Gladys nodded, and as she turned she caught Julia’s eye and discreetly lowered one eyelid.
Julia gasped in surprise. “I think she just winked at me.”
“She’s probably thrilled to see me with another woman,” Seth said. “Gladys has made no secret of the fact that she thinks I shouldn’t be alone anymore.”
“Who is she anyway?”
“My secretary and all around general of operations around here.”
“Great, so I’ve already made a fine first impression on your staff.”
He stroked her hair again. “I’m sorry to run off before we’ve talked.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“Mine entirely,” Seth said, with a smug grin. “The thing is, I do need to meet with Ethan.”
“Who is he?”
“Old friend from school, but we meet every week. We both lost our wives around the same time, and we sort of formed our own support group.”
“Did she have cancer, too?”
“No, her death was sudden. An aneurism. Went to bed one night and never woke up.”
Julia’s heart clenched. “That’s awful. At least you had time to say goodbye to Beth.”
“Right. Now he’s raising his two boys alone.”
“That should be a comfort, though. At least he has a piece of his wife with him.”
“I know,” Seth said. “I envied him that for a long time.”
An image popped into her mind, and Julia couldn’t help but smile. “I can picture a dark-haired little boy with your eyes.”
“Would you have cared? If I already had children?”
The thought made her heart flutter. “They’d be a part of you. How could I not love them?”
A hard stirring of emotion passed over his eyes. “You realize you almost used the ‘L’ word in reference to me?”
Julia’s eyes closed, and she swallowed as sudden panic rose up. “I’m working up to it. I’ll have to take baby steps, okay?”
“I’ll hold your hand,” he said, taking her hand and kissing each finger.
Laughing, she shoved against his chest. “Down boy. You have to go. I have to go.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Seth held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay.”
Seth helped Julia to her feet, and without breaking their hold they walked out to the foyer. Julia stared down at their joined hands, wondering how on earth she’d ever ended up in this situation.
“What are you thinking?” Seth asked, though she suspected he knew.
“I was wondering if we’re crazy to think this could work.”
“I’d say we’d be crazy not to even try.”
“What if I screw it up?”
In answer, he reached up and cradled her face with his hands. “You’re worth taking a chance on. Who knows, you might decide I’m the one who’s screwed up.”
Okay. That deserved one more kiss.
“Whoa! Sorry!” a deep, male voice rang out.
This time the interrupter was a tall, blond man with devilish, green eyes. He was wearing dress slacks, a white shirt, and a blue tie.
“Gladys said I should make sure you hadn’t gotten lost,” the stranger said. He didn’t bother to hide his curiosity as he looked at Julia.
Seth made the introductions. “Ethan Thomas, this is Julia Richardson.”
A huge grin broke out across the newcomer’s face, and Julia swore if she wasn’t already hooked on Seth, she’d seriously think about attacking his friend.
“So, you’re Julia,” Ethan said. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Julia arched a brow in Seth’s direction. “Finally?”
“Poor Seth has been out of sorts for weeks now,” Ethan explained. “Mostly because of you. We considered dropping him from our weekly two-on-two basketball game, but in the end we were glad to see him coming back to the land of the living again.”
Amazement filled her as Seth’s cheeks turned ruddy. “My friends have no discretion,” he said.
The thought that he’d been discussing their situation with his friends set her heart beating like the flutter of a hummingbird’s wings. That still didn’t completely erase her embarrassment at having been caught necking with the minister… twice.
“I’ll let you two talk,” she said, kissing Seth’s cheek. “See you.”
“Julia,” Seth called.
The way he said her name made goose bumps race up her arm. She turned around. Seth smiled, and little fizzles of sensation streaked through her body. And for once, the sensation didn’t frighten her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Seth never knew he could miss someone after only a few hours apart. Couldn’t remember ever being so edgy. He and Julia had so much they needed to talk about. They’d taken a first step, but Seth had no illusions their path would be easy. Baby steps, Julia had said. He had to hold on to that promise, otherwise she’d spook like a wild mare.
Oh, hang talking. They had plenty of time for talking. He wanted to hold her again. Now that he’d taken the chains off his heart, he’d become almost obsessed with seeing Julia. Touching her.
Man was he in trouble. Some might say he was whipped, but he couldn’t think of a better woman to get twisted in knots over.
