Internally, she shook her fist at romance and called it a string of bad names, because it turned out that she was going to cry like a lovelorn girl. Her immunity to men had been disproven. Her feelings of superiority regarding her singleness had been humbled.

When you met a man you couldn’t help but love . . . it changed everything.

She’d kept it together while talking with Sebastian. But just now, while driving home, the spent drama had heavied her body. Subtle shaking had overtaken her limbs. The reality of Sebastian’s words had crushed down.

“I can’t get any more involved.”

Every step of the way, she’d been very cautious about dating him.

He’d overcome her barriers by treating her beautifully, respectfully, devotedly. By speaking vows with his kisses.

Was it possible that she’d misinterpreted the depth of his feelings? She was not gifted at reading people. Maybe she’d ascribed meaning to his words and actions that wasn’t there—

No.

She’d asked him to be direct with her and he’d honored that request. She’d stake money on the fact that he cared about her a great deal. If she had to guess what had happened between them this afternoon, she’d guess that he’d been propelled over the dividing line between his affection for her and his wounds.

She’d given him a reason not to trust her. And he’d pulled away. She’d been clear-eyed about his issues and limits from the start. Which is why she’d prayed again and again, asking for God’s guidance concerning Sebastian. God had remained stubbornly silent.

“Why did you put me through this?” she asked Him softly. “This is exactly what I was afraid would happen.”

God had stood back and allowed her to follow Sebastian into a trap. He’d let her feelings for Sebastian break free of the box where she’d wisely been trying to keep them.

In the past, God had always steered her. Always defended her.

Why not this time? I don’t understand why you didn’t answer when I repeatedly asked you to show me your will. She’d been poised to obey Him, willing. But He had not spoken.

For the first time since she’d believed in Him, He’d let her down, and now she’d landed herself in a wretched predicament. She’d fallen in love with a man who’d promptly broken up with her. She was experiencing the pain she’d seen other women endure when their relationships ended, a pain she’d planned to sidestep.

She truly couldn’t stand to think about facing the lack of Sebastian’s phone calls, smile, presence, conversations. He was loneliness and staggering success and childhood sorrow. He was a brilliant brain in a rugby player’s body. Inky hair and uncompromising features.