Clean Inspirational Romance: Escape to Paradise (Inspirational Happy Sweet First Love Second Chance Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Love Inspired Holiday Short Stories) by Johanna Jenkins Page A
Authors: Johanna Jenkins
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mean,” he said, feigning hurt.
“Yeah,” Bridget responded, quite unsure of how to proceed with the conversation. It was extraordinarily awkward, as uncomfortable as it was thrilling, and she couldn’t imagine having to potentially have this conversation with him, face to face. The conversation fizzled out – neither really knew what to say.
“I saw you had a miniature Bible on your desk, on my way out,” Theo’s voice brought her back to the present.
“Oh, um, yeah,” Bridget was relieved he’d picked up on her discomfort.
“Are you a Christian?” And just like that, in about thirty seconds flat, they’d breached a topic of extraordinarily sensitive controversy. Bridget held her breath, unsure of how to respond.
“I am…” she affirmed slowly, wary of Theo’s next words.
“Cool. I am, too.” Words could not describe how relieved Bridget was to hear those four words. Often times, when she was dating, or interested in a guy, she would “accidentally” leave that bit of information out – all too aware of how easily the world judged. It was a bad practice – she knew she oughtn’t be afraid of her faith – but all the same, the risk of being excommunicated or viewed differently in society was too much for her to bear.
“Yeah, that’s nice to hear,” Bridget said, much more relaxed now. “What church do you go to?”
And so the conversation continued on, late into the night, accompanied by the soft ticking of the clock and the warm, neon glow of the lights outside. Bridget was surprised by exactly how much they could talk about together. True, the first few minutes of the conversation were extraordinarily awkward and extremely tentative, but after getting over those hurdles, the conversation continued much smoother than Bridget had been anticipating.
They talked and talked, talked for several hours, on random topics, too. They talked about puppies and work (despite Marnie’s warning), about favorite artists and favorite foods, and by the end of the long call, Bridget felt herself becoming more and more drawn towards Theo, towards him and his clever way with words and his equally witty personality.
It was too much to hope for, really, Bridget thought, with a blissed out smile on her face, that they would continue down this road smoothly and end up at the altar. But it wasn’t too much for her to dream, for her to dream of a friendship with her newfound friend, and it wasn’t too much for her to look forward to meeting him for coffee the very next day.
*****
He was waiting for her at the café, patient in a navy blue peacoat and casual button-up. She had dressed semi-formally for the occasion, at the insistence of Marnie, who had even come over to raid her closet for “something decent to wear – Goodness Bridget, you need to go shopping.”
“Hey,” she greeted him with a smile, as she sat down at the booth, opposite of him.
“Hey yourself,” he grinned. He gestured to the menu. “See anything you like?” Bridget picked up the menu, feeling rather self-conscious. She could feel his eyes on her – not all the time – but just long enough to feel either extraordinarily happy that he found her interesting to look at, or extremely self-aware and wondering exactly she had worn wrong.
“I’ll just take a coffee and a biscuit,” she said, setting down the menu. She wasn’t really hungry – she’d come out to actually meet Theo, after all. She’d expected for their meeting to be less… awkward? Bridget didn’t know how to put it. After all, their conversation last night had gone smoothly, and so she presumed too much and expected that level of comfort to carry over to the meeting today. She had been so wrong. There had been a level of awkwardness she’d felt nagging at her since she left her apartment, and there certainly was no shortage of it here, either.
“Sounds good,” Theo nodded. He waved the waiter over, and Bridget was grateful for the moment of reprieve she
“Yeah,” Bridget responded, quite unsure of how to proceed with the conversation. It was extraordinarily awkward, as uncomfortable as it was thrilling, and she couldn’t imagine having to potentially have this conversation with him, face to face. The conversation fizzled out – neither really knew what to say.
“I saw you had a miniature Bible on your desk, on my way out,” Theo’s voice brought her back to the present.
“Oh, um, yeah,” Bridget was relieved he’d picked up on her discomfort.
“Are you a Christian?” And just like that, in about thirty seconds flat, they’d breached a topic of extraordinarily sensitive controversy. Bridget held her breath, unsure of how to respond.
“I am…” she affirmed slowly, wary of Theo’s next words.
“Cool. I am, too.” Words could not describe how relieved Bridget was to hear those four words. Often times, when she was dating, or interested in a guy, she would “accidentally” leave that bit of information out – all too aware of how easily the world judged. It was a bad practice – she knew she oughtn’t be afraid of her faith – but all the same, the risk of being excommunicated or viewed differently in society was too much for her to bear.
“Yeah, that’s nice to hear,” Bridget said, much more relaxed now. “What church do you go to?”
And so the conversation continued on, late into the night, accompanied by the soft ticking of the clock and the warm, neon glow of the lights outside. Bridget was surprised by exactly how much they could talk about together. True, the first few minutes of the conversation were extraordinarily awkward and extremely tentative, but after getting over those hurdles, the conversation continued much smoother than Bridget had been anticipating.
They talked and talked, talked for several hours, on random topics, too. They talked about puppies and work (despite Marnie’s warning), about favorite artists and favorite foods, and by the end of the long call, Bridget felt herself becoming more and more drawn towards Theo, towards him and his clever way with words and his equally witty personality.
It was too much to hope for, really, Bridget thought, with a blissed out smile on her face, that they would continue down this road smoothly and end up at the altar. But it wasn’t too much for her to dream, for her to dream of a friendship with her newfound friend, and it wasn’t too much for her to look forward to meeting him for coffee the very next day.
*****
He was waiting for her at the café, patient in a navy blue peacoat and casual button-up. She had dressed semi-formally for the occasion, at the insistence of Marnie, who had even come over to raid her closet for “something decent to wear – Goodness Bridget, you need to go shopping.”
“Hey,” she greeted him with a smile, as she sat down at the booth, opposite of him.
“Hey yourself,” he grinned. He gestured to the menu. “See anything you like?” Bridget picked up the menu, feeling rather self-conscious. She could feel his eyes on her – not all the time – but just long enough to feel either extraordinarily happy that he found her interesting to look at, or extremely self-aware and wondering exactly she had worn wrong.
“I’ll just take a coffee and a biscuit,” she said, setting down the menu. She wasn’t really hungry – she’d come out to actually meet Theo, after all. She’d expected for their meeting to be less… awkward? Bridget didn’t know how to put it. After all, their conversation last night had gone smoothly, and so she presumed too much and expected that level of comfort to carry over to the meeting today. She had been so wrong. There had been a level of awkwardness she’d felt nagging at her since she left her apartment, and there certainly was no shortage of it here, either.
“Sounds good,” Theo nodded. He waved the waiter over, and Bridget was grateful for the moment of reprieve she
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