She yawned and suddenly realised she had an early start tomorrow too. She needed to sleep.
But then couldn’t, as the events of the past six hours rolled through her mind.
Chapter 10
Concern chased Jordan through the rest of the week, his prayers tamping down on each worry before anxiety could float for too long and take hold. He didn’t like how Gwen and Eric had obviously shoved a huge foothold in EJ’s focus, and he prayed she’d come to her senses and see their manoeuvres as problematic. They sure didn’t allow much time for her to think. Gwen seemed to push until EJ wasn’t sure what was going on. Classic manipulation. But he knew that if he said anything, EJ would get upset. For some reason, she seemed quite protective of this relationship, which created its own challenges.
So he continued working at Donwell, continued praying for EJ, and tried to connect with her each day via a call or email or text message. Living where she lived didn’t make it super easy to see each other in person, but they still had their Saturday morning run.
Thursday night he sent her a message, checking where she wanted to run this week. Sydney’s harbour foreshore was nearly twenty kilometres in length, and much of that was in walking paths. They’d run most of them, but a section past Balmain, near the Parramatta River, remained undone.
A minute later, his phone buzzed with a call. His heart warmed. “Hey, EJ.”
She coughed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it on Saturday,” she rasped.
“You don’t sound great.”
“I went to the gym on Tuesday and did a spin class, and I don’t think someone wiped down the equipment properly. I can’t think of anything else I’ve done differently this week.”
Amid his disappointment and concern, his heart pinged with satisfaction. That meant she hadn’t been out schmoozing with the likes of Eric and Gwen. Good.
“Do you need looking after, or are you going to be okay?”
Her laughter sounded forced. “I’m not a little old lady, Jordan. I’ll be fine. But thank you for asking.”
She checked in with him, and he told her the latest with Lionel and Dallas and Dean. She paid attention, asking questions, which was nice, as there had been times when she’d seemed like she’d moved on so thoroughly she wasn’t interested anymore. And while she had certainly moved on, he didn’t want her moving on too quickly from being interested in him.
“So, any more news on Dream Match?” he asked.
She sighed. “I spoke with Maurice, and he wasn’t very happy to hear about Neil. But at least I don’t have to worry about Neil and his motives anymore.”
Was this his chance to talk about what motives Gwen and Eric might have?Lord?
“It’s so hard to keep pushing and stay positive,” she said. “I just want this sorted.”
“It’s important to stay patient. We’re trusting God, aren’t we?”
She gave another sigh. “Trying, anyway.”
“Hey, you don’t want the app having its fundamental features getting altered because the wrong people are involved. Remember that.”
“You mean Eric and Gwen, don’t you? You don’t like them much.”
He winced. While that was probably technically true, he knew it was unwise to admit it. “I guess I’m just a little concerned at their questions about the Christian nature of the app. It sounds like they aren’t wanting that at all.”
“Do you think the Christian element is too much?” she asked.
He gritted his teeth, frustrated at the way Eric and Gwen had made EJ second-guess herself, and did his best to sound soothing. “Of course it’s not too much. Remember? It’s the Christian element that makes it stand out from the other apps out there. That’s our point of difference, our unique factor.”
She heaved out a breath. “Maybe there would be more interest if I didn’t keep holding out on this one thing.”
“Reducing or removing the Christian content means it becomes basically the same as everything else out there. It’s important to keep it in, EJ.”
The silence on the end of the phone suggested she didn’t fully agree.
Lord, help her see that this is important.
And it felt important. Because compromising with the app suggested that EJ was willing to compromise in other areas, like with her faith.
