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She and Faith both had bags packed and waiting in the living area. Faith was pulling her famous chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Of course she had to make Chad’s favorite cookies. Hope scrolled mindlessly through her emails. Too distracted to respond to anything important right now, she deleted any email that was no longer pertinent while praying nonstop that they could all have a wonderful time together and somehow she could stay impervious to Chad’s charm. Of course they’d have a fabulous time. She’d be with two of her favorite people—Chad and Faith. But she had no idea if she’d be able to stay strong.
Her Father above knew she couldn’t handle another heartbreak. Chad’s lack of commitment to her three years ago had shattered her, but Grace had helped her through it. Most people would say she was silly to believe she’d fallen in love that quick—only three days—but not Grace. Her older sister had been solid, smart, and full of faith. She’d listened, loved, and lifted Hope through that hard time, and not once had she said Hope was just like their mother, falling in love with the wrong man.
With Grace in heaven, Hope had to constantly be the big sister and the parent, take care of trusting and innocent Faith. No way could she unload her pain and fears on Faith and damage sweet Faith’s happy light.
Thankfully, their business had been flourishing and successful before Grace died. Hope worked eighty hours a week to make up for what Grace could’ve accomplished in forty. She missed Grace every day, and her sister’s business prowess was at the bottom of the list. Grace had been surrogate mom and dad for her and Faith when their parents’ selfishness had grown stronger than their desire to be involved in their children’s lives. She’d been their rock, their light, the person they both turned to. Now it was all up to Hope. Faith was delightful and brought so much joy into Hope’s life and heart, but it was still a heavy responsibility.
Helicopter rotors beat through the peaceful late morning air.
“He’s coming!” Faith cried out. She hurried to wrap up a plate of warm cookies. Their housekeepers would come through and clean up the mess Faith had made. Bless them. Hope paid an exorbitant amount for housekeepers, groundskeepers, and personal shoppers. It was worth it. She kept their homes and workspaces organized, but if she had to clean and shop and do yard work on top of the list of items she had to keep up with at work, she’d most likely implode.
Running a home wasn’t much different from running a business—hire people who were accomplished at a certain job, pay them generously, delegate wherever possible, work untold hours, and use her time for high-level tasks and everything that got missed or overlooked.
Hope closed her eyes and said a prayer,Please help me be strong. Her Heavenly Father was patient and mindful of her but she wondered if he wanted to say back,Easy solution—don’t put yourself in the situation.It was similar to a person launching themselves off a cliff and then begging heaven to not let them die.
She threw an apology heavenward for being thick in the head, then slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and grasped the handle of her small suitcase. She dragged it over to Faith, who had the cookies in one hand, her suitcase in the other, and a small purse draped over her chest.
“Are you so excited?” Faith beamed.
Hope pushed away her worries. Faith was ecstatic. She and her sister needed a distraction, and something fun and happy like this wedding and tour of Augustine would be just that. Faith worked almost as many hours as Hope did, designing products, coming up with new marketing ideas, and answering endless questions from production about her designs and implementation. She also cooked and baked for them and anyone else who came to visit. Her sister was a light to everyone, despite being deserted by both parents at only twelve. Hope adored Faith. Her sister was her family now, and she would focus on making this a fabulous time for her.
Hope was excited too. Even though they came to Wengen often, she never stopped working and Chad was the highlight of every trip. Chad would make a trip to Antarctica feel like a warm and exotic vacation. She needed a break just as much as Faith did—but she needed Chad’s love more.
Stop, she begged her brain.
“It’s going to be fabulous,” Hope said.
The door from the garage opened. They both turned to look at Chad. He was easy on the eyes, dressed in a button-down pale blue shirt and gray slacks with a twinkle in his emerald green eyes and a confident smirk on his lips. Tingles of awareness brushed over Hope’s skin.
“Chad!” Faith jumped in the air, almost dropping her cookies.
“Hello, Faith. Hope.” He nodded to each of them. “I’m fabulous?” he said, placing a hand on his well-formed chest. “Well thank you, beautiful Hope, but I already knew that.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Your confidence knows no bounds.”
He eased toward them. Chad couldn’t simply walk like a normal man. He seemed to glide and prowl at the same time. He had animal magnetism, but also a light and intelligence that appealed to her on every level. She always felt like she was the object of his fascination and every good thing in his life when he walked her direction with a meaningful look in his eyes, a look that said he was going to break down her barriers and have her kissing him by sundown.
Oh yes, please, and at the same time,a resounding no.
He slid Hope’s suitcase handle out of her hand and into his. Even that insignificant brush of their fingers made her tingle.
“Should it now?” he asked, winking at her. He took Faith’s suitcase as well and said, “Which of you brilliant ladies is ready for the most incredible tour of their life?”
“Me!” Faith cheered. “And I made you cookies.”
“Ah, Faith. Thank you. It smells delicious in here.” He released the suitcases long enough to eat a cookie, closing his eyes as if he was in heaven.
Hope couldn’t yank her gaze from him. How could someone look that enticing eating a cookie? Part of his allure was he knew eating a simple cookie would make her sister happy.
He opened his eyes. “Delectable, Faith. As always. If I wasn’t sworn to your sister for life, I’d be in love with you.”
Hope rolled her eyes, but her heart leapt. He couldn’t be sworn to her. Not dating every beautiful woman in Europe like he did.
“I know. I’m irresistible.” Faith laughed and then raced ahead of them, clinging to her plate of cookies.
“Shall we?” Chad shifted both suitcases to his right hand and offered his left to Hope.
She shouldn’t have done it, but he was impossible to resist. Gingerly, she placed her palm against his. Their hands slid together like two magnets finding each other. He curled his fingers around her hand, securing them as one. Fireworks exploded inside her chest. Their first kiss years ago had been off the charts, but it seemed the next one would be even more dynamic. Would she survive it?
