This starts out kinda dramatic like but the tone eventually lightens, though there will be serious moments. I know I should have started it out more humorous for an even flow, but I guess I'll take care of that when I revise. Though there are some humorous moments in the beginning.

To devoted Christians who may read this, please bear with the main character, Heather. She is wild... Steven is a Christian and very much acts like one, though he is human and he's honest. You'll see his POV in Chapter 3.

This was originally posted under my other account, but for reasons I don't care to explain, I'm reposting it here.

CHAPTER ONE

I was running late again. I parked my mother’s little Buick in the parking lot behind our little, white church, and ordered my ten year old niece, Stephanie, to hurry. We leapt from our seats, doors slamming one after the other, and as I neared the end of the vehicle, she rounded the back, her long, dark waves that dwarfed her petite frame nearly untouched by the blowing wind.

We were about to sprint for the door, when a blue truck idled near the side of the road, the passenger window coming down, and a brown-haired man leaning over the front seats to catch my attention. His gray suit jacket seemed to strain at the shoulders as he waved a thick hand.

Keeping my distance and holding out a hand to prevent Stephanie from running any further, I waited for the man to speak.

“Hi,” he said, straightening a bit as though he realized I was a little paranoid about his presence. His blue eyes were radiant in the morning sun. “I’m looking for Emmanuel Baptist Church. Is this it?”

I shook my head, the wind catching my shoulder-length, brown hair and spreading it out in the air like a fan. I could see the man’s small smile as he gazed upon me, and my cheeks grew warm. I was such a romanticist that the thought passed through my mind- God had pushed the hair from my face so that the man could clearly see his future bride.

Tossing that ridiculous idea aside, I said, “I think that’s further west on Main Street.”

He shook his head. “My friends told me it was up here.”

Shrugging now, “I’m sorry… I don’t know.”

“OK,” he nodded but made no move to pull his truck away from the curb, so I took my nieces hand and headed straight toward the back of the building before rounding it to the front.

“He was cute!” Stephanie ejected as we climbed the front steps. I grinned down at my niece- a girl I was often told looked like my little sister, with her big brown eyes and brown hair. The man hadn’t looked bad- what I could see of him, anway. He’d had broad shoulders, which I always liked, and thick, brown hair and blue eyes that were visible from ten feet away.

However, he wouldn’t want me, even if he did find me attractive, my hair flying on the wind, my emerald green, curve-hugging dress swishing about my legs. He might find me cute… but he wouldn’t want me.

You see… though I attended church, I lead a double life. And no good, Christian man in his right mind would want me.

After we’d snuck into the service undetected, sitting in the back row, I realized I’d left my Bible in the car- again- and Stephanie cast me a wide-eyed gaze as she pointed behind us. I turned. And caught my breath.

The man from the parking lot had entered… and he was shorter than I’d pictured, rougly around five eight, which was three inches taller than I was. He scanned the church, his eyes settling on me. Right on me.

Oh. Crap.

OOOO

“Now, here we see Saul blinded by the light of Christ, and he immediately- Oh, hello, Sir.” Pastor Jenkins lowered his hands, smiling at the lone figure standing in front of the blue doors that separated the congregation from the small foyer and restrooms. “Come on in. Have a seat.”

I could see the embarrassment in the man’s cheeks as he looked to me again, and so I, against my better judgment, patted the spot next to mine, and he hurried over, wearing a warm smile as he lowered himself. I was the first ‘friend’ he’d made- maybe he would have felt funny trying to squeeze into one of the pews full of strangers.

I could certainly understand. Even in my line of work, I routinely refused strangers, accepting the same men over and over again- along with the hundreds of dollars and jewels they heaped upon me.

I was like the whore of Babylon sitting in the midst of this church, but I went to please my mother, who normally attended services with us. She knew nothing of my secret lifestyle, and there’s no way I’d ever tell her the truth- even if someone offered me a million dollars.

Not that I needed a million dollars.

An opened Bible stared up at me, and I caught a wif of the man’s cologne as he turned the delicate pages, holding it so that Stephanie could follow along in the reading, too.

I wondered what he thought of me and Stephanie. One could easily assume that she was my daughter, and if he thought that, then he must have felt a little awkward sitting next to me- someone who was supposed to be married, though he could see clearly that my ring finger was unoccupied. Thank God.

No strings, no commitments, no worries.

I couldn’t help noticing how strong his hands were… but there were some spots that appeared pale and calloused, as though he’d been doing hard labor. I had thought the suit and tie looked a little out of place on his rugged figure. I bet he was hot… I couldn’t help wondering what he was like in bed, or how he’d react if I caressed his chest and blew in his ear. But I’d never try to push him that way, unless he wasn’t as nice as he seemed. I wasn’t into spoiling the church boys. Let them stay happy, innocent and naïve, saving their virginal selves for their future wives.

