1. Handsome Stranger
1
Handsome Stranger
“ Y ou’re a good, good Father, it’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are…
And I’m loved by you, it’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am…”
What was she doing, singing Good, Good Father when God hadn’t been a good Father to her since her dad tested positive for blood cancer nine months ago? Not only had He allowed that to happen, but He also refused to hear her endless pleas to save him from his deathbed three months ago.
No, God hadn’t been a good Father to her. He had, in fact, stopped caring for her. He had abandoned her. She was so good for nothing that even God didn’t want her.
But, if she was so sure about it, then why was there a nagging in the back of her brain saying she was wrong?
Though, what other explanation was there for God’s silence to her prayers?
Sure, she still believed God existed. He simply had stopped caring for her. So, why should she keep singing songs like this and lead worship in church?
Because she had the voice of an angel. That’s what everyone who ever listened to her sing had said. Why she was the worship band’s lead vocalist.
Alexa loved her position and the praises she received from her church members, and she simply couldn’t step down because of her faith issues. She had kept up her perfect Christian girl pretense in the last three months, and she could do so in the future too. No one would find out.
No one but her sister, that was.
But Cassie understood. They were in the same boat, after all.
If the perfect Christian girl mask slipped, there would be at least ten people ready to lecture them. So pretending was the best and safest option. Alexa was positive no one could see through her pretense. Who could, when she made the best display of being a worship leader with a burning passion? Everyone judged by their eyes, but no one could see her heart.
No one but God, of course. But He had stopped caring long ago.
Alexa’s eyes searched the worshiping crowd for her sister. Cassie met her eyes and gave her a small smile, her lips barely moving as she sang along with the crowd. On Cassie’s left was her boyfriend of two years, Brandon, singing with closed eyes .
Alexa’s gaze traveled to Cassie’s right by habit; a habit she hadn’t been able to outgrow in the last three months. And seeing someone else in the place where her dad always occupied stung as freshly as it did on the first day. Would she ever get used to his absence?
When the service finally ended, Alexa was relieved. She went backstage with the other members of the worship team and grabbed her backpack, intending to slip out as soon as possible. She was no longer interested in hanging around her church friends. Besides, she was starving. She couldn’t wait to get to her favorite Italian diner.
Just as she was about to slip out, a familiar voice stopped her from behind.
“Lex, wait.”
Alexa turned with a pasted-on smile for her sister’s childhood best friend and her brother-figure. He was also the pastor’s nephew and the drummer in their band, an easygoing person with dark blonde hair and forest green eyes.
“Yes, Jonny?”
John winced slightly, but didn’t say anything. He despised the nickname. She and Cassie were the only ones he had allowed to keep calling him that, yet he winced every time they addressed him.
Alexa fought a smirk at his facial expression and didn’t make a comment either. This was usual, after all.
John composed himself, just before his eyebrows furrowed. Concern filled his eyes. “Are you alright?”
If this was someone else in his place—except Cassie—Alexa would’ve lashed out and said yes . But this was John, her older brother-figure ever since she could remember. He knew her almost as well as Cassie did, able to tell when she was upset and trying to mask it—most times. There was no hiding from him.
Alexa’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and she dropped her voice. “Do I have to answer that?”
John heaved a sigh and hugged her to his side. “No.” He gave her shoulder an assuring squeeze and walked them outside. If they were alone, he would have given her one of his bear hugs, but he was avoiding making a scene—for her sake. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
His soft way of asking nearly made her want to spill the beans. But she didn’t. No matter what, he couldn’t discover her faith issues. He was one of the people she dreaded finding out, and would be the first to lecture her and her sister about it.
They didn’t need lecturing.
“No, it’s fine, Jonny. But thank you.”
John heaved another sigh and pressed her to his side. “I’m always here if you need me. You know that, right?”
Alexa looked aside at him and her heart swelled. She loved him so much; he always looked out for her. “Of course.” She forced a small smile.
They walked in silence to the worship hall, where Cassie and Brandon waited for her. Brandon spotted her first and smiled, but when he saw John, a frown tugged it down.
Alexa rolled her eyes.
Brandon was a jealous boyfriend whenever John was around Cassie, even though he wasn’t aware of Cassie’s old crush on John. And John had been around Cassie more often in the last three months.
John wasn’t fond of Brandon either. Both men treated the other like a thorn in their sides.
Where John had blonde curls and forest green eyes, Brandon was dark and blue-eyed, with John at least an inch taller. While John was handsome, Brandon was hot —in Daphne’s words.
Alexa gave a mental eye roll remembering her best friend’s statement. Daphne’s theory had been that it was why Cassie was easily past her childhood crush.
