Page 48 of Muskoka Blue

He slowly walked back, reluctant to return to Rob’s conversation. He was a funny guy, and it was good to spend time with guys who needed Jesus, but not as good as he’d hoped, even though he’d been looking forward to this catch up for weeks.

He stopped in the shade of a huge spruce. Since Sarah had arrived four weeks ago, they’d spent hours almost every day in each other’s company. He’d missed her this past week. He’d missed talking with her, listening to her soft voice with that cute accent. He’d missed her smile, which had only come into full bloom recently. He’d missed the wrangling of spiritual questions that propelled him to study his Bible like nothing before. He’d missed her teasing and the sly, dry wit that came out at unexpected times. He’d even missed all those endearing clumsy, messy moments that made him laugh. His chest tightened. He really missed Sarah. He couldn’t wait for tonight.

* * *

After a long butenjoyable day of buying groceries and cooking up a storm, Sarah was putting the final touches on the table when a firm double knock came at the front door.

“I’ll get it!” She moved quickly down the hall, hastily checking her appearance in the mirror. She smoothed down her hair a final time, then opened the door. “Hi.” She smiled at the three men who stood before her. “Come on in.”

Her eyes skated over Dan’s guests to rest on the man himself. He looked so good tonight. The cheek stubble was gone, and he’d replaced the usual faded T-shirt with a nice shirt that complemented his chocolate-brown eyes. And with that smile, well, yeah, okay, she could see why he garnered so much attention from those girls in church. Her heart fluttered. He looked mighty fine—

Stop it!She mentally slapped herself. She wasn’t supposed to be checking out guys, least of all this man who was her friend, who had only ever been kind to her. She turned to lead the way inside, staying quiet while Dan introduced his two friends to John and Ange.

* * *

As Johnand Angela returned to the kitchen, Dan tried to settle into the small talk, but his mouth was on autopilot. Everything else was hyper-aware of Sarah, like his very pores were standing to attention. She looked so pretty. He’d only seen her in a dress one time, in church, but the bright blue color of this dress seemed to make her hair even shinier than normal and her skin sort of glow. And her eyes seemed extra sparkly. She looked extra good. Maybe he should tell her that.

“Sarah, you look gorgeous.” Rob beat him to it.

Her cheeks turned pink at the compliment. Dan’s heart sank.

* * *

Annoyance heated Sarah’s cheeks.She’d tried hard to look nice, but Dan didn’t seem to have noticed. She summoned up a smile as she led the way to the deck. Oh well, his loss. Her mind and emotions were awhirl with confusion these days as far as he was concerned. She’d missed him and thought maybe he’d missed her too, but now she wasn’t so sure.

After the last boring week, it had been good to have something different to look forward to today. Once the shopping had been completed, she and Ange had ventured past a shop selling recycled clothes, and Sarah hadn’t been able to resist this dress. She’d also treated herself to a haircut and eyelash tint—it was amazing how just investing a little time in her appearance made her feel so much better. Some women were unrecognizable without their mask of cosmetics on, but she’d never been one for heaps of makeup. But venturing beyond the usual lip-gloss and mascara seemed to have done the job.

She glanced down at the swirly skirt. At least someone seemed to appreciate her efforts. This Rob guy must be sort of nice if he was Dan’s friend, but he did seem a bit arrogant, like he expected all women to fall at his feet. Dan still hadn’t said anything much to her beyond hello, although she could feel his dark eyes watching her again. She lifted her chin. Maybe if she were nice to Rob, Dan would realize what he was missing.

* * *

The conversationover the delicious Greek-themed dinner was pleasant enough, although Dan was surprised to see Sarah respond to Rob’s charm. He’d been so obvious, ignoring the rest of them as he asked question after question about places she’d travelled. Sarah was happily answering, laughing, and smiling away. Princess Charming.

Dan shoved the black olives to the side of his plate, but they weren’t causing the queasiness.

Jason polished off the last of the moussaka, then scraped out the final piece of feta cheese from the bowl of Greek salad. He turned to his hosts. “That moussaka is delicious. A little different to what I’m used to.”

“There’s light sour cream in it instead of the usual cheesy sauce, seeing we all know Mr. Fit and Healthy has to watch his figure.” Sarah finally glanced Dan’s way, her smile fading. “Although, he hasn’t eaten all his vegetables. No dessert for you, then.”

He looked down at his plate. “I’ve never liked olives. But I loved the rest.”

Ange smiled. “Sarah’s a good cook.”

Dan looked up in surprise. “I thought you said you don’t cook.”

Sarah’s mouth lifted on one side. “I said I don’t cook much. There’s a difference.” Her eyes caught his, her private smile making his heart dance for a moment until her gaze cooled and she turned back to the rest of the table. “I can cook, but Ange is such a fabulous gourmet, why try?” She shrugged. “It’s okay to cook for you three, because you don’t know any better.”

Rob leaned forward. “I’d like to get to know you better.”

Dan bit back a groan. He wished he had Rob’s easy charm. Sarah was lapping it up.

Later, as John and Ange retreated to the kitchen to prepare coffee, Rob finally made his move. “I’ve really enjoyed tonight, Sarah.”

She flicked a curly strand of hair from her eyes. “It has been nice.”

“Are you free tomorrow night? Maybe we could have dinner together.”

Her eyes lit up. Dan’s sharp pang of disappointment made it suddenly hard to breathe.

---