by Jan Thompson
“We were going to wait until April to discuss our future together,” Emmeline reminded him.
“Yes, but it’s already January.”
“I could, technically, find out of Brinley’s new music studio could use a harp teacher.”
Sebastian didn’t reply.
“Sebastian?”
“Well, I’m not sure if I want you to be that close in proximity to Ivan, whom you dated.”
“That was a couple of years ago now. Surely you can’t be jealous of an old date. What if Talia came to town?”
“Fair enough.”
“You didn’t marry Talia,” Emmeline added. “I didn’t marry Ivan.”
“God sure knows how to bring people together.”
“If we delight in Him, He does give us the real desires of our hearts.”
“Amen, my love.” Sebastian reached for Emmeline’s hand, holding it gently as they cruised through downtown Athens, toward their apartment on the other side of campus, toward the blessings that God surely had prepared for them as Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Langston.
Farewell from Emmeline & Sebastian
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
—Psalm 37:4
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
—Psalm 119:105
Hymn: For You and Me
O Love divine, amazing Love!
That brought to earth, from Heaven above;
The Son of God, for us to die,
That we might dwell with Him on high.
Chorus:
He died for you, He died for me,
And shed His blood to make us free;
Upon the cross of Calvary,
The Saviour died for you and me.
For us the crown of thorns He bore;
For us to robe of scorn He wore;
He conquered death, and rent the grave,
And lives again our souls to save.
O wonderer, come, on Him believe,
His offered grace by faith receive;
Awake, arise, and hear Him call,
The feast is spread, there’s room for all.
Written by Fanny Crosby, the lyrics for this hymn, “For You and Me” (also known by its first line, “O Love Divine, Amazing Love”) are in the public domain.
Thank You for Reading!
Thank you for reading Step with Me, book 2 in the Seaside Chapel collection of novels celebrating the grace of God and hope in Jesus Christ.
I hope you enjoyed the story of Emmeline and Sebastian. If you did, would you please write a review of the novel? Reviews are very helpful to other readers. Please follow this link to find a retailer for Step with Me where you can leave an honest opinion about this book:
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The next novel in the Seaside Chapel collection is about Sebastian’s sister, Skye, a personal chef and a regional cooking show host. A contemporary Christian romance blended with women’s fiction, Sing with Me (Seaside Chapel Book 3) will be released soon.
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Please continue reading for sneak peeks of Share with Me (Seaside Chapel Book 1) and Sing with Me (Seaside Chapel Book 3)…
SING WITH ME: Book Description
Seaside Chapel Book 3
He has lost his life’s song.
Would God put a new song in his heart?
A burned-out young widower forced to take a sabbatical at his sister’s beach house is surprised by a singing personal chef whose food and music become his daily therapy.
The Cook
Skye Langston is not only a part-owner of a restaurant on Jekyll Island, she has also been invited to co-host a regional cooking show, both on top of her day job as a personal chef for residents and vacationers in the St. Simon’s Island area by the Atlantic Ocean.
When Skye’s friend Brinley Brooks-McMillan tells her that her vacant beach house will be occupied the entire summer, Skye is elated because she has helped design the chef’s kitchen in that oceanfront cottage, and would love to cook in it again.
That is, until she sees what sort of person shows up at the house…
The Client
Having been widowed unexpectedly for about a year, billionaire Dillon Brooks has worked himself to the ground at his father’s company, believing that a packed schedule would bury his grief. After burning out, he is forced to take a mental health sabbatical.
Reluctantly, he moves into his sister’s beach house for a few months. It’s big enough for his two motherless kids to join him for part of the summer, and it’s close enough to his parents’ home on Sea Island for them to take the kids out of his sight.
The Call
Skye finds the young widower and single dad rude and unlovable. She cannot believe Dillon is her sweet friend’s older brother. Skye decides she would avoid him as much as possible. She’ll cook the meals, and then let her assistants clean up the kitchen while she escapes the premises as quickly as she can.
One day, Skye sees Dillon at his most vulnerable moment. What if God has brought her to this cottage for such a time as this? In the sunroom where she finds Dillon, she picks up his old guitar, and starts to sing some of her favorite hymns.
Would prayerful hymns be enough to heal Dillon’s heart? What would it take before his path straightens out and becomes bearable for him?
To find out when and where Sing with Me is available in ebook and paperback:
JanThompson.com/seaside/sing-with-me.html
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SHARE WITH ME: Book Description
Seaside Chapel Book 1
A poor small-town violinist…
A young heiress violin collector…
He is a poor small-town musician on track toward a successful career as a concert violinist. She is a twenty-something billionaire heiress who shows up and derails his entire life. Or does he derail hers?
The Muse
Brinley Brooks is on St. Simon’s Island to spend time with her family and to settle into a new single life, not to get into another dead-end relationship. But when Ivan plays that second movement out of one of Bach’s orchestral suites on his violin, it is as though her heart is finding a second movement in her love life. Or is she just lonely? Or is this love for real this time around?
