One Chance To Love (Christian Romance) (6 page)
Read One Chance To Love (Christian Romance) Online
Authors: Katie Ingersoll
Attacking the locks on the door,
she wondered why people insisted on more than two or three of the things. Of
course, she knew why. It was an attempt to keep evildoers from getting in, but
it also got in the way of her getting out.
She flung the door open to find a
tall man standing there with the flowers hiding his face. Odd. Why would a
delivery person hold them up like that? The moment the answer arose in her
mind, he let his hand slide down until she could see his face.
Daniel? It was Daniel! The surprise
was overwhelming for a moment—but then she glanced down to see that she was
still in her pajamas. It bothered her for less than a second. She didn’t care
what she was wearing, and he likely wouldn’t either. He was here and that was the
only thing that mattered.
She felt a grin turn up the corners
of her mouth as she lifted her head to see him once again.
“Come in, come in.” She heard
herself say, sounding shocked, yet still cordial.
He wore a confused expression, but
did as she requested. It was then that she saw the gift bag in his other hand.
Why would he bring her such a monstrous bouquet of long stemmed red roses
and
a gift? Unless…
Her eyes opened wide with immediate
understanding. He was no longer upset with her! That had to be why he was here.
Then he was handing her the flowers and words were being spoken.
In her mind, she gave herself a
smack on the head to bring her back to the present.
“I’m sorry. What was that? I’m so
surprised I didn’t catch what you said.”
His grin nearly turned her knees
into melted butter.
“I was saying that I hope you have
a vase that’s big enough.” Until that moment she hadn’t realized how much she’d
missed the sound of his voice.
“Oh. Yes, I do.” She accepted the
roses from him, then gestured to the little sofa. “Have a seat while I tend to
these.” In the kitchen, she called out, “I was about to have some coffee. Would
you like a cup?”
“No, I don’t think so.” She
detected a tone of uncertainty. “I just came to speak with you for a few minutes.”
What could he possibly say that
hadn’t already been communicated by the roses? She set them on the counter next
to the sink.
“Okay, then. Give me a minute and
I’ll be right there.”
She filled her favorite mug with
hot brew, adjusted it to her taste, and went back into the living room to sit
next to Daniel.
“So. What did you want to talk
about?”
He remained silent for a few
seconds, gazing at her as though she were one of the Seven Wonders of the
World. Then he looked down at his hands, clasped together in his lap.
“I, uh…” His head came back up and
their eyes met. “I acted like an idiot, Allison. I can’t tell you how sorry I
am for accusing you. The fact is, I don’t even care who called the media that
day. I hurt you and that bothers me more than anything.” He took a quick
breath. “I only know that I needed to come to tell you this, and to apologize.
I’ll go now, if that’s what you want.”
He moved as if to stand, but she
put a hand on his arm to stop him. “No. There’s more, isn’t there? I want to hear
it all.”
“Yeah. There’s more.” A deep
inhale, then he continued. “I know we only had less than two days, but I
haven’t stopped thinking about you—not for a second. I also know that I’ve
never felt that kind of connection with anyone else. Yes, I’m surrounded by
friends, employees—even my own son—but none of them make me feel the way you
do. It was as though we were made for each other. Like we were meant to be
together.”
Were her ears deceiving her? Did he
really just say what she thought he said? Wait. He was still talking.
“What I’m trying to say, Allison,
is that I’m so deeply in love with you I can’t think about anything else. I
could have called, but I felt I had to find you so I could say it in person.
Hope you don’t mind.”
Yep. That’s what she thought he was
saying. Hold up a sec. Did he say he had to find her?
“How
did
you find me?” She
tried to sound neutral.
He glanced at his hands again,
seeming embarrassed. “Please don’t be upset, but I hired a Private
Investigator. I felt the need to tell you all of this personally.”
Upset? Why should she feel that
way? The man of her dreams just admitted he was madly in love with her, and he
was worried she’d be upset? She hadn’t dared to hope he’d given up on being
mad, so this was much more than a pleasant surprise.
“Did you really mean that? All of
it?”
He fixed those gorgeous dark brown
eyes on hers again.
“Every word.” His sincerity came
through as clear as a cloudless summer day.
“Well, then. I suppose there’s
something I should tell you.”
Still staring intently at her, he
seemed anxious, but said nothing.
“I understand what you’ve been
through these last several weeks. You don’t know how many times I wanted to
call you, but figured you were still mad. At first, I didn’t understand why I
couldn’t stop thinking about you, and it took me a while to realize that it was
because I’m in love with you, too.”
For a brief second, his eyes went
blank, but then she saw them widen with surprise, followed by what she could
only describe as joy.
“Are you serious? Did I hear you
correctly?” His volume wasn’t much above a whisper.
“I assure you, there’s nothing
wrong with your hearing.”
It took him a few seconds, but he
responded. “I couldn’t let myself dare to dream you’d feel the same way.”
He pulled her close, and brought
his lips to hers. Tenderly, he kissed her, then pulled back. She gave a smile,
and he kissed her again, this time with a passion she thought would set her
apartment ablaze. Maybe the entire building. She didn’t care about that,
though. All she wanted was to remain here with him, locked in his embrace, lost
in the fervor of his kiss. Let a million eternities come and go. She’d stay
right here, absorbed in the ecstasy this man brought to her heart.
