He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. Not too shabby. He got out of the car and strode confidently to her front door. He rang the doorbell and waited.
He could hear scuffling inside and a few exclamations of “ow”.
She opened the door with one hand. The other was sliding a shoe onto her foot. She smiled up at him.
“Come in, I’m almost ready,” she said.
He entered the room and glanced around. There was a blanket strewn halfway on the couch and halfway on the floor. The coffee table sat at a weird angle and there was a vase on the floor. It was cracked in half.
“Did you kill something in here, Em?” he asked.
She appeared from the hallway, trying to get an earring into her left ear.
“Huh?” she asked. She glanced around. “Oh. Um…I woke up late.” She disappeared again.
Sam rolled his eyes. She would regret leaving this mess later.
Finally, she appeared with her bag and a jacket.
“Ok. I’m ready. Do I look ok?” She did a turn.
Sam smiled. With her curly hair, red dress, and beautiful eyes, Emily looked more than ok. She looked gorgeous.
He nodded. “Yep. You look great.”
She smiled. “Good. We can go now.”
He offered his arm and she accepted. He wondered if it would feel like this every time he took her somewhere.
Probably, he finally conceded.
After he had helped Emily into the car and shut his own door, he turned to smile at her. “So, what actually happened to your living room?”
She bit her lip. “You rang the doorbell and I tried to answer the door while putting on shoes. Needless to say, it wasn’t pretty. I tripped over the blanket, ran into the coffee table, and broke a vase.”
He laughed.
“I really did wake up late, though,” she clarified.
He nodded. Only Emily could make such a mess out of her living room in less than two minutes. That was part of the reason he loved her so much. She was way too adorable.
Emily remained silent the entire way to the church building. The tension was so thick Sam could have cut it with a knife. He knew that Emily was nervous, but he didn’t know that she was that nervous.
He parked the car and turned to face her.
“Em,” he said, “how nervous are you, really?”
She grimaced. “Extremely. I haven’t actually been to church in three months. People will ask where I’ve been. I can’t believe I let it get this far.”
She opened her door and got out.
Sam followed, waiting for an explanation, but none came. He really didn’t want to pry that far, so he let the matter drop. He stayed at a respectable distance and let her branch out on her own as they entered the foyer.
Jewel, who happened to go to the same church as Sam, spotted Emily and rushed over.
“Emily!” she squealed, engulfing her in a hug. “I’m so glad you came. I haven’t seen you here in forever!”
“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Emily stuttered.
Jewel shook her head. “Don’t be. You are so busy all the time. I’m just glad you’re here! You and Sam are going to sit with us, right?” She glanced over at Sam.
Sam nodded. He knew that he definitely would. Emily’s decision was up to her, though. If she wanted to be a wallflower and sit in the back, that was her prerogative. He sent up a silent prayer that she would choose to be with friends.
Emily didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t expected Jewel, or anyone for that matter, to be so happy that she was here. Maybe she should sit with the Livingston’s, if only to be polite. They had let her stay at their home when she needed it.
“Ok,” she finally answered. “I’ll sit with you.”
“Great!” Jewel grabbed her hand and practically dragged her into the sanctuary.
Emily glanced back nervously to see if Sam was coming. He was no more than ten steps behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief.
The Livingston family greeted her warmly and made room in the row.
Sam joined her and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
She was just glad he wasn’t about to leave her side. It made her feel safe, secure, maybe even wanted. It was one of those things that made her feel special, even if she didn’t want to be.
After several praise and worship songs, the pastor took the pulpit and dismissed the praise team.
Emily held her breath. She greatly respected this man of God and she was eager to hear what God said through him this morning. She was always eager to hear the Word of God. She didn’t know why, it was simply her nature.
“This morning, I am going to be reading in Romans chapter eight. This passage is about the love God has for us. Bear with me while I read, and I will explain what we are talking about this morning. I am beginning in verse twenty-nine.” He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.
“Skip to verse thirty with me please. Having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing with himself, he gave them his glory. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not even spare his own son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?
“And finally down to verse thirty-five. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loves us.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He stopped to take off his glasses.
“What I find most interesting about this passage,” he said, “is that it comes before he begins to talk about salvation. It also comes before he begins to talk about Israel as God’s chosen people. So, even before God tells us to come to Him, He tells us how much we’re worth to him. And even when we’re in danger or threatened with death, He won’t abandon us. How faithful is He if He won’t even abandon you because of a threat on your life? Not only will He not abandon you, but He will give you overwhelming victory.
