Mark leaned against the balustrade and folded his arms loosely over his chest, a small grin on his face. “And about the other…?”
Sighing contentedly, Micah perched next to him. “He’s incredible.”
“As expected.” Mark bumped him. “So, now what? Please tell me the two of you made plans to see each other again.”
“We did.” Micah smiled. “He asked me for a date tomorrow.”
“That’s great.” Mark grinned and wrapped his arm around Micah. “This is so fantastic. It blows me away to witness a real live miracle unfold right in front of me.”
Micah reached up and squeezed Mark's hand that was draped over his shoulder. “I feel bad.”
“About what?”
“You.” Micah looked at him. “I invited you out here so we could spend the holiday together, and now all of the sudden, Graham is here and…” he shrugged and lowered his eyes. “I feel like I’m not being a very good friend to you.”
Mark chuckled. “You are crazy adorable.” He flattened his palm to Micah’s head and kissed his hair. “And honestly, I think I needed to see this miracle almost as much as you needed to experience it.” He touched his brow to Micah’s temple. “It gives me hope, Micah. It proves to me that nothing is impossible for God. And I really need that depth of faith and hope right now…what with Jeff’s wedding so close. Maybe I’m not getting quite as much out of this as you are…but damn close.” He kissed his head again. “So, don’t you dare let anything taint this moment for you. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine while you’re outwooingyour true love.”
“Wooing?” Micah queried.
“Well, whatever you want to call it.” Mark winked. “Just make sure it ends with no clothes andloadsof passion.”
Micah tingled all over. “I don’t know if we’ll getthereby tomorrow night.”
“Why not?” Mark shrugged. “You both know you’re soulmates. Why wait?”
Micah could appreciate his way of thinking. With each passing second, thoughts of making love to Graham grew stronger. He was inclined to believe that Graham was having the same thoughts about him. Whatwouldprevent them from surrendering to their passions and emotions?
Hopefully nothing.
Shaking off the tantalizing notion, Micah said, “I really hope you mean it—that you’re okay with all this—because I kind of invited him to spend Christmas day with us.”
“Seriously?” Mark grinned. “I think that’s wonderful. I’d love to meet him.”
“I know that he will like you very much.”
“What about his brother?” Mark asked. “Will he be here as well?”
“No,” Micah said. “He’s flying back home tomorrow morning. Graham said he’s going to spend Christmas with his fiancée and her family.”
“But Graham decided to stay here…with you?” Mark smiled and nodded. “Good on him.” He pursed his lips. “So…did he kiss you when you parted ways today?”
Micah chuckled. “No. Well…he did kiss my cheek.”
“Hey, something is better than nothing.”
“It was definitely notnothing,”Micah laughed softly. “My knees nearly buckled.”
Mark laughed. “That’s the best feeling in the world.”
“It is.” Micah sighed. “After he kissed my cheek, he told me that our first kiss wasn’t going to be in a diner parking lot.”
“Ahh.” Mark grinned. “So, he didwantto kiss you, but he refrained because he wants the first kiss to be special. How romantic.”
“I thought so,” Micah agreed, then added with honest amusement, “But I wouldn’t have complained if he’d given it up right then, either.”
Mark laughed. “Well, of course not. But maybe he held back, too, because he knew once he started kissing you—he wouldn’t want to stop withjustthekiss.And I’m thinking he’s too much of a gentleman to ravage you right there in the parking lot.”
“Yeah,thatwas it.” Micah rolled his eyes and laughed, shivering from hairline to toes at the images conjured by such a scenario. He stepped away from the porch rail. “Come on, let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here.”