The Musician
Six years ago, Ivan McMillan was a budding crossover violinist, but that career was cut short when Grandpa Otto died and he came home to St. Simon’s Island to take care of Grandma Yun and her broken hip. Now he has found a new road back to the orchestral stage. The last thing he needs is a detour he cannot afford. But Brinley. Ah, Brinley. So pleasing to look at… So pleasant to be with…
The Minuet
When one of his worst nightmares comes to pass, Ivan feels obligated to show Brinley what it means to be a Christian living through adversity. But trusting God is the last thing on his mind as the crisis affects his career, his life, and worse, his relationship with Brinley. He can’t let her see him afflicted like this. Nope. He sure can’t. What is a man to do?
Share with Me is book 1 in Jan Thompson’s Seaside Chapel series blending inspirational women’s fiction with contemporary Christian romance to celebrate the grace of God and hope in Jesus Christ.
Seaside Chapel
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SHARE WITH ME: Chapter 1
Seaside Chapel Book 1
“Brin! There you are. I thought you weren’t going to make it to my birthday party.”
Brinley Brooks watched her sister strut toward her in a shimmering purple-and-black Valentino topped off with a choker of diamonds around her neck. Zoe looked rested and perky and full of life.
As for Brinley—
>
Never mind.
She shut the French door to the loggia behind her, closing out the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean that she had enjoyed in the few minutes it’d taken her to walk from their parents’ seaside cottage to this guesthouse. She had arrived on Sea Island no more than half an hour before, jumped into her evening gown, and headed here.
Alone.
The ballroom that had turned into a dining room tonight was loud and permeated with laughter that Brinley was too jet-lagged to share. In the backdrop was what sounded like the last measures of Felix Mendelssohn’s orchestral Octet. Live orchestral suites were some of her favorite music.
Brinley stepped toward her sister and hugged her tightly.
“I can’t believe you made it.” Zoe sniffed. “Dad said you had unfinished business in Zurich.”
“All done.” Brinley had pulled an all-nighter, but the merger was complete, and Brooks Investments, Inc., had added another subsidiary in Ireland. Zoe didn’t need to know the details. She also didn’t need to know that it was the last business deal Brinley would do for Dad’s company.
And the last time she’d live in Zurich.
Too close to the mess, the hurt, the pain. Well, the pain was easing off; it had been three months and a few days since her break-up with her ex-fiancé.
“It’s good to be home,” Brinley declared.
“I’m happy for you. You’ve always been a homebody. In fact, I was surprised when you agreed to head up sales for Dad in Zurich.”
It wasn’t for Dad.
Brinley drew in a deep breath. “It was only for a year.”
“It feels like forever not having you around.” Zoe lifted her skirt to expose a pair of glittery five-inch Jimmy Choo platform sandals. She shook a foot so the diamonds on the straps could sparkle under the chandeliers twenty feet above them. “Thank you for my birthday gift, Brin.”
To Brinley, it looked like the same pair Zoe had bought last year. And the year before. Only this time it was in another shade of purple.
“Love it, Zoe,” she said, anyway. It made her sister happy.
“I do have great taste, don’t I?” Zoe pirouetted around Brinley. “And you? What’s this?”
Brinley felt self-conscious as Zoe tugged at her midnight blue silk patchwork gown. She hoped none of its many seams ripped.
“Azaria? Marc Jacobs? Dolce? Vera Wang?”
“Peterson.”
“Peter who?” Zoe tsk-tsked the same way Mom did when she didn’t approve. Zoe had taken after Mom in every way from her lithe beauty to her ability to spend out of a bottomless purse. Must be nice to live rent-free in their parents’ guesthouse and eat out of the Brooks family kitchen without touching a dime of her trust fund.
“He’s a new designer out of London.” Brinley knew she didn’t have to explain.
“Never heard of him.”
“I told him I’d wear it. It’s quite comfortable.”
“Quite? Quite doesn’t cut it. He’s still a nameless nobody.” Zoe smiled as if with pity. “It’s so you, Brin. Always saving homeless cats.”
Brinley bristled. “He’s up-and-coming. He just needs a chance.”
“Sure. But I still like my Valentino over a no-namer.” Zoe swished her evening gown.
That was when Brinley saw that her slim sister was filling out. Is that a tummy or…?
“Come. I want you to meet Quincy.” Zoe locked arms with Brinley, ushering her along through the tables swarming with servers in white gloves.
“Quincy? What happened to Oleg?”
“Oleg? I’ve been going out with Quincy since October. Didn’t I tell you?”
“I don’t remember.”
“I’m sure I did.” Zoe laughed. “You know what they say. Stress can make you forgetful. You work too hard, Brin.”
“Work is good for you.”
“I’m working too. Practicing for SISO takes a lot of time.”
“I’m sure.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Brin?”
“Take it literally.”
“Oh? I thought you might have some hidden meaning.”
