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“Thanks, Cy. What I needed to hear.”
“You’ve talked about Maggie this year more than you ever talked about Soline. Did you realize that?”
“Really?”
“Why didn’t you just date Maggie?” Cyrus asked.
“Because she knows too much about me. How could she…” Levi didn’t know how to finish his sentence.
“Love you?”
“I don’t know, Cy.”
“It’s called unconditional love. After knowing you all your life—since you’re younger than I am—I still love you. So why not Maggie? She knows you the best—more than I know you.”
Levi wondered if Maggie truly loved him. “I don’t think she wants me. If she did, why did she help me get a date with Forsythia?”
“Because you’re stubborn and have to learn things the hard way?” Cyrus laughed. “No, seriously, you asked her, didn’t you? You said it would make you happy if she got you a date with the chef.”
“If she loves me, why would she let me pursue another woman?”
“Maybe it’s because she thinks it’s one-sided. You don’t love her back. She is letting you go.”
That stung. Had that been why Maggie cried so much on Sunday afternoon?
Precious Maggie, I’m so sorry.
“You told me that you wanted her to be your one true friend,” Cyrus continued. “You said she has never rejected you. She lets you drop in at her house at any time. Her brother doesn’t object. They treat you like family.”
“Malachi said that it’s good for Maggie to have someone in town she could trust because they moved to Florida and left her behind.”
“You’re that someone.”
“Wouldn’t this be a betrayal of their family’s trust in me if I develop feelings for Maggie?”
“That’s why you didn’t. Why you friend-zoned her and she family-zoned you.”
Levi had nothing to say. He felt stuck.
“I’d hate for you to miss the person right in front of you—if she’s God’s perfect will for you.” Cyrus sipped more tea. “If not, you two will part ways when she moves away, and that’s the end of it.”
Levi felt his chest tighten again.
The thought of not seeing Maggie every day bothered him.
Yes, it bothered him.
He had not felt this worried when his ex-girlfriend went on vacation for three months with her friends. In fact, he had cherished the peace and quiet he had those marvelous weeks.
He hadn’t felt this uncomfortable an hour ago when Forsythia had turned him down in the most oblique of ways: by talking about Maggie, their common interest.
Right now, he was truly troubled by the thought that he might have to let Maggie go.
How could he?
Chapter Ten
By Friday morning, Maggie was exhausted as she dragged herself to work at the women’s ministry office at Midtown Chapel. She’d had only five or six hours of sleep each night this week. After working all day, she went home and packed for her impending move.
