Love So Amazing: A Contemporary Christian Romance (Wondrous Love Series Book 1)

by JoAnn Durgin

  Should she do some research to find out more about the woman who died with Cole? After the accident, she’d been in shock. His family had made all the arrangements and, while somewhat close to them, she’d felt somewhat like an outsider. Standing by his gravesite in the family burial plot, she’d whispered her final good-bye and placed a red rose on his coffin. For weeks afterward, she’d moved as if in a daze. When she’d found out Cole’s gift of the property and this studio, it’d given her a new direction. One that saved her sanity and kept her moving forward.

  Ever since Poppy died, she’d kept his memory alive in her heart. With Cole, it would be the same. For her own peace of mind, and especially for the health of her growing relationship with Sawyer, she needed to lock her love for Cole in a separate part of her heart. A place where she could smile whenever she thought of him but where she could also leave him when Sawyer reached out his hand to her.

  People die, not your love for them.

  Momma had told her that after Poppy’s death in a rare moment of closeness.

  The office phone rang. Who would call this late on a Friday evening? Probably a wrong number or someone who wanted information about classes and fees. She contemplated letting the answering machine pick up the call but then thought better of it.

  “Miss Carlisle’s Dance Studio.”

  “Hi Ava.” An immediate smile surfaced at the sound of Sawyer’s voice. She was already accustomed to his phone calls at unexpected times. Likewise his emails and text messages. Not overkill, but enough to keep him constantly in her mind. She had no doubt that was his intention, but she didn’t mind.

  “How did you know you’d find me at this number late on a Friday afternoon?”

  He chuckled. “You gave me a brief rundown of your schedule once. On occasion, I have amazing recall, and I took the chance.”

  “Sawyer, are you familiar with the song ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face’ from My Fair Lady?”

  “It jogs a small brain cell. Why?”

  “I’ve grown accustomed to your voice.”

  He chuckled. “My boy-next-door voice? That’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me. I’m sure you’re not referring to my singing voice, though. How about your face and my voice get together tonight?” Before she could respond, he burst out laughing. “Okay, please strike that as one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever said.”

  Ava joined his laughter. “Why don’t you try rephrasing it in plain English?”

  “Isn’t there a song in My Fair Lady about the street where you live?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is, and it’s called ‘On the Street Where You Live.”

  “Can you be ready at seven o’clock? I’ll pick you up…on the street where you live, Ballerina.”

  ~~♥~~

  After dinner, Ava stood across from Sawyer once again in the corridor of her apartment building. She was nervous but in the best of ways. The more time she spent with him, it was as though she’d known him for years. He had a way about him that drew her to him naturally. The man was irresistible.

  “Thank you, Sawyer. This was an unexpected treat.”

  “Yeah, and the Italian food wasn’t bad either.” He leaned his forehead on hers. “I wanted to see you this weekend, but I have the charity auction tomorrow night. I’m glad you were available to see me tonight at such short notice.”

  She tugged on the collar of his jacket. “I may regret admitting this, but I’m jealous of the woman who places the winning bid for a date with you.”

  “No reason to be jealous, Ballerina.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “It’s just my body, not my heart.”

  “What?” she screeched before clamping a hand over her mouth. Ignoring his laughter, she swatted his arm. “You are a bad, bad man, Sawyer Mancini. Just for that, I hope she’s old, fat, and ugly. Or a combination of all three. What happened to the humble, God-honoring man I know?” She tugged on his sleeve. “Is he in there somewhere?”

  “Oh, he’s here.” Ava quieted as Sawyer’s smile faded and the color of his eyes deepened. Encircling her in his arms, he tugged her closer and she rested her hands on his chest.

  “Um, we’re in a public place and every sound is magnified.”

  “Don’t care.”

  “People come and go here all the time and people will talk.”

  “Doesn’t bother me.” He moved his warm lips to her cheek, lingering there.

  “They’re my neighbors, not yours,” she murmured. “But no. Definitely doesn’t bother me.” When Sawyer tilted her chin and dipped his head, she smiled. “It doesn’t bother me that we both have garlic breath either.”

