She wiped a strand of blond hair from her face, only then realizing her hands were covered in mud. “Uh, what are you doing here?”
“Repaying you a favor, I think. You saved my life in a blizzard. Now I get to save you in, well, mud I guess.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Not quite the same.”
“It’ll have to do. I doubt I’d be any help in a blizzard.”
“I—seriously. What are you doing here?”
“Proving a point.”
“And that point is?”
He started toward her, but she held up a hand. “You might not want to—”
But it was too late. Two steps into the ditch, William lost his footing, his tennis shoes that probably cost double her new shoes sliding, sending him down the embankment on his hind end, straight toward her.
She took a step to the side to avoid him, but it was too late. His feet tangled with hers, and she went sprawling into the mud beside him.
The world swirled for a moment, but when it came to a stop, Will was beside her.
Even covered in mud, he was way too handsome. Her heart leaped as his hand brushed against her cheek, trying to clear it of mud but probably just making it worse.
“I’m sorry.”
She laughed. “I tried to warn you.”
“I didn’t mean about this. I’m sorry for being a jerk. For assuming I could fix everything. For being overly confident with that reporter. For treating you like anything less than the amazing woman you are.”
She leaned into his hand on her face. “I forgive you.”
His face moved forward, closing the gap. “I’m in love with you, Hanna Knight. I wanted to come and be your knight in shining SUV, but I guess I’ll settle for knight in shiny mud. Will you give me another chance? Please?”
She wanted to say yes. More than anything in this world.
But the price was so steep. “We can’t, Will. I want to so bad, but we just won’t work. We’re in two different places.”
He leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers. “Foster and Jones offered me my job back.”
She blinked. That’s what this was all about? Coming to claim her for his prize and salvage all this mess? Anger warred inside her. No way. She had already boarded that ship and knew right where it headed. Not interested. She swatted away his hand and slid back, slushy mud oozing down the back of her shirt and jeans. It took all she could not to grab a handful and fling it at the man in front of her. “They did? Congratulations.”
He scooted closer, a sly grin on his face. “I turned them down.”
“If you think—” She paused, her ready rant fizzling in confusion. “You did what?”
“It’s not worth it. I knew if I said yes, you’d always think I was coming back to help the company.”
“But you love what you do, Will.” Was she really trying to convince him to do the very thing she’d just wanted to sling mud in his face for doing?
The thought of him giving up his dream—for her—made her heart want to run in circles, hang the mud.
“I love you. No job, no amount of money, is worth risking losing you, Hanna. You’re priceless.”
She leaned forward, not caring for their dirty surroundings, only caring that she could no longer deny how right the man in front of her was. “I—I love you, too, William Preston.”
He closed the small gap and captured her lips with his. He tasted an odd mixture of dirt and nature and Chapstick, but she didn’t care. Her hands covered his cheeks as she deepened the kiss, giving her heart away in the process, free of cost.
Dear Reader:
My hope and prayer for all my books is that Jesus will use them to make people laugh when they need it most, but more importantly, that He would use them, in their imperfect, human-written form, to draw His children closer to Him. This book is no different. I named the show in this book The Price of Love for a few different reasons. First, it fit with the funny reality TV dating show theme. But it also made me think about Jesus. The true price of love was paid by Jesus on the cross a couple thousand years ago. There is nothing I could ever do to earn the gift of love, of life, He’s given. But to accept His gift of eternal life, I have to give up my own life. Every bit of it. Not just the small pieces I feel like giving Him when it’s convenient.
In Matthew 16:24–25 (NLT), Jesus says, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
Know that you are loved by a God bigger than you can fathom and by an author humbly honored to write stories to glorify Jesus.
- Krista
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Huge thanks to –
Jesus. For walking with me through every step of this journey and loving me even (and especially) when I don’t deserve it. Which, really, is pretty much every single day.
My husband and kids. You all mean more to me than my words could ever express. Thanks for putting up with my crazy love bugs!
My alley cats. Your support and encouragement means the world to me!
My agent, Sarah. Thanks for living with my crazy long, rambling e-mails and championing my stories. You rock!
My parents. For all your love and support throughout the years! I love you both!
My fabulous editor, Annie, I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work with you! And Linda, for helping me spit-polish this thing!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Krista Phillips writes contemporary romance sprinkled with two of her favorite things, laughter and Jesus. And sometimes chocolate for kicks and giggles. She lives in Middle Tennessee with her husband and their four beautiful daughters and is an advocate for congenital heart defect and organ donation awareness. Visit her online at www.kristaphillips.com.
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