When There is Love: A Christian Romance (The McKinleys Book 3) Read online

  “I’ll just go get changed, and we can leave.”

  Though it was clear that they were leaving together, it didn’t stop AJ from making her move.

  As Trent turned to go, AJ rested her hand on his arm. “Hey. Any chance you’d be interested in going for a drink?”

  Trent’s gaze shot to Justin then back to AJ. “Uh, no. I don’t drink.”

  AJ shrugged but was apparently undeterred. “Maybe dinner then?”

  “I appreciate the invitation, but I’m afraid I must decline.” He gave her a quick smile before turning and heading to the changing room, but Justin stayed behind.

  “I thought you said he didn’t have a girlfriend,” AJ said as she turned to Victoria, a frown on her face.

  “He doesn’t.”

  “So is he gay?”

  Victoria had to laugh at that one. “No, he’s not.”

  Justin cleared his throat. “AJ, just because a man doesn’t fall at your feet doesn’t mean he’s gay or unavailable. You’re just not Trent’s type.”

  Surprise crossed AJ’s face as if she had never even considered that option. She turned on her heel and walked away.

  Justin’s gaze met hers and even though he didn’t full-on smile, Victoria could see the humor in his eyes as he winked at her. “But I do believe you are.”

  Warmth rose in her cheeks, and she couldn’t keep a smile from turning up the corners of her mouth. She felt much better by the time Trent returned. He looked relieved to find it was just her and Justin at the bench.

  “Thanks again, man,” Trent said as he gripped the hand Justin held out. “Not sure why I feel like I should thank you for tossing me around, but I do.”

  Justin slapped him on the back. “It’s always a good idea to be polite to someone who can beat you up.” He smiled at Victoria. “Hope to see you again. You’re improving quite rapidly.”

  “Thanks. I really enjoy it, so I’ll be back soon.”

  Neither of them said much as they made their way out of the building to the car.

  “So, that was a bit odd,” Trent said as he drove through the open gates of the compound.

  “What’s that?”

  He glanced at her. “AJ asking me out like that.”

  “Hey, we girls are taught that we don’t have to wait for the guy to make the first move anymore. She really took that lesson to heart, apparently.”

  “Did you talk with her?”

  “A little. She seemed more interested in watching you spar with Justin.”

  “Why would I be interested in going out with someone who’s only here for a month?”

  Was that the only reason he’d declined her invitation? “Maybe she was just looking for a little entertainment while she was here.”

  “Well, I’m not into that type of thing.”

  “Also, long distance relationships aren’t exactly an anomaly these days. Maybe she was thinking along those lines.”

  Trent shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in either of those sorts of relationships. Or her, for that matter.” He paused. “What I don’t understand is why she assumed that I was available, especially when you were there.”

  Victoria laughed. “Really? I’m sure that it never even crossed her mind that we might be together. She didn’t ask if I was your girlfriend. She asked if you had a girlfriend. I told her no.”

  Trent’s brows drew together as he shot her a look. “First of all, you could have just fudged that a little to spare me that embarrassing encounter. And second, why would you think people wouldn’t assume we were together?”

  “Just society’s perceptions.” Victoria suddenly wished this conversation would just go away. She paused but when he didn’t respond, she continued. “You can’t tell me you’re unaware of them. When two people who are so noticeably different associate, society often just assumes they wouldn’t be together in a romantic way. It’s not just a little person and an average-size person. You get it with a mixed race couple, too. People are more likely to assume they’re just friends, not romantically involved. Not that they don’t accept them as a couple once they realize there is a connection there, but it’s usually not their first assumption unless there is something obvious to connect them. If you’d been a little person sparring, and I was there watching, I’m sure she would have automatically assumed a romantic connection even if we were just friends.”

  Trent kept his gaze on the road, but she could see that his jaw was tight. “I suppose you’re right about society’s perception, but it still doesn’t make it right.”

  “It’s happened with me, Staci and Sarah, too. If the three of us are out together, no one assumes that Sarah is Staci’s. They assume she’s mine. Even if Staci is holding her. Most the time, it’s not meant with malice. I honestly think AJ would have held more malicious thoughts about me if I’d lied and said I was your girlfriend. She didn’t see me as a threat for your attention, so she just dismissed me.”

  Victoria sensed an undercurrent of anger coming from Trent but couldn’t quite figure out the reason. Was he upset she’d offered him up to AJ? Did he wish she’d identified herself as his girlfriend? Or did her explanation of society’s view upset him?

  Whatever it was, the remainder of the trip was made in silence, and Victoria knew she’d be eating the food she pulled out of the freezer by herself. He hadn’t said anything about dinner and with his current mood, she wasn’t about to offer. In reality, she needed some time to think about what had transpired at the gym, too. The yucky feeling still lingered in her gut even though Trent had turned down AJ’s invitation.

  It had been just one more reason she’d resisted Trent’s attempts to get her to go out on a date with him. It wasn’t just that he was an average-size guy, but that he was an attractive average-size guy. She hadn’t wanted everyone to look at them and wonder why—of all the women he could have had in the world—he’d settled for her.