I wouldn’t allow a church boy to fall for me, either. That was the one rule I’d made after my mother had talked me into attending these snore fests. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I respected these people and their beliefs, and sometimes the pastor did discuss interesting topics. And I’ve always believed in God… but something wasn’t connecting. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to find it. If I’d wanted to find it at that time in my life, I would have focused harder on the sermons.

The pastor droned on for another half an hour, recounting the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, along with his name change. St. Paul. The man responsible for writing- um… I missed some of the sermon, but I knew that he’d written Romans and Galatians, along with many other books.

My stomach rumbled- a bit loudly, I’m afraid, and the stranger sitting next to me tossed me a wide grin that produced cute, little dimples in his cheeks. Wow. Stephanie had made an understatement. This man was more than cute. Wearing that smile, his aqua eyes gleaming, his neatly combed, soft-looking hair shining under the lights, and his strong jaw squared- he looked down right gorgeous. Sort of like a young Charlie Sheen (how he looked in Young Guns). I envisioned his lips pressed to my neck, and… oh… I was bad girl, wasn’t I?

I crossed my legs, gently wiggling my high-heeled foot, as I usually did, while the stranger turned the pages in his Bible so that Steph and I could follow along. Then the pastor got to the part I always hated the most- the closing prayer and the alter call. This was when I usually closed my eyes and sang my favorite songs in my head:

She works hard for her money

So hard for it, honey

She works hard for her money, so you’d better treat her right.

Haha. Those lyrics applied to my lifestyle always tickled a giggle out of me, but I managed to contain it out of respect for those surrounding me. I could just imagine the handsome stranger raising one of his thick brows at me after laughing while sinners rushed to the front to repent. These people took the alter call very seriously, but it only made me feel confused. According to everyone else here, I was a sinner and needed to repent. But was I really a sinner? I mean, I was always kind to other people, would never consider murder in my wildest dreams ( unless it was self-defense ), and I helped take care of my family. Of course, they’d had no clue where my money came from, aside from my day job at the bank.

What a laugh. OK, so it wasn’t really funny. I was jerk- sort of. Dishing out money that would have been refused by some of the recipients, particularly my mother. She wouldn’t allow me to pay for her prescriptions or buy her all of those gifts if she knew that some of my money was… well… tainted.

Finally, the piano music ceased, heads raised all over the sanctuary, and I released an inaudible sigh of relief. Maybe it was time to stop attending this church. I glanced at the man beside me, who was frowning a little as his blue seekers swept slowly upon the congregation, settling at the front. The people standing there smiled loftily as the pastor announced their conversions.

Once we were dismissed, the man turned to me, and I knew right then that I’d better just slip out and pretend we’d never laid eyes on one another; but he took my hand and gave it a firm shake. What I wanted to do was take his tie, pull it loose, and plaster him with the kiss of his life. Bad, bad, bad. I couldn’t help smiling, but he took this as genuine interest, I suppose. “I’m Steven. Ingles.”

Ingles? Was he serious? Like in Laura Ingles?

“Nice to meet you,” I replied softly. “I’m Heather… and this is my niece,” I spun a little, pressing the child forward so that she stood right at my side, and Stephanie grinned like the Cheshire Cat. Ugh. Childhood crushes. Little girls see nothing but stars and blooming flowers.

“Hello,” he extended his hand to Steph. “I have a little sister about your age.”

And why was he revealing this? Oh, yes, I knew why. He wanted to learn more about me, so he was already divulging bits about himself.

“What did you think of the service?” I blurted as I gathered my purse from my seat.

He brought those aqua eyes back up and smiled ever so softly. “The pastor brought up some interesting things….” He glanced up front, as though expecting the preacher to be listening in; however, Pastor Jenkins had disappeared into the crowd of mingling Christians.

“He always does,” I grinned, taking Stephanie’s hand. “Now, I need to go. It was nice meeting you.”

His smile fell away. “Oh… I was hoping…”

Don’t say it. Don’t say it. I probably looked constipated with my weak, forced smile.

“Well, I heard your stomach growling,” he smirked. “I thought maybe you’d like to meet me for lunch?”

“Sounds good!” Stephanie ejected. “I’m starving!” I felt my jaw drop as my niece tugged my hand. “Come on, Aunt Heather, Please! I don’t want to go home yet. Mom will-”

I covered her mouth so that all I could see over my hand was big, brown, pleading eyes. Steph! You have no idea what you’re asking! And I wasn’t about to tell her, either, that was for damn sure!

Steven chuckled lightly as his hands found the pockets of his black dress pants and he rocked back on his heels, his eyebrows raised in amusement. “Leave it to little sisters and nieces, huh? If you’d rather not, I understand,” he sobered. “We just met, after all.”

