Page 29 of Wish You Faith (Christmas Sweethearts #1)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

F ifty-eight degrees plus windchill kept Evan and Rosie in winter jackets and holding hands as they walked along the shoreline of Tybee Island.

Evan glanced back toward the SSLR property. He could see the four-story main building in the distance and the greenhouse to one side. On the other side of the property, a fence separated SSLR from the apartment complex next door.

The wind picked up some, and Evan drew Rosie closer to him.

He was disappointed that Rosie prevented him from proposing to her at Grandpa’s condo. She had guessed correctly because he’d gone down on one knee and called out her name.

However, he wanted her to accept him free and clear without the date bothering her. If their proposal anniversary was the twenty-fifth day of December, Christmas would diminish their special occasion, and they would have injected themselves into a sacred day.

Free and clear?

Well, he still had a lot of explaining to do. Should he do it before or after she agreed to marry him? Perhaps he should make it all clear to her now and let her decide whether to walk away from him or stay.

The incessant ocean sounds of waves crashing onto the sandy beach calmed Evan down to the point that he was able to pray for wisdom and then open his mouth.

“I fell in love with you the first time I ever saw you,” Evan said.

“You mean when I fell in the greenhouse?” Rosie laughed.

“Were you bruised or anything?”

“Nothing serious.” Rosie tilted her head. “I’m curious. Why me?”

“As soon as I saw you, I couldn’t help smiling.”

“You love me because I made you smile?”

“I admit that it was a physical attraction at first. I was mesmerized with your eyes.”

“You walked by sight.”

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I loved the way you looked. However, over the next two weeks, I was also attracted to your personality. You’re sure about yourself, you don’t mince words, you lead your team well, and most of all, you love the Lord.”

Evan put his arm around Rosie’s waist, and she did the same around his.

“I believe you’re the one for me. The only one. When you’re ready, I’m going to marry you.”

Rosie didn’t appear to be shocked or stunned. That told Evan that she had correctly guessed his intentions today.

“If I could marry you tomorrow, I would,” Evan added to see how Rosie would react.

She shook her head. “We can’t. Riverside Chapel requires that we do premarital counseling for a number of weeks. I don’t know how many. Maybe three or six weeks.”

Now Evan knew that Rosie had thought about it.

“Do you have questions for me?” Evan asked. “Questions that you’ve been wondering whether you should ask me or not? Or questions you’ve asked but didn’t wait for me to answer?”

“How frank do you want me to be?”

“Speak your mind. I can take it.” Evan paused. “Provided we don’t break up.”

“Will you tell me the truth without sugarcoating anything?” Rosie asked.

“Without fear or favor. Ask me before I get cold feet.”

“I’m going to say words and I want you to respond to these words.”

“Okay.”

“Rusty Cavanaugh.” Rosie waited.

“My grandfather.”

“Just as I expected. Will the estate take back the condo for his family and then Mom would have to move again?”

“Not on my watch.” Evan wasn’t sure if this was the right time to tell Rosie that he had used his trust fund to buy the condo from Grandpa’s estate for this explicit reason. That way, his mom wouldn’t change her mind and take the condo back on a whim.

“You’re sure?”

Evan nodded. “A trust fund owns the condo. They will only rent it to you and your mom, so don’t worry about any eviction as long as your mom is alive.”

They stopped at the water’s edge to watch the shore birds run back and forth with the waves.

“Cavanaugh Lane. What’s the story?”

“Oh. You took a nice picture of it. Decades ago, Grandpa bought the land with some friends and they built their own vacation condos. They drew lots to see who would get his or her name painted on the street sign, and Grandpa won.”

“I see. Did he gloat for years?”

“Until the day he died—even though it’s a tiny lane.” Evan waited for the next question.

“What about the Honor Scholarship?” Rosie asked.

“I know nothing about that.”

“So it was fortuitous that Mom got the scholarship?”

“I think so. Maybe God wants to give her a nice Christmas present,” Evan suggested.

“I think that people are more generous toward the end of the year. Maybe the donors saw that elderly people were on waiting lists for SSLR and wanted to help. They get tax write-offs too. Anyone can contribute to the scholarship. That’s no secret. ”

“However... No one would know the identities of anonymous donors.” Rosie sounded like she was fishing.

“Right.” Evan guessed where she was heading. “No, I’m not one of those private donors. My parents are, but I doubt they added extra into the bag. My parents are not that generous. Mom always wants something in return for any good deed.”

Uh-oh. He’d spoken too much.

“Did you need your mom’s approval to rent the condo to us?” Rosie asked.

“Everything needs Mom’s approval.”

“She must be nice.”

Nice?

