Page 55 of Love Everlasting

He huffed out a noisy sigh. “Not to mention she’s the sexiest woman on the planet, and I’ve been without now for four months, practically a first since puberty.”

Shannon wasn’t prepared for the awful stab of pain that seared through her chest. The sexiest woman on the planet …

“But …” His mouth compressed, jaw sculpted in iron. “I told you once I’m not a quitter, Shannon, and that when it comes to self-control, I’m a wall of steel, so I’m not about to quit on the faith you’ve introduced me to no matter how tough Jazz makes it. And trust me, she’s a master.” He shook his head, a wry bent to his mouth. “Which means I need your prayers more than ever until I can get that woman to the altar.”

That woman. The one he loved and planned to marry.

“You have them, Sam, you know that.” She paused. “But I believe I can go it one better.”

He peered at her out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah? How?”

She stopped to face him, holding out her hand. “Give me your word,” she whispered.

His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly as he stared first at her hand, then up into her eyes. “That won’t be necessary, Shan. I can do this.”

“I know you can, Sam,” she whispered, gaze fused to his. “I just want to help.”

Hands on his hips, he glanced out over the water, as if trying to decide if it was worth it or not. He’d told her once that his mother had broken promises to him over and over before she’d deserted him forever. Which is why he always gave his word rather than a promise when it was something that truly mattered. Something forged in iron that he fully intended to keep, like he’d told her one evening at the onset of their friendship. “I’ve spent a lifetime restoring integrity to a name bonded in shame,” he’d whispered, eyes lagging into a far-off stare, “so my word is at the core of who I am, Shan, and I will never, ever betray it like my mother betrayed me.”

“Well now, see?” she had responded with a peaceful smile, “you and God have something in common then, Sam, because the Bible says, ‘when God wanted to guarantee His promises, He gave His word, a rock-solid guarantee’ because ‘God cannot break His word.’”

“It says that?”

“It does,” she’d answered with a grin and a playful pinch to his cheek. “So, like Father, like son, I guess.”

He had grunted his doubt at the time, but Shannon could see his disbelief was on the wane. And now, here he stood before her on the pier, wrestling with a choice between lust and love. A man with one foot in the world and one in faith, not yet fully committed to the God who could provide the strength he would need. But Shannon could. Her heart thudded as slow and sure as the seconds dragging by. Through prayer and the bond of Sam’s word.

But whoever keeps his word, in him truly is the love of God perfected.

He finally unleashed a noisy sigh and placed his hand in hers, giving it a firm shake. “You have my word,” he said quietly, the sobriety in his eyes confirming it was a promise etched in stone from a man she could trust.

Her smile beamed brighter than the sun. “You won’t regret this, Doc. I promise.”

“Yeah?” He looped a loose arm over her shoulder, giving her a light squeeze. “I already do, kiddo. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about you in the short time we’ve been friends, Shannon O’Bryen, is that your promises are true.”

“Just like your word,” she said with a grin, “which could very well be the first thing we’ve ever had in common.”

“Naw, we both like basketball and miniature golf, right?” He pressed a random kiss to her head. “Which is only one of the gazillion reasons I love you, Angel Eyes.”

Cheeks warm, she opted to change the subject. “So when do you plan to propose?” she asked, slipping from his hold to jog backwards in front of him.

He shrugged, hands back in his pockets. “As soon as I can, but we’ll have to give her dad a little time to adjust before I put a ring on his daughter’s hand.”

“Does he like you, I hope?” She shaded her eyes as she squinted up, aligning her stride to his once again.

He grinned. “Come on, Shan, what’s not to like?” He tweaked the back of her neck, scrunching her shoulders. “You’re the only who couldn’t stand me.”

A grunt tripped from her lips. “I find that hard to believe, with all the hearts you’ve trampled, Dr. Love.”

“Ah … ah … ah, young lady, I did not trample. I carefully and gently transitioned from lover to friend with devoted diligence, which is why I remain friends with the women I’ve dated.” He wrinkled his nose. “Well, most of them, anyway. So to answer your question, yes, Randy Augustine does like me. I mean, he hired me into his practice after all, so that speaks for itself, I guess. But I also think he feels a kinship because we were both in the foster system and had to work our way up.”

“Well, that’s certainly a plus. Do they go to church?”

Sam laughed. “I doubt it. Jazz is not exactly the religious type, and Augustine’s on the links every Sunday morning.”

“So bring Jasmine to church with us on Saturday night and stay for volleyball after,” Shannon suggested. “You’ll need a church to get married in, and Hope Church is one of the prettiest on the island.”

“With you?” One thick, dark brow angled high. He shook his head. “Unfortunately, she’s a little sensitive about you, Shan. Frankly, if it were up to her, I wouldn’t hang out with you at all.”