knew how shallow and stupid it sounded when she talked about it out loud. “The thing is, I’m not attracted to Father Bryan. At least not in the way you mean.”
“Then why in the world would you…?”
“Marry him? Because he’s a man with a future. Bryan knows exactly where he’s going and how he’s going to get there.”
Lakeisha took a deep swig of her iced tea before answering. “Charisma? Under normal circumstances, I would expect you to be telling me how handsome he is. How kind and generous. How he makes your heart flip over when he looks at you.”
“What, and major on the trivial?”
“Trivial?” Lakeisha gave her a long, pointed look, then shook her head as if conceding. Or more accurately, giving up on her hopeless roommate.
“I’m not like you, Lakeisha,” Julia said softly, a catch in her voice. “I’m not a romantic. I just want stability, security and ministry.”
“Hogwash!” Lakeisha exclaimed. “Not a romantic? What if there’s someone special out there you’ve yet to meet, someone God made just for you? What if you’re too busy with your own plans to see God’s plan?”
Julia raised an eyebrow. “Oh, right. Mr. Perfect, stamped Made for Julia Marie Evans. Bring him on, Lakeisha.”
“Well…” Lakeisha paused just as a large shadow passed over them. Seeing the source of the shadow, she grinned impishly. “How about Zeke Taylor?”
“Paul Bunyan?” Julia spouted a laugh that she quickly covered with her palm. “I always picture that man in the company of a big, snorting blue ox.”
“Julia!”
“Well, I do.”
Zeke Taylor was a local carpenter who volunteered his time to the shelter. Well over six feet tall, he was blond, bearded and always wore flannel shirts and steel-toed boots. A lumberjack wasn’t such a big stretch.
“Zeke!” Lakeisha called, to Julia’s immediate distress.
The big man turned and strode back to where they sat, then crouched beside them with a smile. Julia had to admit he had the biggest, bluest eyes she’d ever seen.
His kind, friendly gaze looked directly at her, and she felt as if he were really seeing her, not merely giving her a polite perusal. She swallowed dryly and struggled to erase the imprint of his smile in her mind.
“What can I do for you ladies?” His voice was the low, rich bass she expected it to be. Julia had the uncomfortable notion the question was directed at her. He was looking at her, even though Lakeisha had been the one to call him over.
“Julia and I have just been discussing true love,” Lakeisha began, despite Julia’s stricken look in her direction. “We were wondering your opinion on the topic.”
Zeke laughed, and she was struck again by how genuinely friendly he appeared. “That’s an awfully big topic.”
Julia just barely restrained herself from saying that he was an awfully big man. But Lakeisha clearly captured her train of thought, and they shared an amused, meaning-filled glance.
“Let me narrow it down for you,” Julia said, deciding it was better to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, than to sit there and let Lakeisha dictate the conversation. “Do you believe there is a Mr. Right?”
Zeke slapped his palm against his broad chest. “For me, I’d have to say no.”
Lakeisha roared with laughter, and didn’t stop even when Julia pinned her with a glare.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
Zeke nodded, his amused glance sliding over Lakeisha and landing squarely on Julia. “I didn’t believe it was. I was just joshing you.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
He cleared his throat. “I know I sometimes come off gruff, because of my size….” He ground to ahalt, and then continued tentatively. “People often mistake my meaning. My humor is a little cockeyed at times.”
“You didn’t answer the question,” reminded Lakeisha, who was obviously having difficulty composing her features. “Do you believe God has one special someone out there for you?”
“One special woman,” Zeke said slowly, catching Julia’s gaze with his own. “‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh….’ She’s out there, Lord willing.” His voice got lower and richer with every word he spoke.
“Waiting for you?” Julia queried softly.
Zeke shook his head. “No. Not waiting for me.” He ran a hand over his beard and smiled. “Working. Serving the Lord wherever she’s at.”
Julia tried to swallow and couldn’t. Why did that sound so romantic?
“You’ll excuse me,” she said, her words tumbling one over another. “I need to go ask Father Bryan about something.”
It was true—she did need to speak to Bryan about the upcoming ad campaign at HeartBeat. So why did her words feel so much like a lie?
She hurried away from Zeke and Lakeisha as fast as she could without looking rude, glancing back only once to see Zeke following her progress with his gaze.
Flustered, she spoke to everyone she passed, trying to make up for what felt like rudeness by being extra kind to everyone she met.
When she reached Father Bryan, she laid an arm on his shoulder to get his attention, and then waited quietly while he finished his conversation with his seminary buddies.
She didn’t understand half the words they were saying, and wondered if, as a pastor’s wife, she’d have to get a seminary education herself, just to communicate with her husband.
Husband.
She glanced up at Bryan, picturing them together in her mind. Helping others, like the desperate, pregnant mothers who came into HeartBeat. Like the people in his congregation, wherever God led. Who knew what else they could accomplish?
She waited, but there was nothing. Not a single emotion.
But marriage wasn’t about emotion. Weddings might be, but she’d seen firsthand how quickly those feelings faded. Wasn’t her way better?
“Julia?” Bryan looked a little put out, and she wondered if he’d tried more than once to get a hold of her wandering attention.
“I’m sorry. I was wool-gathering.”
“Not a problem. I should be the one apologizing for making you wait.” He flashed her a toothy grin.
Julia wondered if that was what his true smile looked like.
“I just wanted to chat with you about the new ad campaign,” Julia began, though Bryan’s attention, or at least his gaze, was wandering elsewhere. “If now is a bad time…”
“Not