“Well…” How to turn down a nice guy. It never was easy. Some of my clients were nice guys- aside from the fact that they routinely paid me to have sex with them- and had often expressed interest in a relationship with me. Peter was the worst one for it.. always sending me flowers and asking me out and trying to talk me into dropping out of the call girl business.

“It’s just that I won’t be back here,” he said before I could thoroughly turn him down. “Normally I’d take the time to converse with a pastor, but he already answered a few of my questions in his sermon… and I hate to say it, I disagree with him.”

“Oh?” I blinked. What should I say in response to that? It wasn’t as though I’d listened close enough to the sermon to even know what topics Steven might disagree with.

“Yeah,” he grimaced as his hand found the back of his neck- a gesture that most men use when they’re uncomfortable with having to explain themselves. “And I don’t agree with alter calls…”

“You don’t?” I frowned. I thought all Christians like alter calls, liked to see the ‘heathen’ saved by the grace of God.

“For good reasons,” he was quick to say. “I don’t mean to insult your church or anything, and I understand why your pastor feels the need to do it; but I’ve talked to too many people who thought they were going to heaven just because they walked the aisle, and-”

OK, this was my cue to leave. He was just getting a little too deep, and I didn’t feel like spending an hour over lunch listening to his beliefs. He blinked at me as though he realized he’d hit a nerve. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“No, it’s OK,” I smiled. “But I just really need to get going. I have an appointment this afternoon.”

“An appointment?” He cocked his head, his dark brow curling. “On a Sunday?”

I groaned inside. So, he was one of those… those Christians who think that Sundays are the sacred Sabbath, and you should do nothing but sit around and stare at the walls. OH- and stuff your face.

“Yes… well… it’s with an old friend,” I explained, and it was the truth. Peter had begged to see me at three o’clock, and I’d hesitantly agreed.

His expanding chest strained his jacket button, and then he exhaled slowly. “OK.” He lifted his Bible and tucked it under his arm. “Nice meeting you… Heather.”

I felt my stomach drop. The way he looked at me… like he’d been stricken, his bright eyes dimming… I felt like I’d just kicked a cat. Only he was much more handsome, and I have to admit he was interesting. What was it about me that had caught his eye? I wasn’t the most gorgeous woman in the world- just pretty enough to attract some rich men who paid me for romps in the sack.

I hadn’t even attracted them on my own, actually. My friend, Stacey, went to work for an agency two years ago, but I didn’t know it until she bought a fancy, new car and started showing up to work in brand new clothes. This is the friend who used to drive a clunker to the bank and shop at the thrift stores…

When she told me what she was doing, at first I was shocked, but then-

“Have a nice day,” Steven nodded once more and started to peel away.

“Wait!” I heard myself plead, and then felt like crawling under the pew. What the hell was I doing??

Steven stopped, a tinge of hope returning to his eyes.

“I…” I what? What was I going to say? I couldn’t have lunch with him! No way! “Rain check?” I asked, and heard Stephanie sigh.

“Sure,” he brightened, stepping forward again and opening his Bible to produce a piece of notebook paper. “I don’t know what it is, to be honest,” he smiled up at me as he produced a pen from his jacket pocket. “But…” he scanned the area around us before he inched closer and bent so that I could hear his lowered tone. “You remind me of someone…”

Oh, was that all? I withheld a sigh and gave him my phone number as requested. I thought, he should be easy to dodge later on, if all he liked me for was that I reminded him of someone. However, he got this strange look on his face, his eyebrows twisting, and he bent again to add, “I know this is going to sound like a line, but it’s not, because I don’t use lines. I’m attending seminary, and I don’t make a habit of trying to pick up women…”

OK… and? Wait. Seminary? Oh, man. It was a good thing I’d decided to ditch him later.

“But,” he continued, glancing at Stephanie and then holding my gaze. I swear my heart stopped. I know that sounds corny, but that’s how I felt. “I didn’t actually mean that you remind me of someone I know,” he explained. “I just got this feeling outside… and…” Pink swept over his face. “Never mind, I know that sounds crazy, and you probably already think I’m a jerk for criticizing your church.”

I felt my spirits lift, and when I smiled, he did too. He looked… relieved. “I don’t think you’re a jerk,” I said. “We just probably don’t agree on some things…” Boy, was that an understatement. But I couldn’t peel my eyes off of his for several moments, and when I finally did, I felt like I’d just stepped off of a moving treadmill. Talk about a dizzy sensation… and my palms were sweating.

This was… was very bad. I definitely needed to ditch him later. Because I wasn’t about to give up my lifestyle, and I wasn’t about to let some church boy win my heart. I had reasons. Good reasons, and nothing… absolutely nothing could change my mind.

As I steeled myself, he waved as he promised, “I’ll call you tonight.”

When he disappeared through the doors, Stephanie jumped slightly. “Oh, he likes you, he likes you, he likes you,” she giggled, but I just rolled my eyes.

“Come on, Stephanie. We’ve got get you home.”