Free A Wedding In the Family by Kathryn Alexander

dinner guest yet, anyway. But don’t expect a pie unless it’s a special occasion.”
    Their meals were delivered to the table promptly and they were actually able to eat and leave within less than an hour. But it would take far more than a lunch hour to continue their conversation. Angela felt as though she could talk to this man forever and still have thoughts she wanted to share, things she wanted to know about him.
    “Thank you for lunch,” she said as they pulled into the staff parking lot in back of her school. “I enjoyed it very much.” She looked over at him, and he smiled as he covered her hand on the seat between them with his own;
    “Could we do this again later in the week?” Adam asked.
    “Tomorrow would be good,” she replied. He obviously was interested, perhaps as much as she was, and she wondered how long that would last. She’d seen loves that she thought would exist forever—most of them in her own family—but she’d never considered what it might be like to be a part of a relationship like that, to live with that confidence in her heart. “I should go,” she said. “Tomorrow?”
    “Same time, same place,” he answered. Then he squeezed her hand. “I’m assuming that there’s to be no kissing the principal in this school parking lot?”
    “You’ve assumed correctly,” she responded. “I could lose a lot of leverage with these kids if they began to view me as kissable.” She smiled and reached for the door.
    “I’ll get it,” he said and got out to walk around to her side and open the door. “See you tomorrow.”
    She nodded as he squeezed her hand and then let it slip from him. He returned to his truck and headed back toward the center for the remainder of his workday. He’d be there until closing tonight, missing Angela the entire time. He missed her already, even though the seat across from him was still warm from where she’d been seated moments earlier. What was happening with them? He hadn’t asked for this. There’d been no prayer from him that the Lord might lead him into a relationship like this. He’d been fine alone. Content. Busy.
    Lord, what’s happening to me? he silently prayed. Why have You sent Angela Sanders into my life, out of the blue?
    Blue. He’d never seen eyes a prettier shade than hers. He could spend a lifetime with this woman if only she could accept a part of his life that he’d learned to accept. He’d meant to warn her in the beginning, but the falling-in-love part had caught him off guard. That, and the fact that there never seemed to be a right time to tell the woman you love that you’re fighting a battle that can only be won a day at a time.
    Their lunch dates that week were brief but fun. Angela couldn’t remember eating better food, laughing more, or enjoying better discussions with anyone more than she did with Adam. They had their differences, but they also thought alike on many subjects, including most spiritual matters. “Spiritual matters.” Angela could hardly believe this was really happening. Over the years, she’d learned not to share her religious views with Dan rather than endure the flippant remarks that were sure to follow. He didn’t care that she and the kids had been as deeply involved in church as his own parents were during his growing up years. That had been Angela’s business, not his. But he certainly didn’t want to hear anything about a God he didn’t believe in. For Angela to now find herself seated with a man who loved the Lord—a man who might love her and her children some day—was almost too wonderful to believe. Why God would be so good to her after all the times she’d failed Him still mystified her.
    The weekend was nearly upon them, and Adam was planning to take Angela and the kids fishing Saturdaymorning at Spring Hollow Lake, a favorite place of his about an hour from their home, and Angela was looking forward to the day. Adam would need to be back at the center Saturday evening, but