say a bunch of prayers that you’ll get a reservation for day after tomorrow…and have a safe flight…and find the perfect car at the rental counter.” As much as she loved North Pole, it didn’t feel quite like home yet, and the prospect of having her brother around for nearly two weeks took control. “I can’t wait to see you, Billy!” she blurted.
“I love you, too.”
The timer beeped, as if to punctuate their good-byes, and Sam half-ran, half-skipped to take her pizza out of the oven.
After finishing her pizza, Sam rifled through her closet in search of something to wear to dinner at Olive’s. Half an hour later, she decided on a denim skirt and pale pink blouse, partnered with dangly earrings. Though she’d never been into rings or bracelets, Sam more than made up for it with an extensive collection of necklaces. The silver one resembled the earrings enough to look like a set. She wondered what Bryce would wear tonight. Maybe that white, Western-styled shirt he’d had on when he joined her and Dan at breakfast…the one that showed off his big, broad shoulders and accented his trim, flat stomach…
What would he look like, she mused, if he’d let his dark hair grow out just a little? Would it be straight and shiny, like Bill’s? Or thick and curly, like her own?
The question made her picture Tom Selleck, who in his fifties was even more handsome than he’d been at Bryce’s age. Sam figured Bryce was the kind of man who’d age gracefully, just like Tom, and a tiny portion of her heart hoped she’d be around to see for herself.
“Oh, good grief,” she said, aiming for the shower. “Where on earth did that notion come from?” Sam decided to distract herself with the delectable aroma of peaches and cream shampoo, because if she allowed nonsense like that to pop into her head, only the Lord knew what silly thing she might say later at Olive’s!
The idea made her giggle as she adjusted the water temperature and lifted the lever that diverted water to the shower head, because how funny would it be if she blurted, “I’d sure love to be around for your fiftieth birthday.” Why, a crack like that might build enough tension inside Bryce’s head to cause the strap of his eye patch to snap!
Sam felt more than a little silly harboring such thoughts about him and tried to figure out why romantic notions about him kept tickling at her heart. Maybe his ex-soldier status was to blame. Bryce had performed a truly heroic deed that day on the battlefield and had paid a hefty price. What red-blooded American woman wouldn’t have a gratitude-induced crush on a guy like him? And it didn’t hurt that, instead of looking scary and intimidating like the pirates in old movies, Bryce looked downright sexy in his eye patch.
Sam stepped into the tub and under the shower spray, hoping to wash away the big fat crush she’d developed—like it or not—on her tall, dark, and handsome boss. She’d jumped into a relationship with Joey without paying a bit of attention to her brothers’ “Look before you leap” warning. After months of crying herself to sleep, Sam had come to terms with the fact that while her ex-fiancé had been the source of enormous heartache and disappointment, she had no one but herself to blame, because she hadn’t prayed to ask what God had in mind for her.
If she ever got involved again, it would be after seeking the Lord’s guidance. And something told her that He didn’t have her too-quiet, too-serious, too-bossy boss in mind for the job!
Chapter Eleven
Bryce was halfway down the stairs when he saw Sam on the landing. It only took a quick glance to tell him she’d never get her door locked—not while trying to balance that huge foil-covered plate on the palm of one hand. “Hey,” he said, climbing the stairs two at a time, “let me help you with that.” He stopped on the third step from the top and relieved her of the tray.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling. He got a whiff
“I love you, too.”
The timer beeped, as if to punctuate their good-byes, and Sam half-ran, half-skipped to take her pizza out of the oven.
After finishing her pizza, Sam rifled through her closet in search of something to wear to dinner at Olive’s. Half an hour later, she decided on a denim skirt and pale pink blouse, partnered with dangly earrings. Though she’d never been into rings or bracelets, Sam more than made up for it with an extensive collection of necklaces. The silver one resembled the earrings enough to look like a set. She wondered what Bryce would wear tonight. Maybe that white, Western-styled shirt he’d had on when he joined her and Dan at breakfast…the one that showed off his big, broad shoulders and accented his trim, flat stomach…
What would he look like, she mused, if he’d let his dark hair grow out just a little? Would it be straight and shiny, like Bill’s? Or thick and curly, like her own?
The question made her picture Tom Selleck, who in his fifties was even more handsome than he’d been at Bryce’s age. Sam figured Bryce was the kind of man who’d age gracefully, just like Tom, and a tiny portion of her heart hoped she’d be around to see for herself.
“Oh, good grief,” she said, aiming for the shower. “Where on earth did that notion come from?” Sam decided to distract herself with the delectable aroma of peaches and cream shampoo, because if she allowed nonsense like that to pop into her head, only the Lord knew what silly thing she might say later at Olive’s!
The idea made her giggle as she adjusted the water temperature and lifted the lever that diverted water to the shower head, because how funny would it be if she blurted, “I’d sure love to be around for your fiftieth birthday.” Why, a crack like that might build enough tension inside Bryce’s head to cause the strap of his eye patch to snap!
Sam felt more than a little silly harboring such thoughts about him and tried to figure out why romantic notions about him kept tickling at her heart. Maybe his ex-soldier status was to blame. Bryce had performed a truly heroic deed that day on the battlefield and had paid a hefty price. What red-blooded American woman wouldn’t have a gratitude-induced crush on a guy like him? And it didn’t hurt that, instead of looking scary and intimidating like the pirates in old movies, Bryce looked downright sexy in his eye patch.
Sam stepped into the tub and under the shower spray, hoping to wash away the big fat crush she’d developed—like it or not—on her tall, dark, and handsome boss. She’d jumped into a relationship with Joey without paying a bit of attention to her brothers’ “Look before you leap” warning. After months of crying herself to sleep, Sam had come to terms with the fact that while her ex-fiancé had been the source of enormous heartache and disappointment, she had no one but herself to blame, because she hadn’t prayed to ask what God had in mind for her.
If she ever got involved again, it would be after seeking the Lord’s guidance. And something told her that He didn’t have her too-quiet, too-serious, too-bossy boss in mind for the job!
Chapter Eleven
Bryce was halfway down the stairs when he saw Sam on the landing. It only took a quick glance to tell him she’d never get her door locked—not while trying to balance that huge foil-covered plate on the palm of one hand. “Hey,” he said, climbing the stairs two at a time, “let me help you with that.” He stopped on the third step from the top and relieved her of the tray.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling. He got a whiff
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