Read Online Composing Amelia by Alison Strobel - Free Book Online

perfectly until someone asked Marcus why he had the duffel. “Just got back from Nebraska,” he said.
    “Nebraska? What the heck is out there?” someone else asked.
    “Job interview.”
    Amelia eyed Marcus carefully. She could tell he was trying to keep his excitement at bay, probably for the same reason she’d tried to steer clear of the topic. He didn’t want a public argument any more than she did.
    A smattering of “Congrats” and “What for?” rained down on him, and as the discussion progressed, Amelia found her spirits buoying. Marcus didn’t mention anything about a job offer. Thank You, she prayed as she twirled spaghetti on a plastic fork. God had come through. Who said she wasn’t a Christian?
    The dinner came to an end and guests began to leave. Amelia packed up the leftovers of her dip before everyone else had gone and they were the only couple left; she didn’t want Jill or Dane to have the chance to ask Marcus how the interview had been. After their usual “See you later,” they walked out together and headed for home. “That was fun,” Amelia said as she hooked an arm through Marcus’s, trying to keep the conversation light until they were safe in the apartment. “Did you have a good time?”
    “Yeah.”
    She elbowed him. “That wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.”
    He gave her a smile. “Sorry, just … thinking.”
    “About …?” She caught him staring at her after a silent moment. “What?”
    “You haven’t asked me at all about the trip.”
    Why was she suddenly nervous? “We talked both nights you were gone, it’s not like I didn’t get to hear about it.”
    “I know, but … Come on, Amelia, I know you’re avoiding the whole thing. That’s not going to make it go away, you know.”
    She smirked, though her heart was starting to pound. “No, you’re right, I can’t make an entire state disappear with the power of my mind. At least not one so big. I’ll work on Rhode Island first.”
    He wasn’t laughing. “It really hurts that you don’t care at all about something that I care so much about.”
    “I just don’t want to get into it here, in public.”
    “Get into what? You make it sound like we’re going to have a knock-down drag-out.”
    “Fine.” She dropped her hand from his arm. “It hurts me, too, that you don’t care at all about the thing I care about so much,” she said, eyes focused on the sidewalk ahead of them.
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “Maybe you don’t care about my career like I once thought you did.”
    “How could you possibly say that?”
    “If you did, you wouldn’t have even taken that interview.”
    He muttered something under his breath. “Amelia, we’ve gone over this already.”
    “I know, I know— God told you to go.”
    “You say that as if you’re mocking me.”
    “I’m not mocking you. I’m trying to explain that you’ve played the ultimate trump card. But it’s not fair. What about the fact that I believe God gave me the theater troupe gig? You’re being selfish, and you’re using God to support it.”
    Marcus went quiet. Amelia gripped the Tupperware tighter as her heart sank. She had hurt him. She hadn’t meant to do that. But it was as if he wasn’t hearing her at all. She didn’t want to wound him, but she didn’t want to get walked all over, either. She didn’t know where the balance was between sticking up for herself and not being harsh when her words didn’t seem to get through.
    “I’m sorry,” she said as their apartment building came into sight. Marcus said nothing, and she felt her palms begin to sweat. Great, now she was getting the silent treatment. “Really,” she said. “I’m sorry, I’m not being very nice. But … from what I gathered at dinner, it doesn’t matter … right? Maybe this week we can start looking for new job postings and––”
    “Amelia.” He reached out to take hold of her arm, stopping her on the sidewalk. “I got the job.”
    She was