Revealed by You(70)

“Nervous, Evvie?”

I smiled up at Brett and sighed. “It’s been awhile.” I looked around the small lobby as we stood off in the corner. “I haven’t been here since my mom died.”

“I haven’t been to church since my dad married my step-mom,” Brett said cupping the back of my neck.

It may have been awhile, but I felt drawn to the church as soon as Brett proposed. Or demanded my hand in marriage rather.

“It makes me happy knowing that smile on your face is because of me,” he purred in my ear.

I laughed. “How do you know it’s because of you?”

Brett pulled me into his arms and brushed his mouth along my ear lobe.

A hot shiver ran down my spine at the contact.

“I know the look you get on your face whenever you think about me,” he whispered.

“Yeah and what look is that?”

“The oh-Brett-is-so-hot-I-want-his-body look.”

I rolled my eyes at the smug smile on his face. He knew me well. I couldn’t hide the look of lust and want for him no matter how hard I had always tried. “Let’s go before I get in trouble for the thoughts that I’m thinking right now.”

Brett grinned and kissed my cheek.

“Evvie? Evvie Neal?”

We both turned to the deep voice coming up behind us. A young man that looked no older than forty stuck his hand out in greeting. His warm brown eyes met mine. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

I frowned and shook my head.

The man smiled and looked at Brett. “I’m Pastor Dan.”

“Brett MacLean.” He returned the handshake before grabbing mine in a firm grip.

My heart stuttered. Always the jealous one.

“Little Evvie.” Pastor Dan smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “My father was Pastor Jones.”

My eyes widened as recognition settled in. “Danny?”

Pastor Dan nodded, his warm brown eyes twinkling.

Brett cleared his throat.

“Danny or Pastor Dan now I should say, was best friends with Ethan,” I explained.

Brett’s eyes narrowed. “You?”

Danny laughed. “I had a moment of rebellion growing up. Got shipped off to CUC and found my calling to follow in my dad’s footsteps. Haven’t looked back since.”

“CUC?” Brett asked.

“It’s a Christian College. As much as I hated my father in the beginning for it, I now wish I could thank him.” Danny’s eyes saddened when he looked down at me. “My father passed away three years ago.”

“Oh my gosh. I am so sorry.” My heart hurt. I only knew Pastor Jones as a child but I knew how much my mom had loved him.

Brett squeezed my hand reassuringly.

“So, what brings you here?” Danny asked, clapping his hands together.

I looked up at Brett.

He met my gaze and kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger a little longer than deemed necessary. No matter how many times I had told him that he had no reason to be jealous, his Alpha male always reared its ugly head. Especially when another man was around.

“We want to get married and I thought it would be fitting to get married here since this was my mom’s church,” I said, stepping closer to Brett’s side.

Danny smiled. “Your mom was a big part of the church. I think that would be wonderful. I would like to meet with you at least once before the wedding though.”

I nodded. “Ok—”

“Why?”

I winced at the harsh tone in Brett’s voice.

Danny smiled, not backing down from Brett’s confrontational stance. “I just want to meet up with you to see how you are doing.”

“So basically it’s to see if we’re compatible for each other,” Brett bit out.

I looked between the two men before turning back to Danny. Was that the reason? We had our issues but there was no way that I was going to let someone else tell me who I could and couldn’t marry.

“It’s church procedure, Brett. It’s not meant to offend but yes,” Danny nodded. “it’s meant to see if you fit.”

“I can tell you, Pastor Dan,” I said, stepping between them. “Brett and I are wanting to get married as soon as possible. I’m talking like this coming weekend.”

Danny frowned. “That is two days away.”

“Evvie.” Brett turned me and cupped my cheeks, placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Can you give us five minutes?”

I searched his face for any inclination that he was going to rip off Danny’s face but his emotions were locked. “Okay. Be nice.”

Brett winked.

I said goodbye to Danny, promising to start attending church again. I couldn’t make any commitments but I felt that I needed to. It was like it was meant to be.