Free Devotion by Marianne Evans Page B

it, but I can’t imagine you having difficulties. You’re successful, you’re attractive, and you live in a world full of interesting people and ample opportunities.”
    “Yes, Kellen— very interesting people.” With an arched brow and a pointed look, she let those words, and their meaning, settle in between them.
    Prickles of pleasure, and fear, danced along his skin. Kellen reared back and lifted his hands. “Come on. Seriously.”
    “First of all I am serious, but you’re a perfect case in point. You’re handsome, charming, and interesting—but you’re married. Others I’ve met are, say, freshly broken up with a girlfriend, or I find out they’re pursuing me out of a misplaced sense of fame and the glamour of being with a singer. Then there are the ones who are simply too shallow to look beyond outward packaging to what lies beneath.” She shrugged. “Like I said. Crazy.”
    “Don’t lose faith, Chloe. I’ve always held to the belief that everyone has a second half, a person created just for them, by God. You’ll find your way to that person.”
    The words were meant to reassure and deflect her obvious interest in him. Kellen set his utensils aside and wiped his mouth on a linen napkin that he resettled across his lap.
    Chloe ate a bite of salad while she studied him intently. “Do you really believe that?”
    “Yes, I do.”
    She seemed subdued. “You really believe God works that closely in our lives? That personally?”
    “With all that I am.” He looked at her squarely now, reinforced by the belief system he had held onto his entire life. For both their sakes, he wanted to make that point clear.
    “I envy you that level of conviction. I suppose I believe in a supreme being—in a creator of the universe and all that, but to me, that entity feels remote. Inaccessible. I don’t see God, or whatever, as being that deeply involved.” She chuckled. “After all, I’m sure He’s far too busy to trouble Himself over my simple comings and goings. You might say my beliefs are more spiritual than God-centered.”
    Oh, Chloe, Kellen thought, you’re searching, but you’re misguided…and being with you is a wonderful opportunity to evangelize—something I’m normally able to do without even thinking about it. Instead, when I’m near you, I wander into a place that offers an intoxicating thrill but scares me to death because it stems from a spot in my spirit that’s not aligned to God, and what I know to be true.
    While his thoughts roiled, Chloe smoothed a subtle wrinkle in the tablecloth. Kellen rested a hand on top of hers to still the nervous gesture. “Then take a closer look at the life around you, Chloe. Find what God is showing you in the life you live and the gifts He’s given you. You’ll discover a whole different world. A better world. Believe me. The reason you feel remote is because you haven’t found Him yet, that’s all. He’s as close as your next heartbeat, but you have to want Him there first. He doesn’t enter where He’s not invited.”
    When the waiter approached to check on their satisfaction with the meal, Kellen noticed the way Chloe watched him, the curiosity and attentiveness, the attraction she tried to mask. Despite his convictions, he was in danger here, and he knew it, because in her eyes he detected a new and even more powerful level of emotion.
    Chloe looked at him as though he were the one who held the answers she sought, but Kellen knew better. Right now, he was nobody’s role model, and he recognized unequivocally that only God had the answers Chloe needed to find.
    “You make a very compelling statement for your faith.”
    Kellen directed his gaze to the water goblet he retrieved. He took a long gulp to compose himself and to quench the intimacy of her focus.
    With a fork, she picked at the remains of her meal. He saw the motions for what they were—distraction. He pulled the napkin from his lap, setting it on the table. He leaned toward her,