Sarah's Prayer: A Sunset Single (Sunset Series 1.1) by J. Brent Eaton

assets. Every woman who's trying to catch a man needs to go with her assets."
    "Well, I understand that, but I don't know that I have the 'assets' you're talking about." Sarah hesitated. "Not like you, Jen. You're so beautiful and self-assured. No wonder Jake liked you so much." Sarah dropped her head in an all too familiar posture.
    Jen wrapped up what was left of her chicken sandwich, walked around the picnic table and straddled the bench next to Sarah. She reached up and turned Sarah's head to look her in the eyes. "Sarah, sweetie. You are a beautiful woman. You're calm demeanor, empathy and ability to love and care for people you've just met make you the perfect woman for a man who's looking for that combination." Jen leaned back and took a deep breath. "To be honest, Sharon had a talk with me about almost scaring Jake away with my steamroller personality. I had to tone it down a bit, at least until I had him cornered." Jen grinned with her classic sparkle. "You need to give yourself more credit. God gave you some amazing womanly talents, and maybe those talents will help you snare this Michael guy."
    "Maybe you're right, Jen."
    "I know I’m right, Sarah. Just relax a bit. Be confident in the woman God made you to be and enjoy the time you have with Michael."
    Sarah thought for a moment. "Thank you. That really means a lot coming from someone as beautiful as you..." Sarah hesitated. "Jen, there is one thing I kinda need your advice on while we're talking about... men."
    "Sure, sweetie. Fire away... not that I'm an expert or anything, but I'll try to help."
    "I guess it's been so long since I've been on a real date with a guy I really liked that I don't know how quickly you're supposed to start talking about serious and personal stuff."
    "Give me an example."
    "Well, yesterday, it wasn't but a few minutes before I told him how nervous I was about getting ready for our coffee date. He told me that he was divorced and I could tell that he was sad, but not devastated. I assured him I understood because I had been through a difficult relationship but came through it and..."
    "Whoa. Stop right there." Jen sat up straight. "You mean to tell me you guys covered that much personal stuff on the first date... over coffee?"
    Sarah felt very self-conscious, like she had done something wrong. "Well, yeah. Do you think I messed up?"
    "Oh, heavens no, hun. I think that's great. You two felt completely comfortable sharing your hearts from the very first. That's a great sign as far as I'm concerned."
    "You think?"
    "Heck, yeah. Now, let's talk about your dinner plans..."
    The two new "sisters" plotted the overthrow of a young man's heart over the remainder of their lunch break.

Chapter 8
    Wednesday evening Sarah emailed Michael about their planned dinner this Friday. Her mind already raced about the menu and what it would be like to have a man over to her apartment for dinner. The more she thought about it the more nervous she became. I haven't done this since.... What do I do? How do I act? I... I need to talk to Jen.
    Dialing her number, Sarah felt foolish for calling someone like Jen to ask such a juvenile question, but she was out of her league on this one. Just do it, Sarah.
    " Howdy, Jen speaking. "
    "Hey, Jen. This is Sarah. I have a question about Friday night that we didn't cover earlier and... well... it may sound a little ridiculous, but..."
    " You want to know how to keep him from making a move on you, don't you? "
    Sarah felt so relieved, not only that she didn't have to ask it, but that Jen understood what she needed to know. "Right. This is new to me, Jen. The last time I had a guy over for dinner was when I was in school... and that didn't end well for me." Sarah felt nervous about this conversation.
    " I gotcha covered on this one. Just do what I did with Jake. Take the initiative and tell Michael what you're going to do to him. That way, you're the one in control and you're telling him where the boundaries are. "
    Sarah