  “Good. We’ll cancel each other out.” He touched his lips to hers for a heartbeat, enough to drive her crazy.

  “I don’t want to kiss you the first time with garlic on my breath, Pedicab Man.”

  “You already kissed me, remember? Granted, the circumstances were different. Wait a second.” He frowned. “Am I missing something here? Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me?”

  “No, I’m saying I’d rather run upstairs, brush my teeth, gargle, and then come back down here and kiss you.”

  “You’re not leaving now. I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first time I saw you standing on the curb at the Hyatt. Ava, you are”—he released a deep sigh—“the best combination of sweet and sexy that I’ve ever known.”

  “I’d never met a man like you.” Ava made sure to keep her voice low. “During that pedicab ride, you were sharing your heart one minute and then the next you were discussing wedding dresses. Who does that? What man, I mean?”

  “You’re not exactly boosting my ego here. At any point during that first night did you ever wonder what it’d be like to kiss me?”

  “I was too dazed by your personal revelations and the way you made me completely crazy.”

  He tightened his hold on her. “Crazy good as in this guy’s lovable and I can’t wait to run my fingers through his great helmet hair? Or did you want—”

  “Sawyer, for once in your life, stop talking. Please.” Running her fingers through the hair on the nape of his neck as she’d longed to do, Ava smiled as his lips met hers.

  The kiss was wonderful but not demanding. Sensual without crossing any lines. Absolutely perfect. Ava sank into the kiss and then groaned as she slowly pulled out of the circle of his arms. Sawyer’s kisses could easily become addictive. That was also the primary reason for not inviting this man upstairs to her apartment.

  Releasing his hold on her, Sawyer grinned. “Do anything for you, my fair lady?” He bowed low as he’d done after their first date and planted a soft, gentle kiss on her hand.

  “Don’t be smug. I groaned, so yes, I’d say it did.” Dazed by his kiss, Ava felt like the room was spinning. “I might need one more kiss to fully convince me.”

  “Sure thing. Don’t ever say that Sawyer Mancini’s not up for a challenge.”

  “Wouldn’t think of it,” Ava murmured against his lips.

  Chapter 13

  ~~♥~~

  Sawyer drummed his fingers on the white linen tablecloth. He’d done his part schmoozing, renewing acquaintances, meeting and greeting the elite of Indianapolis society. Never had he been part of that scene, although it didn’t make him uncomfortable. He just didn’t go out of his way to participate in events like this often.

  Hearing a rustle of an evening gown, he turned as Allie approached his table. “Hey, Goose. I congratulated Matt earlier for taking the best looking babe in the room home with him tonight.”

  Allie patted his cheek. “You could never lie convincingly, but thanks. And thanks for shaving for the occasion.” Standing back with an appraising eye, she beamed. “Look at you, my handsome baby brother, the stud muffin.”

  He snorted and pushed himself up in the chair. Slouching was never good for the posture. “I don’t think that’s current vernacular.”

  “Just don’t use a word like vernacular when you’re on the auction b
lock and you’ll do fine.”

  “Thanks. Now I really do feel like a piece of”—Sawyer grunted—“a commodity. So, I’m supposed to just stand up there and look pretty? Is that all there is to it?”

  Allie frowned and swatted his arm. “Be glad there’s not a swimsuit competition.”

  He laughed. “Forgive my sarcasm. I promised to do you proud, and I will. It’s been fun and the food was great.” He checked his watch and feigned a yawn. “How long ’til showtime?”

  “Your enthusiasm underwhelms me. We’re starting the auction in a half-hour. You’re the next-to-last bachelor, so if you had any plans to duck out early, forget it. Make sure you take time to chat a little with the winning bidder afterwards and set the date and time of your date.”

  “Fine, as long as the winning bidder understands it’s not a date.” Perhaps hearing the firmness in his tone, Allie sat down in the chair beside him vacated a few minutes before by an elderly gentleman shortly after the dinner concluded. “You really do look gorgeous tonight, you know.” When she was all dolled up, his sister looked more like a twenty-five-year-old woman.

