Loving Hearts by Gail Gaymer Martin Page B

her on the phone. They had a picnic on the boat, and when she got nervous, he brought her back without a word. He’s really nice and treats her great.”
    Jeff tilted his head and looked into the distance. “Maybe I’ll give Jim a teaser call. You know, tell him to hang in there and I’ll try to see what Esther thinks of him. That way I won’t encourage him or discourage him.”
    “Can’t you just let things be for now?”
    “But I’m not waiting forever, Rachel. I’ve given you a ring and I want you to wear it. More than that, I want to get married…so we can have babies and a life together.”
    “Me, too, but please be patient. Just a little longer.”
    Jeff slid his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll try to be. I’ll really try, but I hope you hear me. I love you, Rachel, but I’m not going to wait forever. Either Esther falls in love, or you and I will elope.”
    His words slithered down her spine, and confusion turned her limbs to jelly. She couldn’t elope, but she didn’t want to lose him, either. She loved him andunderstood why his patience had faded. All she could do was pray Esther would fall in love. And soon.
     
    “Thanks for coming along with me on this one,” Esther said, sitting across from Ian in his office.
    “You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do.”
    She struggled to keep her eyes from focusing on the photograph behind him on the credenza. He’d never told her the funny story about Jemma, and her curiosity rose every time she remembered his comment. But for some reason, she didn’t have the nerve to ask. “How did you get Philip to let you come along?”
    “I’m a good sweet-talker.”
    Though he joked, his words set Esther on edge. “I’ve heard some of your sweet-talking.” Between getting her on the sailboat and agreeing to the matchmaker ploy, he’d definitely beguiled her.
    Ian only grinned. “Interviewing Grand Haven Charters was a great idea.”
    “Thanks. I can learn so much more when I ask questions and get direct answers. And thanks for adding a few questions of your own. You thought of a couple things I hadn’t considered.”
    “It gives us things to think about before we go up to White Lake and talk with the sailing adventure company,” Ian said.
    “Are you sure you want to take off the time?”
    Ian rose and ambled across the room. He faced her, resting his palms on the chair arms. “It’s not time off. It’s time used in a different way. Don’tworry.” He chucked her under the chin. “Philip already said I should go with you.”
    His playful affection tingled down her spine, but she managed to keep herself focused. “That’s great. On sailing issues, you know so much more than I do.”
    Her gaze drifted, and she glanced at the picture frame again, studying the photo and trying to remember what Jemma looked like. She’d seen her only briefly at the Fourth of July party, and the photograph had been taken years earlier. She couldn’t be sure.
    What she did know was that Ian and the woman had known each other well. She saw it in their faces. The kind of familiarity a person has only with someone special.
    Courage rose in her. She was tired of being curious. She’d just ask him. “Ian, I was wondering—”
    “When we can go to White Lake?”
    He’d anticipated the wrong question, and she waited.
    Ian moved back behind his desk and eyed his calendar. “Not next weekend. That’s the Bay Breeze summer picnic. We can’t miss that.”
    She swallowed her original question, which tangled in his latest statement. “What do you mean we can’t miss that?”
    “If you’re my girl, then you’ll have to go with me. Right?”
    His comment addled her. “But I’m not really your girl.”
    “No one knows that.” A wry grin settled on hisface. “Anyway, you’ll have a blast. Food and games. All kinds of things.”
    “I don’t like games,” she said. Her double meaning hung in the air.
    “But you like food.”
    He’d missed her innuendo, and