“Do you know what the word overwhelming means? It means that there is so much of something that you can’t even comprehend it. You can’t understand why it’s there or where it came from. So, we have so much victory that we can’t even understand it. How cool is that?” He paused to take a drink of water.
“The actual word used there, from the Greek, is hyper. It literally means the very chiefest victory. The King James Version of the Bible says that we are more than conquerors. So, no matter what we are going through, God loves us and we are going to come out victorious in the end.” He closed his Bible. “Let’s pray.”
Emily barely paid attention to the prayer; she was still too focused on what the pastor had said. Even when she was in danger or threatened with death, God was there. She just had to come to Him. It was that simple.
But no one ever said it was easy.
She lifted her eyes to the ceiling and tried to imagine angels watching her. She smiled as she did. She knew God was there, she just didn’t know exactly how to confess to Him that she had strayed.
Her mind flitted through the parable of the prodigal son. Suddenly, she knew what she had to say.
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and you by straying away,” she whispered.
They were t
he words that the prodigal son had used, and she felt it was only right. She had strayed willingly, like that son. But the beauty of the cross was that, even though she no longer deserved to be called God’s child, she was. God knew her heart and he forgave her sins. She was clean once again.
Sam gently touched her arm and she smiled up at him.
“You okay?” he mouthed.
She nodded. “Better now,” she whispered back. “I’ll tell you after service.”
It wasn’t long before the pastor dismissed the congregation and people began to file out of the sanctuary.
Emily grasped Sam’s hand tightly so as not to be separated in the crowd. They made it out the doors and to his car without incident.
“You re-committed your life, didn’t you?” Sam asked.
Emily nodded. “There’s something else, as well.”
He glanced at her with a strange expression on his face.
She didn’t know how to say this. She hadn’t even really realized it until the night prior. She really was in love with him, she was just too hardheaded to say so. The word “like” had turned to “love” in her head a long time ago.
“Do you remember that you told me to tell you when my like turned to love?”
He nodded, allowing her to continue.
She breathed deeply. Finally, not ready to say more, she smiled and nodded.
Sam beamed and picked her hand up again.
She knew he had been waiting a long time to hear that. He had probably been holding his breath for it. Emily almost felt bad for making him wait for so long. But now, she was glad she had. She knew her true feelings. She knew how he made her feel when he was around. He made her feel special.
Sam was acting like an idiot. He couldn’t stop smiling at her and she was starting to worry. Finally, she spoke.
“What are we eating for lunch?” She asked.
Sam seemed to snap out of it as he turned the car on.
“Nate invited us to come eat with them. Them being the Livingston’s and him. Do you want to go?”
She smiled. The Livingston’s were some of her favorite people, and she knew what they had been through. Lunch with them was always sure to be interesting.
“Sure,” she answered, peeling her hand out of Sam’s and placing it in her lap.
He gave her a quizzical look.
“Well, you can’t drive while you’re distracted!” she exclaimed, pushing some hair behind her ear.
Truth be told, holding Sam’s hand made her slightly nervous. She hadn’t had a boyfriend in nearly three years, and Sam was so perfect. She was nervous that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.
She silently chided herself. God’s hand was all over this situation, and she was doubting if it was right? Who was she to judge the perfect relationship?
She focused on the road the entire way to the restaurant, which happened to be only about eight blocks from the church.
The Livingston family had anticipated their arrival and they were immediately shown to the table.
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here!” Nate said loudly. He made a flourishing motion with his hand.
Emily smiled and sat down at the chair that Sam pulled out for her. Being around such a big crowd made her slightly jumpy. She just wasn’t used to having so many people around all the time. It was unnerving.
“So, Emily,” Cassandra Livingston said sweetly. “Jewel and I were just wondering if you needed someone to come stay with you at your house tonight. You know, just in case.”
Emily sent a knowing glance to Jewel. She wasn’t supposed to tell her mother everything. But, no matter, she would answer the question.
“Thank you, Mrs. Livingston, but I have a friend coming over. We’ll be fine.” She nodded reassuringly.
Sam leaned over to her and whispered, “you told her about the stalker?”
She shook her head slightly. “I told Jewel about the stalker. Jewel told Cassandra.”
“Do we need to change the subject, or are you comfortable talking about him?”
She looked at him pleadingly, silently willing him to change the subject. Unfortunately, he wasn’t taking the silent hint.
“Change the subject,” she whispered hurriedly.
She really didn’t want to talk about her stalker. It was so…morbid. Besides, who in their right mind wanted to talk about someone that was obsessed with them? It was creepy.
He nodded and smiled across the table. “Emily finally admitted she loves me back,” he said.
