He nodded.
"How did your trip go?"
"I actually think they're coming to church on Sunday." He said it while still shaking his head a little, like he was still a little amazed. "It never fails to shock me how God works in people's hearts. But... they apologized to me. I don't get that very much as a pastor. I think people think they can just kind of take advantage of me and it doesn't really matter. And I was acting like there was nothing wrong."
"I think if they're truly Christians, they feel guilty for what they've done. I know I did. Although it took me a little while."
"Sometimes we just don't think about things, because we don't like the way we feel when we do."
"Yeah. I was definitely avoiding it."
"So we each had a pretty good evening."
"Yeah. I spent a little time praying and reading my Bible, and I feel good about this." She indicated their embrace and the two of them.
"I'm thrilled to hear it. I kind of figured I got to that point a little bit before you did." He paused, and then he sounded a lot less confident when he said, "Is it okay if I kiss you?"
"I was hoping you would." It wasn't exactly the reason why she'd waited up, but it might've been part of it.
He smiled before his head lowered, and his lips met hers. She melted into him, feeling warm and safe and a spark of something that could only be the attraction that she felt for Mark fanning into a flame. Kissing Mark was definitely better than thinking about it.
It didn't last long. He lifted his head shortly after and rested his forehead on hers.
"Will you marry me?" he said, their noses almost touching. Almost immediately he apologized. "That was terrible. I'm sorry. You deserve a better proposal than that."
"No. I don't want a better proposal, I want that proposal. It was perfect. And yes. I would love to marry you. The sooner the better."She grinned up into his eyes, realizing that all the nervousness and fear that she had, the uncertainty, the idea that this was a huge decision and she should take a lot of time to think about it—all melted away. She didn't need a lot of time. In fact, she'd read somewhere that taking a lot of time to make a decision actually made a person make a worse decision. All she needed to know was that Mark was going to do everything in his power to be the best husband he could, and that she was going to do everything in her power to be the best wife she could. And that God wanted them together. Beyond that, it would all work out. It had to. It might not be easy, it might be downright hard at times, but she wasn't afraid of a little work, and she wasn't afraid of a little uncomfortableness either. Not if she was doing what God wanted her to.
"How about that hot chocolate?" she asked.
"All right. I guess I was just standing here, holding you, feeling happy down to my toes and back. I'll do my best to be the best husband I possibly can to you. I guess being the best husband probably means trying to be as much like Jesus as possible."
"I think so. I think that's where we get confused sometimes. We try to be the best version of ourselves, and it's not about that. It's about becoming more like Jesus. That's how we become better people."
"I couldn't agree more. And I'm blessed to have such a wise and thoughtful fiancée."
The Christmas tree sparkled in the corner, and the scent of hot chocolate drifted into the air, but neither one of them noticed as his head lowered and his lips touched hers again.
Chapter 27
Mark felt like he was walking on air for the next couple of days, as he spent as much time as humanly possible with Olivia, while still doing everything he could to help the church and do his Secret Saint activities. There were practices for the music ensemble, amateur carpenters coming and going as they built the platform, questions to answer as the marketing committee worked on a plan to continue to sell more tickets. Although word-of-mouth had gotten out, and the sale of tickets had already exceeded their hopes, and more than paid for everything, including the candles.
Olivia didn't seem to be too anxious about the fact that she wasn't getting the candles made that needed to be made.
The furnace repairman had not been able to come the first day, but he said he would come the day after.
Mark admitted to Olivia that he was not disappointed. And that he loved having them in his house and home and really didn't want them to leave.
He knew they needed to. He certainly couldn't seem like he was living with his fiancée, no matter how separate theirbedrooms were.
Plus, he had to admit it was a temptation to have her there anyway.
"What about a Christmas wedding?" he asked that evening after the children were in bed.
He'd had such a great time playing with them in the living room, and Olivia had joined in, then sat on a chair and read a book while he continued. Apparently, men enjoyed playing for a much longer time than women did.
Or maybe she just enjoyed seeing him with her children. That was what she claimed anyway.
"Like, next-week Christmas wedding?" Olivia asked, her brows raised in surprise.
