This was not true, but he didn’t argue. He tucked her hair behind her ear again, and his eyes fell to her lips. He knew then that even if he tried to stop himself from kissing her, he would fail, so he didn’t try.
He took her chin into his hand and brought his face down to hers. Her lips were cool, but they warmed up quickly. They were soft as feathers and tasted like chocolate truffles. His hand slid around her head, and he buried his fingers in her hair—and it was as if they’d never stopped, never broken up, never gotten divorced. That gap in time disappeared, and he was back with her again, loving and being loved by Sammy, by his wife, again.
Like it was meant to be.
Heat rushed through him, and he was almost overtaken by desire. He pulled away to get control of himself and then leaned his forehead against hers as he caught his breath. “You’re still the one, Sammy.”
“You too,” she said, and he was pleased with her breathlessness.
Whatever this was, they were in it together. He hoped, this time, for good. “We should get you back to your car before you turn into a Popsicle.” They had already been out here too long. And no matter how beautiful the moonlit view, it was still October in Maine.
“Right. And George is probably worried about you.”
He laughed as he stood and pulled her to her feet. “Thank you for giving me a second chance.”
“Right back atcha.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. “Right back atcha,” she murmured into his shirt. She let go of him, and he took her hand as they started walking back to the car.
“Sorry I waited till fall to do all this. I should have started in July so it wouldn’t be so cold.”
She leaned into him. “Your timing is perfect. I wasn’t ready in July.”
“Must be God’s timing then. Isn’t it weird that we both found God while we were apart from each other? Quite a coincidence. Well, I guess you didn’t really find him. You already had him. But you found your way back to him.”
“My mother has prayed for me every day of my life. And she’s been praying alotover the last few years. I don’t think this is a coincidence at all. I think we belong to a very, very good God.”
“I think you’re right.”
“You should come to church with me sometime,” she said. She sounded nervous, like she was asking him to meet her parents for the first time.
“Cool. How about tomorrow?”
She let out a bubbly laugh entirely unlike the Sammy he used to know. “Great. I didn’t want to take you away from your church, but I want you to meet Cindy in person. You only talked to her on the phone, right?”
“That’s right. And I would love to come to church with you. But I’d also love it if you’d come visit New Beginnings sometime.”
“New Beginnings? What a cool name for a church. Must be a new one? I don’t remember that being a thing.”
“Well, new and old. There was a church on Providence Ave. It might have been active when we were little. I don’t know. But it’s been abandoned for years. And then some older ladies got together and started a new church there.”
She giggled. “You go to an old lady church?”
He laughed. “I go to an everybody church. You’ve never seen such a crazy combination of people in your life.”
“Oh boy. I do want to come visit then. Sounds very entertaining. But it will have to be in the future. I’ve committed to playing the flute for the next several Sundays.”
“You’re playing the flute again?” Oops, he shouldn’t have sounded so shocked.
“I am.” She didn’t sound offended. “And it’s really awesome. I don’t remember loving it that much back in school, but now it’s very good for me.”
“You loved it back then too.”
“I did?”
“You did.” He remembered it clearly. “I was kind of annoyed to be dating a band kid.” He laughed, embarrassed of his former self. “But you said you’d never quit band because that was the only place that you were allowed to be you.”
“Oh wow, that does sound a bit familiar. Weird. I don’t really remember that.”
“That’s what you’ve got me for. But if the flute allows you to be yourself, then I’m really, really glad you’ve found it again. Because Sammy, I really, really like who you really are.”