  “Thank you. It’s nice to dress up and have a date with Matt. Dinner and dancing and seeing my brother in a tuxedo.” She patted his arm. “Not that this is his idea of a good time, either. Come over to Dad’s after church tomorrow to watch whatever game is on. It’s basketball season now, right?”

  “Don’t I usually? And yes, the Pacers are playing.”

  “I thought that you might have plans with Ava. If you keep seeing her, you’ll need to invite her to church and bring her over for lunch. I want Dad and Matt to meet her.”

  “Not a problem, and of course, I plan on seeing a lot more of Ava.” He stopped and groaned when he realized what he’d said. “You know what I meant.”

  “I always do, but you might want to be careful saying something like that around Ava. She’s Sophia’s dance teacher, remember. Don’t embarrass the family.” Laughing under her breath, Allie rose from the chair and readjusted the skirt of her glittery blue evening gown. She patted his shoulder. “Thanks again for tonight. See you tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll be there with sodas and tortilla chips.”

  ~~♥~~

  Sawyer stood on the stage beneath blinding, hot spotlights that made his collar feel three sizes too tight. He’d sailed through the interview portion and now he was on the chopping—auction—block. Awkward didn’t begin to cover it as the bidding began. Tuning it out as best he could, he pasted a smile on his face and thought about Ava. Wishing she were here.

  The bidding war made him dizzy between a tall, slender, middle-aged blonde woman and a thirtyish brunette woman he’d dubbed Black Widow since she was dressed head-to-toe in black. Even her fingernails were black, and her lipstick didn’t look far off the mark. Sawyer shuddered and prayed for deliverance. The younger ladies had stopped upping their bids when they’d passed the two thousand dollar mark. Humbling to say the least.

  Fifteen minutes later, the auction ended and Sawyer approached the blonde, immensely relieved she’d won the bid. He felt like hugging her from rescuing him from the Black Widow, but any physical contact might give her the wrong idea. If ever he’d seen one, this woman was a society matron from her bright red lipstick, strand of pearls, and modest but expensive looking dress.

  “Mr. Mancini,” she said with a nod of her well-coiffed head as she extended her hand. “Ellyn Montague. I worked with Darcy, you know.”

  That caught Sawyer’s attention. “No, I didn’t realize. Forgive me if we’ve met before.” He took her hand and gave it a brief shake. These were the most uncomfortable moments as many women expected a kiss instead of a mere handshake.

  “No worries.” Ellyn waved her hand. “I was one of a hundred mourners at her funeral service. You poor boy, I wouldn’t expect you to remember me. She was a lovely girl, and it’s such a shame dying in the car with her client and all. I’m sure you must miss her terribly.”

  “I do.” Sawyer sipped his ginger ale. He didn’t expect to be talking about Darcy tonight, not that he minded. “Darcy died as a result of doing what she loved, and I can take comfort in that.” He’d never known the identity of the man in the car with her, only that he’d been driving and the car skidded on black ice, hitting a guard rail and flipping into the path of oncoming traffic.

  He winced at the thought, as he always did. To this day, he’d never been able to look at the newspaper article about the accident. Couldn’t bear to think about what happened. What must Darcy have felt right before she died? Did she feel any pain? What was her last thought? Was she aware he’d been at the hospital, whispering his good-bye, and kissing her one final time?

  Take good care of her, Lord.

  Blinking hard, Sawyer cleared his throat. Wouldn’t be good to get all choked up now. “Mrs. Montague, thank you for paying such a high price for dinner with me.” He pulled a business card from his pocket. “Here’s my contact information, and if I may get your phone number, we can set up the date and time.” He offered the card to her.

  A frown creased the woman’s brow. She looked away and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “You can keep your card, Mr. Mancini.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I asked Mom to place the bid.”

  A pretty young blonde approached. Oh…right. This could get even more awkward real fast. When Sawyer’s gaze settled on her fully, he recognized her as Ava’s assistant. What was going on here? “Heather from Miss Carlisle’s Dance Studio, right?”

