Page 102 of The Bachelor Spy
At first it confused; then it attracted, drawing her lonely heart toward his light.
And then she’d walked past his room one evening and heard him … praying forher.
Praying.
A man of such intelligence and skill humbling himself, beseeching his God, voicing a request for her protection and wisdom with such tenderness, such entreaty … Well, it was in that moment something in her heart turned over and gave way to the connection.
The care.
The love.
She wasn’t certain he’d recognized it then. They’d continued on as before. Yet his steady goodness had etched its way into her life. And his presence inspired a stealthy transformation of her own heart, changing her into someone who looked heavenward instead of inward.
Who humbled herself to prayer instead of resorting to mere judgment or emotional retaliation.
Somehow, his steady faith had awakened a quiet sort of reshaping in her soul—an embrace of a God, a Savior she’d only heard about in the early parts of her life from a mother she barely remembered.
And the realization bound her to him in a way more meaningful than anything she’d ever known.
But then theLusitaniahad happened. For an instant, she’d thought all his integrity had been a sham, a cover. Then she’d realized Evan’s betrayal and feared Blake had gone down with the ship because of her.
The twin agonies nearly destroyed her, and she’d disappeared into exile, attempting to relearn how to survive with the weight of her own weaknesses drowning out her life.
When, through her surreptitious contacts, she learned Blake had survived, she’d determined to make amends—to him, to the soldiers, to her place in Intelligence.
In any way she could.
One last time.
Prove to herself and Blake that she was capable. Good.
That her own light, fragile and new though it was, had enough hope in it to make a difference.
And even now, Blake had proven himself better than she’d imagined. This glimpse of his more intimate relationships, here in a home he’d known as a child, had only confirmed who she’d thought he was all along. The way he cared for his cousin’s wife, the tender looks he sent Zahra, the cautious and alert way he watched over the soldiers and staff.
He was every bit the man she’d thought.
And more.
And every bit a man she did not deserve.
Yet he loved her. He’d said so in word and deed. Even after she’d fought him, betrayed him,shothim.
He loved her.
It made no sense, but she wasn’t one to argue with the nonsensical when it came wrapped in such a package.
Stephen Blake.
The hardened edges of her heart had entirely given way when he’d taken her in his arms.
And he wanted a future with her? Two spies attempting a normal life rarely boded well, but since her heart was no longer in the work—since she’d failed so abominably—she wasn’t truly an agent any longer.
This was her last self-appointed assignment. If she could, in some small way, make amends for Evan, perhaps she could leave Intelligence with some shred of dignity. Some hint of respect for all she’d accomplished before.
She glanced behind her once more, but Blake had vanished.
Of course he had. He’d gone into covert mode.
