The Best of Everything by Kimberla Lawson Roby Read Free Book Online

on top of the stove, uncovered it, took a careful look at one of Phillip’s favorite dishes, and then re-covered it so that it would stay warm. It was finally done, and now all she had to do was sauté the asparagus, remove the salad she’d made, and place a few rolls inside the dish sitting on the island.
    During her drive home from the mall, Alicia had done a lot of thinking and had decided it was time she worked a little harder on her marriage. She’d decided this mainly because of the tense encounter she’d just had with Levi—tense because she hadn’t liked the feelings she’d had around him and tense because for a split second, and only a split second, she hadn’t thought about Phillip. She hadn’t thought about her husband, the man she loved, the man she’d taken vows with, the man she’d promised to cherish always. And that scared her. It scared her because the last thing she wanted was to be unfaithful…or be like her father used to be. She couldn’t deny that she certainly was her father’s daughter in a number of different ways, but she didn’t want to follow anywhere close in his footstepswhen it came to having affairs or hurting innocent people.
    Which was why she’d rushed over to the grocery store and picked up everything she needed so she could prepare Phillip a nice dinner. They’d already called a truce earlier, but Alicia was hoping that the gesture she was making now would help validate her efforts even further.
    Alicia heard the garage door shutting and then saw Phillip walking inside the house. He smiled at her in silence and strode over to where she was standing. Then, he stepped directly behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her on her neck. Alicia closed her eyes and felt more at ease than she had in weeks.
    Phillip held her close and then squeezed her tightly. “I love you so much. I love you so much that it hurts.”
    Alicia turned around to face him and smoothed her hand across his cheekbone and down toward his chin. “I love you, too.”
    Her husband was truly a handsome man. His complexion was flawless, his teeth were pure white and perfect, and he actually reminded her of her father. She remembered watching a talk show once and hearing a relationship expert speaking about women who sometimes choose husbands who have similar physical characteristics as their fathers, and while she hadn’t paid much attention to it before, right now she could see the similarities as plain as day.
    Alicia and Phillip locked eyes with no words to speak and then kissed forcefully and passionately. They shared such a beautiful moment, and it reminded Alicia of the way things had once been between them while they were dating and then during their first four months of marriage.
    “Maybe we should just skip dinner,” Phillip finally suggested while still holding her in his arms.
    “You think?”
    “Well, maybe not skip it altogether but maybe put it on hold so to speak.”
    Alicia double-checked the stove, making sure it was off, and Phillip grabbed her hand and led her upstairs.
     
    Phillip slipped on his plush blue terry-cloth robe and then helped Alicia into a matching one, but when she started to walk away, Phillip stopped her. “Hey. Come here, you.”
    Alicia slid closer to him and Phillip kissed her again.
    Then he gazed into her eyes. “Baby, whether you realized it or not, I really, really needed to make love to you. I thought about you all day, and while I found myself feeling every emotion imaginable, mostly I felt a lot of sadness and pain.”
    “I felt the same way, but I promise you we’ll do whatever we have to to keep our marriage strong. We love each other, and I’m just going to believe that love is what will always sustain us in the end.”
    “And it will. It has to.”
     
    After lighting two candles in long-stemmed holders, Alicia and Phillip sat down at the dining room table and held hands while Phillip said grace.
    “Dear Heavenly Father, we just