Page 63 of Evan

“Sure?”

He nodded, eyes roving over her exquisite face. She was wearing a chic emerald, green sweater over black dress pants. Her hair was coiled at the side of her neck and secured by pins.

Big gold hoops dangled from her lobes, and it was all he could do not to snatch her into his arms. He was probably going to try and convince her to push up the wedding date.

“You are so beautiful.”

“And you look dashing.” She touched the lapel of his dark blue jacket lightly. “I have to go.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Turning towards the avidly curious children, she admonished them to behave and make ‘Mr. Evans’ comfortable.

Their affirmative shouts echoed around the room.

*****

The time passed with excruciating slowness for him, but for Cassandra it was as if she was caught up in a whirlwind. As soon as their wedding was announced, insanity started. She was bombarded by the press who wanted to know the full story behind the proposal. As one reporter quoted:

‘Evan Davenport had been eluding the marriage loop for a very long time. And in just weeks of meeting Ms. Cassandra Daley, he proposed. Could this be love or could it be something else?’

A statement had been issued by Kim, head of his PR department, which slowed the momentum somewhat, but the sharks were still circling. They were fascinated that the well-known bachelor had suddenly fallen for someone in the church.

A committed member of the congregation, a woman who appears to be inconsequential and each time they were out on a date, their photos would be snapped.

Evan was furious and wanted to put a stop to it, but his beautiful fiancée was not in the least bit perturbed. In fact, she was handling the entire thing with aplomb and dignity. She had even granted one very persistent reporter, who made her way to the church office, an interview. When Evan heard about it afterwards, he had been upset.

“You should have cleared it with me first.” He was frustrated and chafing at the restrictions he had placed on himself. He couldn’t touch her for fear that he would go too far, and December seemed like years away.

Not to mention the two weeks counseling sessions he had to put up with. He already knew what he wanted. He wanted her, that much was pretty obvious. He certainly didn’t need anyone telling him how to treat a woman.

“I knew I could handle it and decided that the best thing to curb their curiosity was to give an interview.” She had responded calmly, making him feel like lower than pond scum. No matterwhat was shoved at her, she handled it with calm and grace and always managed to diffuse his anger.

And she had been right. The interview had taken place inside her office, the backdrop perfect. It depicted the quaint bookcase, the worn sofa in front of her desk. That was where the interview took place.

Cassandra had even served the woman and her photographer tea. That morning, she had worn a winter green dress and ankle length black boots. Her wild curls had been tamed into a smooth chignon at the nape of her neck.

“I am sure you know that the public is fascinated and curious about this engagement. You have to admit, Ms. Daley, that there is more than a hint of mystery and intrigue to all of it.

Evan Davenport is a man of the world whose company had been going through noticeable backlash from past doings. We have all seen the photos with both of you together and yes, it appears that you are in this for love. But is that true? Or is it just for show?”

“May I call you Amanda?” Cassandra had asked serenely.

“Of course.”

“And please call me Cassie. It would be ridiculous for us to stand on ceremony when you are asking me all these personal questions.” She smiled to take the sting out of the comment and took a sip of her tea.

“I believe in God. More than that, I have a personal relationship with him, and I know he works in mysterious ways. Here I was, going on about my business when he sent Evan my way.” She had leaned back against the cushions and crossed her legs decorously at the ankles.

The cameraman had taken advantage and caught her entire exquisite profile. “Because I strongly believe that the Lord is in control of everything. I am in love with Evan and have no problem with saying it out loud. He is in love with me…” She laughed and waved a hand at that. “Something that is mystifying to me.”

“Why is that? Because he is so rich, and you are a woman who works in a church office?” Amanda asked cattily.

Instead of taking umbrage, Cassandra leveled her with a look that had her squirming. “We are all created equally in God’s sight. I try not to think about my fiancé’s status in life.

Evan is a person, with emotions and hang ups as much as the next. Money doesn’t define someone. It is what that person does when the doors are closed, tells the difference.

We all have our flaws, Amanda, we are all human and in search of happiness or peace or whatever it is that will get us through the day. My fiancé is strong and resilient and beautiful. I know of his past and he is cognizant of mine. Despite all of it, the imperfections, we manage to see past them and into the heart of each other.

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