Love in the Details (14 page)

Holly found a spot in the far corner of the foyer where she could listen and watch the ceremony unobtrusively through a window. If the choir loft came crashing down she'd be squashed like a bug.

Ah, weddings. She loved them. She really loved them. Weddings were magnificent declarations of all that was good in this life. Loyalty. Honor. Love. Esteeming another above yourself. Weddings never failed to stir her or arouse in her a bittersweet wistfulness born of her own hope of marrying one day.

When Amanda and Ben exchanged vows, Holly sighed and went a little teary-eyed. Or maybe she was going teary-eyed over Josh, standing so solidly next to Ben. The best man. Indeed.

One of the candles in the unity candle set was slow to light. And the maid of honor almost bobbled Amanda's bouquet at one point. But those were the little things that made weddings charming and real. Everything else went perfectly.

When the ceremony concluded, Holly dashed around like a runner on a steeplechase course, making sure that the flower girls and ring bearer were all returned to their rightful owners. Then Mitzi trapped her and fired a dozen staccato questions at her regarding parking issues and when the decor could be taken down.

After Mitzi departed, Holly looked around and saw that the entire church had emptied faster than a glass bottle of Dr Pepper. She hadn't caught even a glimpse of Josh since he'd walked down the aisle during the recessional with the maid of honor on his arm.

She let herself into the sanctuary and trailed her fingers along the long swags of ribbon, the glass hurricanes confining candles that had already been blown out, the sprays of flowers mounted on the inside ends of the pews. She took a seat on the very first row.

She needed to rally herself, go home, get cleaned up, then make an appearance at the reception. She'd sent in a response card saying she'd attend. Far more critically, the reception would be her last chance to see Josh.

She'd rally. She would. But the day had drained her physically and emotionally, and she needed a minute to sit and take in the hushed calm of her surroundings.

One of the decorators had brought in a towering wrought iron arch that stood on the dais in front of the altar. A garland of large waxy leaves, twigs, and the same flowers that had graced Amanda's bouquet covered the entire arch and even rippled a few feet onto the dais on either side. Lovely.

During the ceremony, the arch had served as a pictur
esque frame for Ben and Amanda. But it hadn't framed only them. On its far side, it also framed the altar. As Holly studied the altar, light gleamed and slid along one plane of the cross.

When she'd parted from Josh eight years ago, God had remained. He'd been at her side through her hardest moments, her saddest moments, her loneliest.

Whatever comes, I trust you, God. If your plans for me don't include Josh or don't include marriage, then I'll keep on trusting you
. The silence of her aloneness settled over her like pixie dust. She couldn't stop herself from adding a short p.s. to her prayer.
If Josh does happen to . . . perhaps, maybe, please . . . be the one for me, then I pray that you'll give me just one more opportunity with him.

The side exit door whooshed open and Holly snapped her head to the side to see Josh standing in the opening, backlit by a late November sky. His dark gaze cut across the space and locked onto her.

Her pulse leapt then began to pound. What could he be doing here? He was the best man. He was needed at the reception.

He walked toward her. “I was looking for you. Out in the parking lot, and then on the road to the winery. I couldn't find you.”

“I'm not,” she motioned to her clothing as she pressed to her feet, “dressed for the reception yet.”

His brows drew down. He appeared both determined and unsettled, standing there, sleek in his gorgeous tuxedo. “I've been looking for you a lot lately, Holly. All day today. Last night at the rehearsal dinner. Just now. I . . .”
His hair was slightly mussed. His eyes bright with fervency. “I realized that I've been looking for you for years. I've been looking for you ever since I left Martinsburg.”

Hope rose within her painfully. What? Had he . . . had he really just said that?

He continued, recklessly honest. “I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking for you.”

“You don't?” Her voice emerged as fragile as a skein of silk.

“No. I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of you, either.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I've been telling myself to keep my mouth shut around you until I leave Texas. But I'm not going to make it.” His lips settled into a hard, resolute line. “I'd rather make a fool of myself than remain silent.”

She gaped at him in patent astonishment.

“I can't not tell you that I love you,” he said. “I . . . I desperately love you.”

Holly inhaled a jagged gasp. His words were almost too marvelous to process. He'd handed her dearest dream to her without warning. He loved her? Joy began to unfurl inside her.