Watching television proved impossible, so Seth went out to the balcony for some air. At least that’s what he told himself. Julia would be home soon, and he didn’t want to miss her. She had a crazy schedule lately with the Manning wedding. With his luck she’d end up sleeping over at Marry Me.
A car door slammed in the distance, and he straightened. A few seconds later, Julia rounded the corner at a brisk clip. She spotted him and came to a halt. Then she smiled, an expression filled with amusement and relief. He realized she’d been just as anxious to see him. The thought made his heart skip a beat.
Oh, yeah, he was in trouble.
“I was beginning to think our esteemed mayor’s wife would keep you occupied all night,” he said.
A clipped spat of laughter floated across the lawn. “I’m sure Mrs. Manning could come up with dozens of tasks to keep me occupied for the next year, but Betsy and I were too exhausted to do anything else, so we packed it in.” She stopped right below him. “I should be furious with you, actually. Amy didn’t come back to work after you dumped her. I think I’ve lost my second assistant.”
“Should I have put it off for another few days?”
“Not on your life,” Julia said, taking the stairs two at a time.
A burst of laughter bubbled up from her throat.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Me. I’m marveling that it’s possible to miss a person after only a couple hours apart.”
Great minds think alike. He opened his arms as Julia ran into them. He breathed in her scent and thought he could happily spend the rest of his life holding this woman. “Did you miss me?”
“Yes, and you can stop with that grin. I know you’re pleased with yourself.”
He touched the tip of her nose. “I’m smiling because I was thinking the same thing.”
“Do you know what else I was thinking?”
“What?”
“That you have some making up to do. We kept getting interrupted after all.”
Seth didn’t need any more prompting, but quickly captured her lips. The fervor with which she returned the kiss proved she’d been just as eager to see him.
“Umm… hmm.”
They both jumped as someone cleared their throat below them.
Seth looked down and saw Grace standing below the garage apartment, hands on hips. Julia’s cheeks went white, and he cursed his stepmother’s timing.
Great.
“Hello,” Grace said, her expression giving nothing away. “Why don’t you two come inside, and I’ll fix some tea?”
Without waiting to see if they followed her gently worded edict, Grace turned and walked inside the house.
Seth groaned in dismay.
&nb
sp; “I’m guessing you haven’t mentioned this to her yet,” Julia said.
“No, I was hoping we would tell her together.”
Fear rose in her eyes as Julia stared at the screen door. “Did she look angry to you?”
“I couldn’t tell.”
The sigh of a condemned criminal echoed in the night. “Let’s get it over with then,” Julia said.
Seth grabbed her hand, not about to let her run now. “Julia, it’ll be all right.”
“You don’t know that,” she said, pulling away.
Grace stood at the stove, waiting on the water to boil. “Have a seat,” she said, without turning around.
Another soft and gentle order, and they knew better than to disobey. The teakettle began to whistle, and Grace poured water into three cups. She still hadn’t said anything.
Julia glanced at him, and Seth winked. A little of the color returned to her cheeks, and she covered her mouth to hide a grin. When he turned back Grace was staring right at him.
Grace brought a tray with the teacups and took a seat across from them. “So, who’d like to volunteer to bring me up to date?”
“It was my fault—” Seth and Julia said almost in unison.
“Did I say there was blame to be assigned?” Grace asked, eyes widening. “I only want to know what’s going on. I didn’t imagine the two of you kissing.”
“Grace, I love her,” Seth said.
Both women gasped. Grace, probably from surprise, but Julia had to be flat out shocked. After all, they’d skirted around the love word all day. Seth was surprised at how easily the admission fell from his lips. Now that he’d said the words though, the truth of them flooded his being with a kind of peace he hadn’t experienced since meeting Beth.
Gazing at Julia, Seth silently willed her not to freak out, and after a moment she took a deep breath and nodded. He could not have been more proud.
“I’m not sure how it happened,” he said. “I was angry that Julia hadn’t bothered to come back and visit you and Sarah in years. I wasn’t very welcoming at first.”
Julia jabbed a finger in his direction. “He was mean.”
“You yelled at me.”
“Because you jumped all over me.”
A brow quirked. Were they going to get into a fight over who had been more obnoxious at their first meeting now?
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