Free When Pigs and Parrots Fly by Gail Sattler

wondering what you were doing on Friday night. An old college buddy and his wife work for one of my suppliers, and they’re taking me out for dinner to pitch a new product line. We haven’t seen each other for a few years, and this is a chance for him to put it on his expense account, so it’s a mixture of business and pleasure. I was wondering if you’d do me the honor of being my date for the evening.”
    The silence on the other end of the phone was almost deafening. “I’m so sorry, Josh. Thank you for asking me, but I’m afraid I’ve already got plans for Friday night. Maybe another time, okay?”
    â€œSure. I’ll give you a call. Thanks.”
    He hung up and sighed. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he’d felt almost relieved that she’d turned him down, which was insane because he needed a date for Friday night.
    Sarah appeared beside him before he raised his hand off the phone. Although it felt like he’d been moving in slow motion.
    â€œI take it that didn’t go well.”
    â€œNo. She turned me down.” In the back of his mind, he pictured being a third wheel with Stan and Amber. There was no way he would be able to sit there and watch that, especially when he wanted the same thing. Rob and Cassie hadn’t been married long either, so he expected the same thing out of them. He’d only met Cassie a few times, but he’d been roommates with Rob, and they’d become good friends until their busy lives made their communication less and less frequent. “It’ll be really awkward being a third person, but they’re only going to be here for one night, so I have to go.”
    â€œI’m not doing anything Friday night. If you’re desperate, I can go with you.”
    â€œReally?” Suddenly, the light in the kitchen seemed brighter. “That’s great. I think . . .” His voice trailed off as the thought pierced his mind that he should first call Tucker to ask his friend’s permission to date his kid sister. He didn’t know why, but when Tucker had cornered him while he waited to talk to Sarah after church a few weeks back, he’d gotten the impression that Tucker didn’t want him getting too close to Sarah. But everyone in the garden club knew he and Sarah saw each other often.
    Inwardly, Josh shuddered. Tucker outweighed him by thirty pounds and ran faster. As an officer of the law, Tucker was trained to fight and win every time. Just in case they were on opposite teams when they played football next Monday, Josh decided to take the low road and not tell Tucker that he was taking his little sister on a date.
    As he looked at Sarah, he realized that she had long ago passed that helpless little sister stage. In fact, now that he thought about it, looking at her from the perspective of a man taking a woman on a date instead of being her brother’s best friend, she fit every prerequisite on his must-have list for the woman of his dreams. Then again, everything he’d added to the list, he’d added after spending time with Sarah. Maybe this was why no woman he’d ever gone out with, or even just thought about going out with, ever really reached his heart. None of them could ever be Sarah.
    The woman of his dreams had been in front of him all along—he’d just been wearing the wrong glasses when looking at her.
    Her cheeks turned the most adorable shade of pink. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have broccoli stuck in my teeth?” Sarah covered her mouth with her hand.
    He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. He straightened, stiffened to his full height, and stepped toward her. Gently, he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and nudged her hand down, exposing her lips. Lips he wanted to kiss.
    He’d never felt like this before. He felt strong and focused now that he suddenly knew what he wanted. It was like God had lifted a cloud