She walked to him, stopping so close that she was able to rest her palms on his chest. She hadn't touched him in a girlfriend-like manner in ages. To do so now felt like pure, heady bliss. She smoothed his lapels, feeling the tremor in her hands.

He stared down at her as if he was afraid to believe that the news might be good.

The news was very good. For them both. She was still a
little afraid, but God was faithful. He countered her fears by filling her with an undeniable sense of rightness. She looked directly into Josh's eyes. “I love you too.”

He gave her the exact same crooked smile he'd given her the day he'd first told her that he loved her. “You love me?”

“I do. I love you.”

“I've loved you since high school,” he said. His arms came up to support her back. “I tried to stop but I couldn't. Seeing you again has only made me positively sure that you're the one for me.”

“I've loved you since high school too.” She interlaced her hands around his neck. Laughing breathlessly, she quoted his words back to him. “I tried to stop but I couldn't. Seeing you again has only made me positively sure that you're the one for me.”

He kissed her. And she kissed him back. And he kissed her more for good measure. There, with the altar's cross watching over them and the day's last sun rays pouring through the stained glass like a benediction.

Holly's heart soared with amazement and gratitude and love. Josh! Josh loved her.

He pulled back a few inches. “I lied about needing your help to find a rehearsal dinner location. My assistant booked the olive oil farm months ago. I misled you because it was the only way I could think of to spend time with you.”

“Your assistant booked the olive oil farm?” she asked, like one of those parrots that repeats things. It was hard to think straight at this particular moment. He'd just incinerated her with his kisses and sent her whole world spinning with the declaration that
he loved her
.

“Yes.”

“Months ago? Your assistant had the very same idea that I had and booked the farm months ago?”

He nodded and swept a section of her hair away from her cheek. “I'm sorry for deceiving you.”

“You're forgiven. And also, by the way, you have a
very
good assistant. Has she considered turning her attention to brokering peace in the Middle East?”

His expression warmed with amusement. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I'll stay in Martinsburg,” he said. “I can work from anywhere.”

“So can I, Josh. I'm a writer.” Her hands were still intertwined behind his neck. Oh, the happiness of this! “Relocating to Paris for a while doesn't actually sound too shabby to me.”

“It doesn't?”

“If this is Paris, France, home of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and croissants that we're talking about, then no. It doesn't.”

“You'd move to France?”

“Yes,” she answered, growing more sure of it. “I would.” He'd given her an irresistible motivation to grab hold of her very own real-life adventure.

“I love you, Holly.”

“I love you, Josh. Now kiss me some more.” She was grinning and crying at the same time. “But be quick about it. You're the best man and we have a wedding reception to attend.”

Miracle of miracles, God had brought Josh back to her. And this time, she wouldn't let him go. This time, Josh wouldn't leave her behind.

This time, the timing was perfect.

Holly,

Today is our wedding day. In just a few hours I'll get to see you in your wedding dress, you'll walk down the aisle to me, and before God we'll promise ourselves to each other for the rest of our lives.

Thank you for agreeing to be my wife. For loving me. For showing me what matters in this life.

Neither the years we spent apart nor the distance between us had the power to change my love for you. My heart was, and is,
and
always will be yours.

Je t'aime
, Holly. I love you. Till death do us part, my love.

—Josh

“There is a time for everything, and a season
for every activity under the heavens.”
—Ecclesiastes 3:1

1. Holly and Josh were one another's first love. Did anyone here marry their first love? Name one thing that you still remember clearly about your first love.

2. At its heart,
Love in the Details
is about the perfect nature of God's timing. When in your life did you face a disappointment, only to later realize that God's timing was ultimately best?

3. Near the end of the story, Holly realizes that her almost subconscious belief that she's not enough for Josh is holding her back. We all struggle from time to time with deceptive self-talk that assures us that we're “not good enough” or “not worthy enough.” When has this most been a stumbling block for you? Share a story of how God has helped you have victory in this area.

4. How would you characterize Becky Wade's writing style? How was it different and/or similar to the style
of
other writers included in this collection of wedding novellas?

5. How is Holly and Josh's love story a picture of God's love for us?