Formula for Danger (Love Inspired Suspense)
Page 20
“Maybe I should apologize to Alex,” Rachel said, leaning closer. Everyone around them was chatting, and she had pitched her voice low, but he could clearly hear her.
“Apologize? For what?”
She swallowed. “After all, I’m the reason you’re back in the hospital bed less than twelve hours after you were discharged.”
“No, Rachel. None of this is your fault.”
“When Gloria’s gun went off, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even scream. I was so afraid she had…” Her voice broke. She took a short breath, then continued, “And then I saw you wrestling with her, and I’d never been so relieved in my life, because you were alive.”
All he saw was the pale oval of her face, close to him, her dark hazel eyes wide and intense.
“I love you, Edward.”
Her words seemed to echo the words of a song that had been playing in Edward’s head, in his heart, for months. A song he’d tried to drown out, to ignore. A song that resonated with Rachel’s laugh, with the sparkle in her eyes, with the quickness of her humor and, more recently, with the fire in her spirit.
“You don’t have to say anything,” she hastened to assure him. “I just…I just wanted you to know.”
He couldn’t say anything. He was too…full. He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles, her skin silky soft against his lips.
“I think I’ve loved you for a long time. Maybe since the moment we shook hands, when I had decided to hire you to grow my Malaysian basil plants.” She smiled suddenly. “How unromantic. Love over a basil plant.”
“The smell of basil always reminds me of you.” The words spilled from his mouth and made him want to kick himself at how stupid they sounded.
But Rachel laughed, her joy a bright flame he couldn’t help but be drawn toward.
“I’ve been fighting my feelings for a long time, Rach. I’ve misjudged you, I’ve abandoned you, I’ve done everything that should have made you stop loving me.”
She shook her head. “You’ve saved my life. Several times.”
“Today, seeing Gloria point that gun at you, feeling helpless and unable to do anything to stop her—that sealed it for me. It made me realize what I want, what I need, what God has given to me.”
Her lips parted as she stared at him. “Edward…”
“I want you to know that this is coming from the bottom of my heart, that it’s not something I’m just saying. I love you.”
There was a heartbeat where all the noise in the room faded away, and her gaze was as intimate as a kiss.
He picked up her right hand, fingering the ruby ring that had saved her life. “I have a ring at home, turquoise in silver. It belonged to my grandmother, and I want you to wear it. On your left hand.”
She looked as if she’d stopped breathing for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“I’m more sure of that than anything else in my life right now. I love you, and I’m serious about my feelings for you. If you’re not ready right now, that’s fine, but I wanted to let you know.”
She gripped his fingers and smiled into his eyes. “Oh, Edward. I feel like I’m going to burst.”
“And after everything that has happened lately, I’m not wasting any more time,” he said.
He reached out, cupped her head tenderly and drew her in for a kiss amidst a shower of cheers and laughter.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining me on this fun trip through the gorgeous agricultural county of Sonoma, California! This tourist spot still has all the charm of a small farming community, where neighbors help each other and romance abounds among the scenic rolling foothills.
Rachel’s story is very close to my heart because I’m also a geek who struggles with shyness and awkward social skills. I’m not as brilliant as Rachel is (unfortunately!), but her need to understand how much her heavenly Father loves her is something I can relate to and still struggle with in my own life.
Rachel’s theme Bible verse reminds me that God is always in control of everything, and He is everything I will ever need. It was a bit cathartic to write that same realization for Rachel, since I have to keep reminding myself of that fact all the time. But God is full of patience as well as love!
I love to hear from readers! You can e-mail me at camy@camytang.com or write to me at P.O. Box 23143, San Jose, CA 95123-3143. I blog about knitting, my dog, knitting, tea, knitting, my husband’s coffee fixation, knitting, food—oh, and did I mention my knitting obsession?—at camys-loft.blogspot.com/. I hope to see you all there.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Rachel is a dermatologist researcher who creates products exclusively used at the Joy Luck Life spa for their high-end clients. Her newest launch is in only five months, which puts a lot of time pressure on her. She doesn’t deal with pressure very well, it seems. How about you? How do you respond under time pressure at home or work? What do you know you should do in those situations?”
Edward’s greenhouse is broken into, and Rachel’s plants are in danger of being destroyed, setting back months of work he’s put into cultivating the basil. How does he deal with the situation? Is there anything he should do differently? How would you feel if your work was sabotaged this way?
Edward’s brother, Alex, is a strong Christian who is comfortable speaking about his faith. Can you relate to him or do you know someone like him? What is your own way of sharing your faith?
Rachel and her cousin Jane are close friends, partly because of the accident Rachel caused when they were young girls, but also partly because they’re very similar—both are geeky and shy. Are you close with any of your cousins or family members? Is there someone you might want to make an effort to get closer to?
When Rachel realizes someone is after her research, she feels helpless, violated and stressed. Have you been in a situation where things were completely out of your control and it seemed to be going from bad to worse? How did you feel? What did you do?
Although Rachel has been a Christian since she was young, she feels as if she’s just going through the motions and that God doesn’t hear her prayers. Can you relate to how she’s feeling? What should she do?
Rachel has a poor relationship with her father, and Edward’s warm family circle draws her in. Why is it important to have people—either family or like family—around you? Do you have a “family” circle of your own?
As things get worse, Rachel knows she needs to trust God and believe that He has everything under His control, but she has a hard time doing this. Instead, she takes charge, attempting to do something about the people trying to steal her research and kill her. Have you ever felt this way? How did you respond? What would you have done differently from Rachel?
Rachel wants to trust her research assistant, Stephanie, but at the same time doesn’t know if she can (and, as it ends up, Stephanie isn’t as innocent as she seems). Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t know if you could extend trust to someone? What did you do? Many times it depends on the stakes involved (for Rachel, the stakes were her research and her life). What were the stakes involved in your own situation?
Edward is still struggling with the hurt his workaholic father inflicted on him and his family, and he initially sees Rachel as being the same type of work-focused person. Do you know someone for whom their work has become their “God”? What can or should we as Christians do for them?
Rachel’s father treats her differently than he does his other daughters because he doesn’t understand her very well. Rachel was simply internalizing his criticism and letting it damage her self-esteem. Can you relate to how she was feeling? Do you worry that you might be doing that to someone else? What can we do?
Rachel’s theme verse is Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” What does that verse mean for you?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6651-7
FORMULA FOR DANGER
Copyright © 2010 by Camy Tang
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