“I meant what I said. I agreed with you that SISO takes a lot of time. Petrocelli emails me every now and then. A lot goes on.”
“Conductor Petrocelli? Why does he communicate with you?”
Brinley shrugged. “Something to do with Grandpa.”
“Ah. Did Petrocelli ask you to help underwrite SISO? You know funding is down across the board? They had to let a few percussionists go.”
Brinley wasn’t sure how much to say. Grandpa Brooks and his friends had started the Sea Islands Symphony Orchestra some twenty years before, but he’d died halfway through that period. Mom and Dad had continued to underwrite the small regional orchestra only to give Zoe something to do as she figured out the rest of her life. There must be more to it than sitting pretty at fashion shows in Paris and Milan. SISO would put her years of contrabass clarinet lessons to good use.
“I’m taking a break, though,” Zoe said. “Can’t be in Paris and in SISO at the same time.”
“Well, you paid for them to be here tonight. That’s helping them tremendously.” Brinley glanced in the direction of the live orchestra on a platform beyond the sea of round tables as the Presto movement began.
“Quincy’s brother is the concertmaster.” Zoe pointed with her purple fingernails.
“Ivan McMillan?”
“You know him?”
“We’ve met.”
“Really?” Zoe’s eyebrows rose.
“Can’t remember when we first met, though. I’ve met everybody in SISO at one point or another.” Brinley followed her sister as they zigzagged around full tables.
“Ivan is how Quincy and I became an item.” Zoe tipped her head back. “Where’s Phinn this Christmas?”
“Probably in Courchevel, but do I care?” Every few months her ex-fiancé had thrown bashes on the French Alps. While they had been together, he had insisted that Brinley accompany him to party with people she didn’t know, didn’t care for, and hoped never to see again. All to show off the pink diamond ring he’d bought for her at Sotheby’s.
It seemed silly that it had taken Brinley more than a year to see through it all. She and Phinn had such contrasting tastes and opinions that she wondered how they’d lasted two years.
“I know he’s your ex, but you guys have broken up so many times it’s hard to tell if it’s on or off. Tell me he won’t be back.”
“I’m not letting him back, Zoe.” There was no way Brinley could have gone on with Phinn. They had parted ways numerous times in their rocky relationship, each time reconciling after he’d crawled back with an offering she couldn’t refuse. Things like he’d stop his hard partying after they married, they didn’t have to live in Zurich if she didn’t want to, or they could move to Sea Island to raise their future kids.
Each time she had bought the sales pitch, there remained a warning light as bright as the one that said Exit in his Boeing Business Jet. She knew that Phinneas Farragut IV had not been groomed for a laid-back lifestyle.
“You sure, Brin?”
“Oh yes. It’s unsustainable.”
“Unsustainable? Listen to you, Brin. Love is not a business transaction.” Zoe tsk-tsked again. “Someday you’ll meet the love of your life, and you’ll know what I mean. Maybe you’ll have something special like Quincy and I do.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps I’m meant to be single the rest of my life.”
“I’m sure you’re independent enough for that. But I know you, dear Brin. You’re meant to love and be loved. Wait and see.”
Brinley didn’t say anything. Up ahead the Brandenberg concerto started. The program was beginning to sound like something Zoe usually arranged. A mish-mash of random classical pieces. Much like the way her sister had practiced her clarinet back in the days when Brinley accompanied her on the piano.
Someday Brinley hoped to play more piano, but for now it was all work and no
play.
“So. What was the final straw?” Zoe asked.
“Inquisitive, aren’t we?” Brinley thought about whether it was too personal to share. She kept her voice down. “If you must know—don’t tell Mom and Dad—Phinn wanted us to have an open relationship.”
“An open marriage too?”
Brinley nodded.
Zoe laughed so loudly several dinner guests turned their heads in her direction. “That fool. You kept the ring, of course.”
“Why should I? If I did, he’d think we’re still engaged.” Besides, its history was morbid. An ancient Indian maharaja had killed countless tribal leaders to get the pink diamond for his bride, who then promptly died at childbirth.
“Twenty-five million dollars say you shouldn’t have. Tell me you didn’t throw it across the room at him.”
“Nope. FedEx goes to France.”
“I’m glad it’s over, Brin, for your sake. I don’t know what you saw in him in the first place.” Zoe leaned her pretty copper curls against Brinley’s straight brown hair. “You deserve better than him.”
“And you know what’s best for me?”
“Maybe not what’s best, but I do know what’s bad.”
“You’re right. You know how to spot a loser.”
“Thank you. Let’s not think about exes anymore.”
The orchestra stopped playing. All Brinley heard now were the clinks of glasses amidst a sea of voices. The plush carpet beneath her was comfortable to her tired feet. She tried not to trip on her long gown.
Zoe chattered on. “I want you to meet Quincy’s entire family. Grandma Yun is such a dear. She likes old things too. You’ll get along with her. And she makes the best gingerbread cookies—oh, look, Brin. There’s Ivan.”
