impish, surprising smile. “There are things I’d do right now, if your family wasn’t everywhere. Why don’t you come to my place later?”
“I would love to. How about dinner with my family? As my date and boyfriend, not Kathy’s.”
He lifted himself off her and got to his feet. “You know how astonishing this will seem to everyone in the church. I mean Kathy and me, then the shooting, and now me and you. I know we consider it logical since Kathy and I weren’t sexual or even remotely romantic. We were like two friends who got engaged and not engaged. But this will probably blow a few minds.”
“You are going to tell people about us. You haven’t sufficiently convinced me of that yet.”
He put a hand out, took hers and held her against him. “I swear I’ll claim you as mine. All the time. To anyone who will listen. And yes, that includes every sermon of mine, every sermon that you want to attend, that is. I won’t care what anyone thinks or whether or not they disapprove. We know the truth. That’s all that matters.”
“Yes. That is exactly right.”
“I think Rob might like me a smidgeon better than before though.”
“I think everyone will like you a smidgeon better. In goading me, you came across as a sanctimonious ass. Even Kathy thought so… She kept saying you weren’t like that in church or when you were alone with her, you know, everywhere but here. We figured it was owing to our hedonistic lifestyle with Zenith and all.”
“It might have been. I won’t claim I was reformed all at once. But I hated the bodyguards and security because I feared all the attention would allow Jimmy to find me. It did, but not in the way I ever imagined it happening.”
“Us either. As for Jimmy showing up, did you hear about Eric’s solution?”
“Yes. And I agreed to that too. Pretty smart. I guess my head never got clear enough to truly examine the situation. See it for what it was and know that he can’t really hurt me.”
“You just thought he could.”
“Yes. All the time.”
“I honestly don’t think he can. Not with our guards and you broadcasting a prewarning.”
He laughed. “Prewarning. That’s it.” He held her hand tightly. “You can’t know…”
“What?”
“I never felt like this before.”
She swallowed. “How do you feel?”
“Connected to another person. Not because of God. I do feel that connection with the members of the congregation. Kathy included. But this with you is very different. It’s like the first time anyone ever noticed me. And then you stayed. Or maybe I should rephrase that, you wanted me to stay.”
Her heart hurt as it swelled. She could give him that. There was no changing the things he missed out on, including a normal parent figure and family dynamic. He made his own family with the church and the people he worked with. He’d come far with his education and using his above average intelligence to achieve good works. But he never was with another person for any length of time. He was never cared for and worried about.
He leaned down, tipping his head forward, and she rose on her tiptoes and leaned her forehead against his. She gave him a small smile as she whispered, “I think I’ll be in love with you soon.”
His breath hitched and he went still before he visibly swallowed. He whispered back, “I think I already am.”
Her heart almost stopped. She didn’t say anything but let the smile on her face beam as they simply grabbed each other in a long, warm hug.
Chapter 17
“SO, MY SISTER, HUH?”
Wincing, Jim turned toward Kathy’s voice. But to his astonishment, he found her smiling with a teasing glint in her eye and her hands on her hips, elbows poking out. “Yeah. Your sister. Believe me, she was more surprised than you even. And I’m sorry. It’s an odd development neither of us ever expected, to say the least.”
Kathy cleared her throat. “Not like Eric and I could call it anything but an odd development when it happened to us.”
Jim let out a short laugh. “We were the worst engaged couple ever. I mean, both Eric and Kayla could have disqualified us from the start. It’s a miracle we’re still being so civil to each other.”
“We could star in a raucous, reality-TV show. I mean, take the stepdaughter of a rock star, which draws initial interest, who falls for her freaking bodyguard behind the back of her pastor fiancé—”
Jim