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I felt excited that Micah was engaging in this conversation, as not everyone showed genuine interest.
“Three days later, he rose again with a promise that he will be returning soon.”
“Wow.” Micah muttered under his breath.
“So, what do you think?” Suddenly a feeling of stage fright washed over me. Whenever I spoke to people so openly and boldly, I knew it was the Holy Spirit giving me strength to do so, and then my usual shyness returned.
“It’s pretty interesting.” Micah shrugged.
“Will you think about what we talked about?”
“About you being single?” He turned the charm back on and again gave me a million-dollar smile.
“Haha, good one.”Is that really the best comeback I had?
“Yeah, I mean I admit I felt a little something when you told me that story.”
“And it’s not just a story. When I was born again in my 20’s, I saw some real positive changes in my life. I started recognizing the deplorable behavior I was surrounding myself with, away from friends, relationships, and myself, of course. I began to lose the desire to do those things, but for a long time I struggled with certain sin. But Jesus was tempted too. And I’ve learned to lean on him to get through it.”
“So, what, do you have to go to church every Sunday?”
“You don’thaveto do anything, but finding the right church is a wonderful addition to your life.”
My phone alarm went off. I nearly forgot about Dolly’s groomer appointment. “I forgot we have an appointment to get to. I better go.” I had exactly fifteen minutes to get there. I set the reminder, assuming I’d be home napping when it would alert me. If only I could see myself now, blowing off a gorgeous guy at the Bark Park instead of eating Bonbons and watching a low-budget flick.My life is now a ‘made for tv’ movie.
“Well, I had a really nice time talking today.” He beamed. He seemed very sincere andgenuinely interested.A feeling of dread washed over me. I hated to admit it, but we absolutely hadzilch in common, besides our dogs.
The clouds rolled back in at once, and the temperature started to drop fast. “Another storm?” Micah said with disgust. I felt it too, it was so rarely nice here.
“Why do we live here again?” I laughed.
He turned to me, smiling, “I’m really glad you live here.” He was laying it on thick.
I didn’t respond, not wanting to welcome any further conversation or mislead him into thinking I was interested in him.Poor Katie has a gorgeous firefighting admirer that she doesn’t want.I really needed to stop arguing with myself as I wasn’t good at hiding my expressions.
He walked over and got Davey out of the pen, and I followed suit.
It was time to go home. “Come on, Dolly.”
We walked to our vehicles as another group of dog owners crossed us on the path. All of us greeted the dogs, but not the owners, becausethat's just how it workedin the pet world.
“This is me,” I motioned to my car and wasted no time loading Dolly up. He waited for me to get into my car like a gentleman, and even shut the door for me. I rolled down my window once I started up the engine.
“Can I get your number?” He had an uncertainty about his smile, as if he wasn’t sure I would want him to have it. He was right.
I was once again reminded,looks aren’t everything.Yes, he was handsome. Good gracious—he was gorgeous. But there was no foundation. Nothing pulled me to him like I felt with… Someone else. I hated this. I wished I could erase my feelings for Eli and transfer them to this hunk. But that’s just not how it worked.
“I’m sorry. I’m running late. I’ll see you around. You are welcome at Three Maples Church anytime. Service on Sunday starts at 9:30. I mean it, I’d love for you to come.” I smiledtoowide, trying to hide my anxiety and non-confrontational ways by showing all my teeth like I was wearing one of those whitening setups at the dentist.
He nodded, knowing I had just rejected him, but then he looked back with a glimmer of hope following myinvitation.
CHAPTER 12
A PAWSITIVELY GOOD TIME
As I drove out of the parking lot, I picked up a mildly inappropriate speed once out on the highway. If someone had told me just a few days ago that I would be batting men off with a stick, I would’ve laughed in their face.Look at me now.At least I’d finally have something interesting to tell Judy.
We arrived at the pet superstore with seconds to spare for Dolly’s grooming appointment. The grooming area had large floor-to-ceiling windows so parents could see the progress without going inside. We went in and were instantly greeted by a sweet freckle-faced girl. “Hi there. Do you have an appointment?” Her name tag read Liz.