“Hey, you.” Cassie smiled in greeting as they approached, glancing at John. “I was waiting. I’ve got something for you.” She dug a hand into her bag.
“Let me guess, you got your proof copy.” John widened his eyes and dropped his arm from Alexa. At Cassie’s growing smile, he added, “And you’re telling me now? ”
“She received it just yesterday,” Brandon chimed in, his tone far from friendly.
John ignored him, like always. “Gosh, Cass. That’s your twentieth proof copy.”
“You make it sound like I ordered twenty proof copies of a single book,” Cassie replied with a bitten laugh and handed her book to him, correcting him, “The proof copy of my twentieth book .”
“Gee, thanks author.” John shot her a cocky grin as he accepted the book. Alexa hid a smile; he was trying to grate on Brandon’s nerves.
John’s eyes twinkled, just like every other time he saw the covers of Cassie’s proof copies. “Wow, this one turned out to be massive.”
“ All of them are massive actually, don’t flatter yourself,” Alexa teased him. “But I think this one might be my favorite of all. ”
“You say that all the time, little Lex.”
Alexa recoiled furiously at the old nickname but refrained from making a retort. It was just like how he felt when she called him Jonny . The guy could use some justice. So she settled with a simple, “Whatever.”
Cassie was an indie fantasy author of four years, with her twentieth book releasing in two months. John had been her devoted cover designer since the beginning of her author journey. It had started as fun for John, but as Cassie’s works began to take flight, she hired him as her designer. Though, it took a lot of convincing from not just Alexa’s and Cassie’s side but their dad’s too to make him accept the payments for the covers he designed.
This one featured a female hand holding three roses; two red and the middle one white, in black background, with a fiery-red frame bordering the top edges, and the title written in golden embossed letters in an elegantly fierce font: Between Thorns .
“The elements in the cover don’t match the title though,” Brandon said cynically, dragging their attention from appraising the book to him. “Honestly, why did you add red roses instead of thorns on either side of the white one?”
Brandon was like a second brother to Alexa. They were close, though not as close as she and John were. But his annoying persona around sweet John always irritated her.
Her defensive instincts rose.
“Jonny doesn’t design Cassie’s covers the way he wants them, though. They’re always Cassie’s decisions; he does what she wants. And this one has its own meaning .”
She spared her sister a knowing look at last and saw her deadpan expression. Alexa barely concealed her smile. Between Thorns was a love triangle, and Brandon and John were the inspirations for the two love interests of the protagonist.
Alexa had shipped the John-inspired lead and the protagonist since Cassie began drafting the book, and where she thought this was going to be another triangle that was going to tear her heart out—because her sister would surely go with the Brandon-inspired lead—Cassie stunned her with her favorite ship as the endgame.
“I don’t want one of my own books to break my sister’s heart,” was Cassie’s response to Alexa’s shock.
But Alexa wasn’t a fool. She concluded that, despite having a hot -looking boyfriend, her sister wasn’t completely over her childhood crush.
“It still doesn’t make sense,” Brandon argued stubbornly.
Cassie came up with an excuse for her choice of red roses and Alexa cast her eyes about the room to hide the smile trembling at the corner of her lips. Her sister was pathetic at fabricating an excuse despite being an author.
Her gaze traveled past several familiar faces before brushing over an unfamiliar one. Alexa did a double take.
Her eyes locked with the assessing stare of a handsome stranger.
He stood at the back of the room, hands in the pockets of his black jeans, wearing a black button down. His pale skin contrasted with his outfit. He was gorgeous.
Drop-dead gorgeous.
Who was he? Probably a new member of the church.
How come she hadn’t seen him before? Such a person would be hard to miss .
Alexa did a quick sweep of the room and noticed that a lot of girls were staring his way too. Looking back to where he was, she saw him moving toward the exit.
But, wait!
Before she realized what she was doing, she murmured, “Be right back,” to her sister and her legs started moving toward the exit on their own accord.
“Oh, Alexa. There you are!” An older woman she bumped into on her way stopped her. “The worship was such a blessing, dearie. As always.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Fell.” Alexa tore her eyes from the handsome stranger’s back and shot the woman a quick smile. She glanced back at the doorway and realized she had lost him. “Please, excuse me.”
Alexa dashed to the exit and stepped into the crowded foyer. Looking around, she searched for a figure in full black. But he wasn’t there. Surely, he couldn’t have gotten out of the building that fast. Unless he ran, of course, as amusing and silly as the thought was.
Alexa shouldered past each person, sparing a fake smile for everyone who caught her eye and tried to stop her, and stepped out to the portico.
Now, where was he?
Alexa scanned the church courtyard, among the parked cars and beyond the half walls surrounding it. He was nowhere to be found.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she mumbled to herself.
Where did he go?