Slowing, her jaw dropped. Flower arrangements and gift baskets and cookie bouquets lined the walls of the foyer. They covered his desk. They jutted upward from his dining room table. More of them buried his living room coffee table.
“These started arriving for you yesterday,” he said.
Struck with wonder, her hands rose to cover her mouth.
“One of my employees at The Kitchen spent his work hours at the gate yesterday, receiving all of them. I didn’t want the trucks and delivery men disturbing you.”
“I had no idea. I was gone most of the day yesterday.”
“By the time you got back, I’d brought them all here. I hauled more of them up this morning.”
“I had no idea,” she repeated, dropping her hands.
“You have over three thousand comments on your website, Gen. Thousands more on your social media sites. The people who sent these did so because they support you.”
“And the people who don’t support me?”
“Have been venting their disappointment,” he admitted. His expression challenged her to look on the bright side. “But some people are always going to be disappointed and unhappy. The majority care about you. A lot.”
“They do?”
“Yes.” He spoke with so much certainty that she didn’t dare question him. “You’re more real to them now because they know that, like them, you sometimes fall short. And you’re brave enough to admit it when you do.”
“I regret that I fell short with you, Sam.”
Gently, he took hold of her upper arms and turned her to face him. His masculine features sharpened with concentration. “You told me once that you believed that I was like the caravan that rescued Joseph from the pit. You thought that God brought you here because of what you were going through. Remember?”
“Yes.” Her heart thundered.
“It’s the opposite, Gen. I think God brought you here because of me.”
She blinked.
“You’d have figured out your problems,” he said, “with or without my help—”
“No. I wouldn’t—”
“—but I was never going to. Without you.”
She was speechless.
“I love you,” he said. “I will always love you. And I will never walk out on you again. It’s me who’s sorry that I fell short.”
“You didn’t fall short.”
“I love you.” Fervent color stained his cheeks. “No matter what. No giving up. No turning back.”
She set her palm on his cheek, overcome by the beauty of him. HE LOVED HER! “I love you, too.”
His face settled into a grave expression that asked,Are you sure?
“I’m discovering that transparency’s getting easier with practice.” She wove her hands together behind his neck. “I love you. See?”
He looked shocked.
Genevieve laughed. “I love you.”
How could God have been this good to her? She shouldn’t have received the flowers, the cookie bouquets, the gift baskets. She certainly shouldn’t have received Sam’s love.