  “Thank you for taking me again,” Victoria said as she climbed down from the car.

  “You’re welcome.” Trent returned the stool to her car then said, “Have a good week. I hope your meeting goes well.”

  “Thanks.” Victoria watched as he walked around to the driver’s side of his car and got in. As he began to back out of her driveway, she turned on her crutches and headed for the house.

  She took off her shoes and dropped her purse on the table on her way to the living room. Victoria went to the couch and settled on it with a sigh, sliding the crutches off her arms.

  This was too confusing with Trent. His anger made no sense. He was the one who’d backed off from his pursuit of her. She figured they had settled into a friendship of sorts. If he was interested in more, wouldn’t he be in contact with her more than just once a week?

  Victoria rubbed her forehead then leaned her head against the back of the couch. A certain sense of dissatisfaction had been building inside her of late. Her life was so predictable and—if she were totally honest—a bit boring. That was probably why she’d been so excited about going to the range and cooking dinners for Trent. It was something that took her out of the monotony that had engulfed her life.

  Monday mornings her mom would be there at ten o’clock to take her grocery shopping. They’d come home and unpack them then go out for lunch. Sometimes Brooke joined them. Usually one day a week she had Sarah over to do some baking and to spend time with her. One or two times a month she met with a group of other little people. And she usually tried to attend the weekly women’s Bible study at church. The rest of her time was split between running her business, spending time with family and taking care of her house.

  Trent’s question about whether she saw herself continuing the business long term had gotten her thinking. And keeping with the honesty theme, she had to admit that she really didn’t want to continue with it long term. She’d just kind of fallen into it when her dad had created some unique things that they thought other little people might be able to make use of. It had kind of just grown f
rom there, though it still wasn’t a huge business. She and her dad could handle most of it with the help of a friend who took care of things like marketing.

  But Victoria really wanted to have something more—something different—in her life. What that was, she didn’t know yet, but there had to be something that would give her a sense of fulfillment and purpose.

  She leaned down on the pillow at the end of the couch and lifted her legs, wincing as her hip protested the movement. But maybe she had to deal with the hip surgery first and then look at some sort of change in her life.

  And she wondered what was going to happen with Trent. Her heart hurt at the thought that what had transpired earlier might have killed their budding friendship. She wished she understood men better because maybe she’d get why Trent had backed away from the flirting and seemed content with just friendship. Had spending one-on-one time with her made him realize that maybe friendship was what he wanted? Or had it been that he’d finally accepted that she didn’t want anything more?

  Except that now she did. But just as it had been fear that had kept her from letting him get too close over the past couple of years, it would be fear that kept her from going after him now.

  Trent fought the urge to fling his bag across the room when he got to his apartment. But since it contained firearms—one of which was loaded—he set it down with care on his table. He grabbed a drink and then sat down in front of his computer. Ever since the attack, he’d found himself monitoring things more than he had before. But even that couldn’t calm the turmoil within him.

  He wasn’t even sure what he was most upset about. The fact that Victoria had been in pain and using crutches for some time, and she hadn’t told him. Not only that, she’d hidden it as if she couldn’t trust him with that information.

  It also stung that she’d willingly offered up his single status to that woman without even a hesitation. Was she not feeling any sort of connection with him the way he was with her? And then her revelation of society’s perceptions had made him mad. Is that why she’d resisted his earlier attempts at a relationship? She didn’t want to be subject to society’s perceptions of them?

  He certainly didn’t give a rip what society thought about anything. And his sister could no doubt vouch for that after her most recent stay with him. She’d made sure he knew—once again—every single thing that was expected of him because of who he was. The son of a rich family. Though he’d been raised hearing lectures about it, he’d chosen not to follow his family’s idea of how society should operate. Their perception of society that elevated them above others. The guides by which he lived came from his belief in God and how the Bible laid out he should live his life.

  Maturity and his own experiences had moved him past the point of looking at just the surface of people. He wasn’t ignorant, but sometimes he forgot that a good chunk of the world either didn’t care to embrace those who were different or they outright rejected them. Those were the ones who seemed to be at the forefront of Victoria’s own perceptions of the world.

  Would he be able to get Victoria to set aside any fears she had about how people might look at them in order to give a relationship a shot? That was assuming she felt anything for him. Some days he felt a growing confidence that she did but then days like today left him wondering.

  If some guy had come up and asked him if she had a boyfriend, he would definitely have figured out a way to make it clear to the guy that she was unavailable.

  As he sat there, once again thinking about Victoria’s comments on society, he realized that his own family might have some difficulty accepting her. Not that that would ever stop him from being with her if she was willing. But would they see in her the things he did? Her strength. Her loving heart. Her sense of humor. Even the whole thing with the guns had shown him again how determined and strong she was. She hadn’t let her size hold her back from at least trying to learn to shoot.