Evan wouldn’t call Mom nice. He had indentured himself to Cavanaugh Shipping for ten years of hard labor as a part of the trade to buy Grandpa’s condo to guarantee permanent rental for Rosie’s mom. The condo would still stay in the family.

Dad stepped in after Evan told him that he wanted to marry Rosie and no one else in his entire life. Next thing Evan knew, Grandpa’s trust fund lawyer called him and sold the condo to Evan’s trust fund.

Dad was a hopeless romantic.

When they returned to the condo, Sonya had company. Dottie and Marcella were wearing Christmas sweaters and eating popcorn as they watched While You Were Sleeping on Netflix. It was a classic movie that Mom loved.

Rosie had seen it several times on account of Mom.

“When’s dinner?” Dottie asked.

“Popcorn hasn’t filled you up?” Marcella laughed.

“We still have ham, don’t we?” Mom asked.

Evan stepped into the kitchen to find two pies on the table. “Who made these pumpkin pies? They look delicious.”

Marcella raised her hand. “My daughter made them.”

“So she’s in town?” Rosie stood next to Evan. Evan rubbed her shoulders.

Rosie stepped away. She looked shy in front of her mom and friends. Evan chuckled. They were standing behind the peninsula counter, so he lifted a foot slightly to rub Rosie’s calf.

Rosie mouthed “not now” to him.

That made him smile.

“This year,” Marcella replied. “Next year we go to her house in North Carolina.”

“Is she still at your house tonight?” Rosie tried to move away from Evan, but he was following her around.

“Yep. Her kids are too noisy for me, so I left them to themselves. They’re using my TV to play games. I’m over here watching a movie. My daughter will pick me up at ten o’clock tonight.”

“And give me a ride home too,” Dottie said.

Evan leaned toward Rosie’s ear. “I want kids too.”

She froze.

Her hands shook as she opened the refrigerator. It was wall-to-wall covered with food.

“Wow. Look at all that food.” Evan put his hand on Rosie’s waist.

“Marcella brought a turkey breast and dressing. Dottie made Waldorf salad,” Mom said. “We can eat in an hour after this movie is over.”

“I’ll be ready to eat by then.” Rosie took out a can of mineral water from the refrigerator. “Want one too?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Evan took it from her.

He wondered where they could go to have some privacy for one hour.

“Have you seen this movie they’re watching?” Rosie asked.

“No.” Evan usually watched suspense and mysteries, not love stories.

“Let’s go sit with them.” Rosie didn’t wait for Evan to reply.

He followed her into the open living room, but there wasn’t a place for them to sit together except on the rug, which extended beyond the coffee table. They sat down on the rug in front of the table.

Before he could enjoy half the movie, he received a text from his brother.

Connor

Have you popped the question?

Evan

Not yet.

Connor

Christmas Day is almost over.

Evan

She said that Christmas is sacred. Won’t let me add a new anniversary to the day.

Connor

Interesting woman you’re dating.

Evan

She’s practical and logical.

Connor

And you’re the diehard romantic.

Am I? Evan wondered.

Sonya and her friends chatted as they watched the movie. Evan laughed along with them at a funny scene before realizing that Rosie wasn’t joining in.

She had dozed off, her head resting on his right shoulder, uninterrupted by the sounds all around her.

While she was sleeping, Evan watched a few more scenes on TV until Sonya called his name.

“Could you take her to her room?” Sonya seemed to be trying to whisper, but it was loud.

Me? Like how? Drag her? Carry her?

Evan wasn’t sure what Sonya was expecting of him.

There, under the watchful eyes of three matronly women, Evan felt pressured to prove—for the first time ever in his adult life—that he could princess carry his future bride from that spot to her bedroom down the hallway past the kitchen.

What if he couldn’t do it? What if she was too heavy for his arms? Or if his arms were too weak to carry her?

What would happen if he dropped her?

This might be yet another test from his future mother-in-law.

Perhaps he hadn’t spent enough time weight-lifting in the gym. He had strong leg muscles because he ran a lot on the treadmill, but what good was that now? He should’ve worked more on his upper body strength.

Slowly, Evan lifted Rosie’s head from his shoulder as he mentally prepared himself for potential embarrassment.

Rosie batted his arm away. Her eyes were still closed.

“Could someone give me a blanket, please?” Evan asked.

Sonya tossed him a fleece throw.

“Thank you.” Evan folded the throw into a rectangle small enough to fit over his lap. He stretched out his legs in front of him. His back was still leaning against the coffee table.

Gently, Evan moved his right arm and held Rosie’s head as it slid off his arm and onto the fleece throw on his lap. Rosie didn’t stir as her head rested sideways.

There, she slept until the credits rolled on TV.