All too soon, he brought the moment
to an end. “I love you. I love you.” He repeated those words as he landed tiny
kisses all over her face and neck. But then, he stopped and sat upright once
again. His breathing was ragged, and she realized that hers matched.
“I think I’ll take that cup of
coffee now. Black, one teaspoon of sugar.”
A few seconds later, they erupted
in laughter. Heading back into the kitchen, her eyes fell upon the laptop
computer.
“By the way, I took the liberty of
doing some research.” She gestured toward the desk in the corner. “I printed
out some information that might interest you.” He rose and moved across the
room.
By the time she’d made his coffee
and refilled her mug, he’d looked over the stapled sets of paper. He now stood
there, reading through one of them with his jaw hanging open. Two minutes went
by before he tore his attention away.
“This is what Dylan has! How did
you find this?” He sounded breathless.
Shrugging, she said, “A good editor
knows how to use the internet to find information. I have to check facts all
the time. It’s just part of the job.”
With long strides, he came to her
as she set the mugs on the coffee table.
“This is exactly what I’ve been
praying for!”
He embraced her, holding onto her
as if doing so would save his life. Then he reached down next to the sofa and
retrieved the gift bag. Until that moment, she’d forgotten about it.
“I knew there was a reason I got
this for you.” His voice hitched as he handed her the bag. “It seems like a
fitting ‘Thank You’ now that you’ve done this for me.”
Confused, she took it, sat down and
reached inside. Once the box was liberated, she saw the logo for Tiffany’s and
felt the blood run from her head. It couldn’t be! Could it?
She wasn’t sure she could open it
without help, but she managed. In a matter of mere seconds, the gorgeous
crystal angel she’d wanted so desperately was in her hands. Tears filled her
eyes.
“Daniel, I don’t know what to say.”
She barely heard her own words.
“I think I do.”
He took the angel, placed it on the
table between their coffee mugs, and grabbed her hands to help her stand. With
that accomplished, he held her tight and gazed deep into her eyes.
“Allison Benton, would you ever
consider becoming Mrs. Trotter?”
Her dream had come true, and her
prayers had been answered.
“I already have. Yes, I’d love to
be Mrs. Daniel Trotter.”
She saw the joy in his eyes once
more, but only for a moment before he kissed her again.
Valentine’s Day,
one year later.
Allison couldn’t believe her ears. The
stunningly handsome man next to her had just promised to love, honor, and
cherish her until his death. He placed a ring on her finger to symbolize the
love he held for her in his heart. What more could she possibly ask for?
Nothing. She had more than she’d ever dreamed possible. Was she dreaming? It
seemed so. But then again, it felt more like reality.
Somewhere in the distance—as though
she were in a trance—she heard the preacher’s voice.
“I now pronounce you husband and
wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Daniel’s lips were upon hers, and
their warm tenderness filled a place deep within her. A place only his kiss—his
undying love—could reach. She wanted to stay lost in his embrace, his passion,
until time itself came to an end. She prayed she’d feel this way every time he
kissed her.
Again, the preacher spoke from
dreamland.
“Ladies and gentlemen! I present to
you Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Trotter!”
She turned to face the throng of
people—invited guests, clamoring media, onlookers—all of them cheering for the
newlyweds. For the tiniest of moments she felt like the Queen of the World.
Pushing that aside, she praised her Lord that He’d allowed her to experience it
for a fraction of a second.
Her mother’s and stepfather’s faces
seemed to float by. Again, she thanked God—this time for the joy she saw
displayed on their features.
Flashes of light came and went in
rapid succession. Photos for the news media, no doubt. Allison had become used
to this over the past year, though she wasn’t fond of it. Yes, she’d become
sought after as the fiancée of one of New York’s most eligible millionaires,
but she never wanted any part of the publicity. She simply tolerated it with
humility for Daniel’s sake.
Now they were all vying to be the
first to publish pictures of the man and his new wife. She could understand
that and not be bothered by it. Let them have their fun. Soon, she’d be allowed
to fade into the background, and that was perfectly fine with her.
There was Dylan, now nine years
old, standing with the aid of crutches next to the back door of the white
limousine, waiting for them. Dear Lord, she loved that child. What a trooper
he’d been, enduring every moment of the experimental treatment they’d found for
him. He’d come a long way in less than a year.
Seated in the back of the car with
Dylan facing them, the couple shared another kiss. They waved to the crowd on
the sidewalk as the limo pulled away from the curb. Her new life had now begun,
and she knew it would be filled with awe and wonder.
Katie Ingersoll has not always
written Christian Romance novels. After going through her own personal trials
and crisis of faith, she emerged spiritually transformed. Now she writes
Christian Romance as a way of telling beautiful love stories, and as a way of
sharing the real power of God in people’s lives.
If you enjoyed this book, please
take a minute to leave Katie a review on Amazon. This would greatly help her as
an author. Here is the link,
A Note from the Author:
I enjoyed writing this book and hopefully
you enjoyed reading it. If I could ask you a favor to take a few minutes to
leave me a review on Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it! Here is the link:
http://amzn.to/L7AdCh
A Link to my website where free excerpts of my books
are available:
http://www.katieingersoll-romancebooks.com/
A Link to my newly released book on Amazon, “Love and
Fire”:
Title Page
Copyright © 2014
by Katie Ingersoll
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