Emily ducked her head. She hadn’t exactly expected him to share that with the whole table. Sure, they were all her friends, but she didn’t know if she was ready for the whole world to know that she loved Sam. It was a complicated situation, but one she would have to deal with.
The table erupted in cheers and questions, most of them directed at Emily.
“When did this happen?” Nate asked. He calmly took a sip of his drink and smiled.
Emily smiled back at him. “Today. Actually, about thirty minutes ago.” She felt kind of stupid saying that, but at least it was out in the open.
“Took you long enough,” Jewel exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. “Didn’t you know that he has been in love with you for forever? I saw that the first time I met you.”
Emily's smile faded just a tad. The first time she and Jewel had met hadn’t been under very pretty circumstances. That had been the day that Jewel became the key witness in a federal case. She had almost died during the course of things, but had turned out alright in the end.
“Well, since we’re on the subject,” Nate said with a smile, “I have something I would like to say.”
Emily looked at him expectantly.
He stood from the table, scooted Jewel’s chair out just a little, and got down one knee.
Emily looked on in shock. Was this seriously happening now? In the middle of a restaurant?
He pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it.
Emily craned her neck to see the ring, but she was at the wrong angle. It had to be gorgeous, though. Nate was no slouch when it came to details.
“I have been in love with you for a long time. I figured it was about time for me to ask, so…will you marry me, Jewel?” Nate looked at Jewel with those gorgeous blue eyes of his and smiled.
She put a hand to her throat and smiled from ear to ear. Swallowing hard, she nodded.
“Yes!” she cried. “Of course I’ll marry you, Nate! Yes, yes, yes!”
He slid the ring onto her finger and she leaned down to hug his neck. He smiled and sat back up onto his chair, taking her right hand in his left.
“Glad you said yes,” he said. “Otherwise I would have had to explain to the jewelers why I needed to return the ring.”
Jewel smiled and held out her hand in front of her. “I’m engaged!” she shrieked happily.
Emily smiled. One day, that would be her. She would find the man of her dreams – she hoped it was Sam – and would eventually be engaged to him.
She could finally see the ring. It was very simple, just a single stone set on a white gold band. She wondered if it was a full carat. It looked like it could be.
She glanced at Sam, whose mouth was hanging almost to the floor.
“How’d you get a ring so fast?” he asked Nate.
So fast? What did he mean? Emily was completely confused.
Nate turned to him. “It’s called late-night shopping. I almost had to use my FBI badge to get in, but I figured that wouldn’t be very fair.” he momentarily made a face at his partner.
“You knew about this?” Emily asked Sam.
He nodded. “Nate asked me to find out what kind of ring Jewel wanted. That was easy enough. But I just told him yesterday, and it’s amazing that he got a ring in such a short amount of time.”
Emily was starting to see that, at heart, Sam was somewhat of a helpless romantic. After all, the man had helped Nate with the engagement. He definitely couldn�
��t be that bad.
She raised her head and did something she hadn’t done in a long, long time. She thanked God for sending her such a wonderful man.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had thanked God for something. Lately, it seemed that all she had been doing was asking, asking, asking. She had become all take and no give. She realized now that that was the exact thing that had been standing in her way to a better relationship with her Savior.
She spent the rest of the meal in happy silence. Sam kept glancing at her like she was insane, but she just kept smiling. He would figure it out eventually.
TWELVE
As soon as Sam and Emily pulled into her driveway, she noticed the other car already parked there.
“Do you know whose car that is?” Sam asked, immediately switching into FBI mode.
Emily smiled and unbuckled her seatbelt. She knew exactly whose car that was.
“Yes,” she answered simply. She opened the car door and raced toward her front door.
Rosie immediately threw open the door and ran to greet her with a hug.
Emily was thrilled that she had come over early. She probably hadn’t expected Emily to be gone, but she knew exactly where the spare key was.
“I missed you,” Emily said as she leaned down onto Rosie's shoulder.
She laughed. “It hasn’t been that long. Less than a week, if I calculated correctly. Who’s the cop?”
Emily turned to see Sam standing just outside of his car door. She smiled. His cop mode was so obvious, and he didn’t even realize it.
“That’s Sam. You met him at Thanksgiving dinner, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” Rosie laughed again. “Anyway, I am looking forward to some real girl time. Without all those extra people and family members.”
Emily nodded. She had known that when she had asked Rosie to stay with her. The petite brunette was always fun company.
“Not to sound insensitive,” Rosie continued, “but is Sam 'ditch-able'?” she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers.
Emily laughed. “Yeah. Just give me a minute, ok? I’ll be right in.”
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