Read Love Is Patient and A Heart's Refuge for Free Online Page A

it a light shake. “Will you pray, Alex?”
    Alex shook his head.
    Lisa could see a faint line crease Stephanie’s forehead. It disappeared as she glanced around the table with a light smile, then everyone bowed their heads. Atthe last moment Lisa realized what was happening and dropped her head, as well.
    She closed her eyes as Dylan’s mother began praying.
    “We come to You, Lord, in humbleness of heart and praise You for the lives you have given us. Thank You, Lord, for safety in travels. For the food we can eat and enjoy together. Thank You too, for Lisa and Dylan’s visit…”
    Lisa felt a slow melancholy wrap itself around her heart. How long had it been since she had heard the sincere prayer of a believer? How long had it been since she’d heard anyone pray for her?
    Stephanie’s prayer was a reminder of what she had pushed out of her life in bitterness. A knot caught in her throat.
    Then, thankfully, the prayer was over. Around her Dylan’s family broke into a flurry of conversation. Lisa kept her head bowed a moment, shoring up her scattershot emotions.
    “Sorry about that.” Dylan’s quiet voice beside her made her look up. He was looking down at her, a bemused expression on his face. “I hope you weren’t too uncomfortable?”
    Lisa shook her head. “It’s been a while since I’ve prayed before meals.”
    “You used to?”
    “Yes, when…” She stopped talking. Nothing personal, she reminded herself, turning to the salad in front of her.
    “And what are you two plotting?” Dara asked, leaning forward to catch their attention, but it was Dylanwho had her eye. “Takeover schemes? How to rescue the company?”
    Again Lisa felt her face flush at Dara’s implication.
    “I’m sorry,” Dylan said smoothly. “I didn’t mean to look like we had secrets.” And thankfully he said no more than that.
    “So, Lisa, how did you meet Dylan?” Amber asked, her voice full of innocent inquiry.
    “In the office.” Lisa decided to play this as straightforward as she could.
    “Convenient,” Dara said.
    “Yes, it is,” Lisa returned, determined not to let this woman bulldoze her. “I guess I got a little more than I bargained for when I applied for the job.”
    Dylan’s sidelong grin and wink was one of coconspirator, and the connection created a quiver of awareness.
    “I thought you made it a rule never to get involved with your office staff,” Amber said with a touch of petulance. She seemed to sense that Kerry was out of the running.
    “And I hear you’ve been spending time with a certain hockey player, Amber,” Dylan added. “Something I remember hearing you say you’d never do.”
    The blush on Amber’s face evoked a wave of laughter.
    Though Dylan had neatly parried Amber’s obvious schemes, Erika didn’t seem ready to give up their championing of Kerry as potential partner for Dylan. “Did we tell you, Dylan? Kerry works for that company that manufactures the newest in e-books. Kerry, tell Dylan about the new one you’re working on.”
    Kerry’s face lit up. She scooped her streaked blond hair behind her ear, her blue eyes fairly sparkling. Though she liked to dress well, Lisa was seldom self-conscious of her appearance. But being confronted with Kerry’s beauty-queen good looks, she felt like a frump.
    “E-books have been vastly underrated,” Kerry said, leaning forward, her shining lips parted in a smile wide enough to show her perfectly aligned teeth. “But we’ve come up with a platform that makes the possibilities for our e-book wider than most of the limited-use, dedicated devices that have come up in the past.” Kerry kept her eyes on Dylan, her smile coy as she absently toyed with her long hair.
    “How does this relate to Matheson Telecom?”
    “It could make a good addition to our product line,” Dara put in, her smile competing with Kerry’s.
    “I think we’ve spread ourselves far enough,” Dylan said, stabbing his salad with his fork.
    “Dara might be