  But why did it seem that she would let her size hold her back from a relationship with him? Maybe it was time to just come clean with his feelings and ask her to give him a shot.

  No jokes. No flirting. Just feelings.

  This was where his own inexperience with women worked against him. He hadn’t dated at all in high school, and though he’d had a couple of relationships in his early twenties, he hadn’t been able to picture a long-term future with either of the women. So yeah, he had very little experience from which to draw on when dealing with Victoria. And he couldn’t exactly go to his best friend to ask for advice. Than could probably have given him some pointers, but they likely wouldn’t have been anything that would lead to a long-term relationship.

  So he was left to try and figure it out for himself, all the while hoping he didn’t do anything that would scare her off. It was the hardest thing in the world to not pick up the phone every single night to talk to her. To ask her how her day had gone and share about his. But if his lighthearted attempts at flirting with her every couple of weeks had scared her off, he could only imagine what daily calls from him would do. For all he knew, the main reason she spent time with him was because he was giving her the opportunity to do something she really wanted to do.

  He gave his head a shake. It shouldn’t be this complicated. He’d thought giving her a chance to really get to know him was the right course of action. But it seemed like all that had happened was that he’d ended up with a new friend. A good friend, no doubt, but still just a friend.

  All he wanted was to have a simple, straightforward conversation with her.

  Hey, I really like you. Want to go out on a date?

  And hopefully, she’d reply just as straightforwardly.

  Sure. I really like you, too. What time are you picking me up?

  But no, he’d been convinced that he could tease and flirt his way into her heart. Then when that hadn’t been successful and he’d been handed another chance with her needing his help, he still hadn’t been able to make it work. Or at least he didn’t think he had.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  WITH Victoria was sending out so many mixed signals, Trent really had no idea either way. Bottom line, if he was truly honest with himself, he was too scared to just put it right out there. He clearly had his own set of fears. The biggest one being that if he pushed her too soon, she’d shut him right down. Permanently. So far, even with some of the mixed signals, there were enough positive ones that he hoped he still had a chance.

  With a frustrated sigh, Trent pushed back from the computer. Other guys might turn to sports when aggravated, but his go-to was his video games. It had been quite a while since he’d played any of them so it took a few minutes to find the one he wanted and to get it set up. But at least it would give him a couple hours of mindless entertainment.

  Victoria left her meeting with the man who’d wanted to purchase her products feeling encouraged. She’d still not heard back on the hotel proposal she’d sent out a few weeks ago, so it felt good to be moving in a positive direction with this. It had been invigorating to see his dedication to helping little people and others who had disabilities that meant they faced some of the same challenges as someone with dwarfism. It definitely was his passion in a way it had never been hers. But it had been infectious nonetheless.

  And it had been nice to not have her thoughts dominated by Trent for a couple of hours. But now as she walked to her car, Victoria realized that the person she wanted to call first to share about the meeting was Trent. But he hadn’t told her to call him to let him know, he’d just said he hoped it went well.

  Victoria allowed herself to wallow in her frustration for the duration of the drive home, but once inside the house, she forced herself to push it aside. She had some numbers to work up and then she needed to put some serious thought into her future.

  And maybe what she was going to do about Trent.

  When Eric had stopped by his office earlier to invite him to a family barbecue, Trent had jumped at it. Not just because the food at the McKinleys was always
terrific, but it gave him an opportunity to hang around Victoria. It would also offer him a chance to judge how she might be feeling toward him after the previous weekend’s fiasco.

  As he pulled to a stop in front of the McKinley house, Trent noticed that Victoria’s car wasn’t there. Hoping that maybe she’d caught a ride with Alicia or Brooke, he bypassed the front door and headed to the gate that led to the backyard. He did a quick scan of the people there and noticed immediately that Victoria wasn’t among them.

  Maybe she was just late.

  “Hey, Trent,” Eric called from where he stood next to the barbecue.

  Trent veered in his friend’s direction, the smells from the grill drawing him like a magnet. His stomach rumbled appreciatively in anticipation of having its best meal all week.

  “Where’s Victoria?” Though he hadn’t planned to ask about her, he just couldn’t help it.

  Eric gave him a quick look as he opened the grill and began to turn the meat. “She’s on a date.”

  The words were like a kick to his stomach. They robbed him of breath, but he worked to get the words out because he wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “A date?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Eric slowly lowered the lid back down. “When Mom told me that, I assumed the two of you must have come to some sort of understanding and were just staying friends. But I’m guessing maybe that wasn’t the case?”

  Trent swallowed hard, hoping the pain in his heart was not visible on his face. “To be honest, we never really talked seriously about a relationship between the two of us.”

  Eric tilted his head. “You guys have been spending a lot of time together, and yet you never got around to talking about the two of you? What was going through your mind, buddy?”

  “I was thinking that I didn’t want to pressure her. That I wanted her to spend some time with me without all the stuff of the past few months. I had hoped that she’d come to feel something for me like I do for her. Guess that kind of backfired on me, huh?”