  “Yes. One and the same.” She gave him a bright smile and nodded to the older woman. “This is Mom.”

  This situation flummoxed him. After opening his mouth to speak, he closed it again. Ellyn placed the winning bid for the date on Heather’s behalf? Surely Heather knew who he was and his connection with Ava. Why would she do that?

  Ellyn opened her gold evening bag and began rummaging through it. “Mr. Mancini, I need to give you something, and then I’ll be on my way. I found it in my desk drawer, but I have no idea how it got there. Where did it go? You know a woman’s purse. Even in an evening bag, things tend to fall to the bottom. Oh, here it is.” She pulled out a small, yellow square piece of paper and handed it to him. “It’s from Darcy’s notepad and since your name is on it… Well, when I knew you were going to be here tonight, I stuck it in my bag. I hated to throw it away in case it might mean something to you.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Montague. I’ll take a look at it later.” Sawyer took another sip of his drink and slipped the note inside the pocket of his tuxedo jacket. He didn’t relish reading anything written by Darcy when he had an audience.

  “It was very nice to meet you,” Ellyn said, turning to go.

  “Likewise,” Sawyer said, giving her a smile.

  The multitude of bracelets jangled on her arms as Ellyn gave her daughter a quick hug. “I’ll see you later, honey. Have a good time.”

  As soon as Ellyn was out of earshot, Heather pulled a tissue from her purse and attempted to wipe off the bright red outline of her mother’s kiss from her cheek. “And to think she never let me play with permanent markers. Now I know why.”

  “Your mother’s a lovely woman.”

  Heather scrubbed her cheek and then tossed the tissue back in her purse. “Thank you. I’ll claim her, but she’s worn that same fire engine red lipstick for years. Okay, Sawyer, here’s the scoop. To be blunt, I don’t want to go out with you.”

  “So, why did you…?” Maybe it was best to keep his mouth closed for now and let her explain.

  “Mom gave me the money for the auction and told me to bid on ‘one of those handsome bachelors.’ I don’t expect anything from you and the donation will be made to the hospital. Just keep my girl Ava happy. That’s all I ask.”

  Relief rushed through Sawyer. “I hope to have the privilege of doing that very thing.”

  Heather lowered her gaze. “Well, that, and please don’t think I take mommy’s mo
ney on a regular basis to go and buy myself a date.”

  Sawyer wasn’t sure whether or not to laugh, but when Heather laughed, he smiled and motioned to his table. “Would you like to sit and talk for a few minutes? You did pay an awful lot of money, after all.”

  “Sure.” Heather slipped into the chair beside him. “I’ve known Ava for a long time. We met during a Nutcracker production years ago when we were both Sugar Plum Fairies.” He wondered if Ava had confided in Heather about their recent heart-to-heart discussion in Ava’s kitchen but wasn’t about to ask.

  When he realized his mind was wandering to Ava, Sawyer refocused on Heather. He was somewhat surprised to hear she’d turned down a full-ride scholarship to IU Bloomington in favor of joining the Indianapolis City Ballet. She also danced part-time with a small but internationally-renowned Indianapolis dance troupe.

  “How do you manage all that?” he asked after Heather told him she still performed as a principal dancer with the troupe, attended university classes two nights a week and took another one online, and still found the time to teach three classes each week at Ava’s studio.

  “Not sure, but Ava calls me Fireball. God gives me the energy I need to get it all done.” When Heather stopped to sip the drink she’d requested from the server, Sawyer made a mental note to mention this girl to his buddy Chase. Her ring finger was bare. She was pretty, personable, and hopefully wouldn’t be opposed to going out with a youth pastor. Chase had all but given up on dating since his calling to full-time ministry intimidated the majority of women he met.

  They talked for a few more minutes and then Heather rose to her feet. “I should be going. It’s been nice to meet you officially instead of across the lobby of the dance studio. I love your niece, Sophia, by the way. She’s spunky and brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the class. A girl after my own heart.”