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Trent met Liberty’s gaze and looked nervous, but he started dancing with Missy.
Matt chuckled. “She tried to date Trey once, and I think it was actually the catalyst that pushed Ava to marry him.”
That was interesting. Liberty turned back to Matt. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know if you know much about Trey and Ava getting back together.”
“A little. She wanted to buy the inn, and he was selling it but then decided to do a partnership with her.”
“Yeah, that’s the short story. A lot of things happened between point A and B to get those two back together, and Missy was one of them.”
She stared at the bimbo blonde. Bimbo blonde? Had she just thought that? Yes, she had. The realization was annoying. She didn’t like feeling jealous. Yet it was hard not to, because Trent was the babe slayer. Had he dated Missy before? Liberty didn’t like that at all.
She refocused on Matt. They chatted easily through the rest of the dance. She found out Matt was divorced, and that Tatum was eleven.
After the dance was over, Trent came right back to Liberty’s side, reaching for her hand. “Want to get some air?” She must have given him a look that told him she wasn’t happy, because he asked, “What?”
“Nothing.” She felt wild and slightly out of control.
“No, it’s something.”
“Not right now.” She had to get out of here, and then she would confront him about the bimbo.
“Okay.”
Lucy and Matt sauntered away, talking to others and wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Trent leaned into her. “I hate socializing.”
That took her by surprise. He’d never seemed to hate it.
She tugged him toward the patio door. “Let’s go see this new statue Pastor Henry told me about.”
“Now?” Trent asked. “You’re telling me you want to ditch out and give me a chance to be alone with you?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at how eagerly he said those words. “Exactly. Let’s ditch out.”
“I’m in.”
Five minutes later, they were staring up at the statue. “I like it,” she said, leaning into his shoulder.
“I do, too,” Trent said. “I’m glad you wanted to see it, because it is a cool statue.”
For a few moments, neither of them spoke.
Then Trent cleared his throat. “My mom, as you know, has a million scripture quotes all over the walls. For a long time after Ava and Trey restored the inn, it has provoked me to see all the scripture quotes. I think of Paul and all that he went through, sitting in jail and writing scripture. I think about him, and I think about the past couple days, and I can’t deny that miracles happen. You have shown me that.”
“You give me too much credit.” Tears pricked at the edges of her eyes. “I can’t take credit for anything. I’m just grateful for you.”
“Lib …” He waited.
“Yeah.”
“This might seem way too sudden for you, but I feel like I’ve been searching for something for so long, and now I don’t think I was actually searching for the treasure. I think I had to just keep going,” he said, blinking rapidly. “I wonder if this was my parents’ plan all along. My dad used to say that the mysteries of the universe wouldn’t unfold to a person who wasn’t searching for them. I used to think he was just talking about Superman. But now I realize that he was talking about everything.” He reached out and tugged lightly on a strand of her hair. “Not just answers about God. And I do know he’s there. I always have. I think for so long I just wanted to be mad at something. He was an easy target.”
“I know from experience that God is an easy target.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “Yes, He is. But I think I’ve been searching for you.”
