CHAPTER TWO
Each meeting occurs at the precise moment for which it was meant. Usually, when it will have the greatest impact on our lives. – Nadia Scrieva
Lily Ray Jameson was nervous.
She’d been nervous for a long time now, about a lot of stuff she supposed. And shy. It came as naturally as the sun peeking out of the sky in the morning to her and didn’t bother her unless it stunted any kind of achievement—and that was not usually the case. In fact, she had a lot of achievements to speak of just in the last week.
First off, she quit the greatest job in the world—immediately—so she could have the satisfaction of seeing her cheapskate boss panic at the thought of having no bookstore manager anymore.
Second, she broke it off with her boyfriend, Lowell, the wealthy and charismatic banker who happened to be cheating on her—with her cheapskate boss.
It had been the shock of the year, no doubt about it. After her two quits, Lily decided she needed one more change in her life—and so she packed her bags, left whatever wasn’t a necessity, got in her beat up Camaro and went on a drive that took her too many hours of drive-through meals, one night in a motel that had seen better days…and sheets… finally arriving in her uncle’s hometown the next morning. A quick knock and short explanation were all she needed before she was enveloped in a hug and was welcomed with open arms.
John Jameson, her mother’s older brother, was the head pastor in a large church in Sunnydale, Arizona, and one of the nicest people on the planet. She remembered him from when she was a kid and he visited their home during the Thanksgiving and after Christmas holidays. The man was big and jolly and had a certain twinkle in his eye that made you think of him like a huge teddy bear that you really, really wanted to hug. When he spoke, it was like he held a world of knowledge in his hands, without any hint of arrogance.
Lily looked at him as a father since her own parents died in a plane crash when she was in first year university. He had been a great comfort to her and helped her with the will and the estate and setting up a trust for her so she didn’t have to worry. Her parents left her well cared for and as she was an only child there was enough to keep her going until she settled down and established a career. But right now she needed a safe place to lick her wounds and decide what her life might look like in the future now that she was alone again.
It took the whole weekend for him to get her settled—first by renting out a tiny house where she could stay, then getting some groceries stocked up until she could get back on her own feet. She had a lot of savings, but her uncle wouldn’t have any of it, saying that this was his way of pampering her. She promised her uncle that she would do her best to find a new job but her uncle merely waved it off, telling her to take all the time she needed and to visit the church when she could.
Her cheating bastard of an ex had never been a church-goer, preferring to spend his free time in fancy restaurants and showing her off to his wealthy friends. It had taken Lily quite some time to realize that was all she was, something to show off, because of her looks and ability to hold her end up in conversations with the snobs. While it didn’t hurt as much as she expected it to, it stung quite a bit, and Lily found the air in Los Angeles a little hard to breathe after the breakup.
Lowell had been one of her longest relationships, and she felt stupid for staying with him for so long. She should have seen the infidelity sooner—but she’d been so busy getting upset over her boss’ outrageous work demands and hadn’t been paying attention to her life. Of course she’d been asked to work longer hours—it was so her backstabbing boss could spend more time with her man.
She was so glad that was over. It was good riddance, to be honest.
Today, the first thing she did when she woke up was take a good long bath to refresh. She’d gotten up extra early simply so she could admire the view from her back porch. The house her uncle had rented was located on the outskirts of town, just at the edge where a river and a meadow lay ahead, followed by a glorious view of the sunrise. Her neighbors consisted of an elderly couple who liked taking their dog out for a walk and a widowed young man who farmed for a living and had a teenage daughter in school.
After watching the view over a cup of strong coffee, Lily got dressed, agonizing for a while over what to wear. In Los Angeles, she was used to wearing cocktail dresses or business dress when at work. She’d left those behind. Her off time clothes consisted of short shorts and tank tops. She didn’t think they would be appropriate for wearing inside a church. In the end, she decided on a floral sundress that went down to her knees, a blue cardigan, and her one and only pair of flats. She decided that she might need to buy a few more conservative outfits to wear.
With the directions he provided, it wasn’t difficult to find the church as she drove around town. The view was pretty nice, with houses of simple designs lining the streets and a main street of business establishments of all kinds. The correct word was quaint, she supposed—it looked pretty much like your regular close-knit community, and she wondered if she was going to be accepted into the community.
That wondering lingered once she parked, then entered the churchyard just around early afternoon. It was quiet, but she saw a group of women conversing just outside. They were chatting comfortably, like close friends. They looked older than her, possibly housewives and mothers from the looks of it. One of the women, a plump blonde with a very pleasant face, zoned in on her right away, her words trailing off. Blue eyes lit up, and the woman strode in her direction quickly with the others pausing before slowly following behind.
“You must be the reverend’s niece,” the woman said warmly, holding out a hand for a handshake. “I’m Ethel Green, one of the residents here. I’m really pleased to meet you.”
And she was suddenly engulfed in friendly chatter, as everyone started introducing themselves. The overwhelmed Lily tried to remember their names, her shyness disappearing as it was apparent the greeting were sincere. Most of the women were definitely mothers, with some single ladies tagging along and enthusiastically telling her they’d love to show her around town. Lily hesitated at first before asking them if perhaps a trip to get clothes would be too much of a bother for them—and no, apparently it wasn’t because several hands volunteered before Ethel scolded the ladies not to crowd around and give the girl a fright.
“We’d all love touring you around,” Ethel said firmly. “But to start off, why don’t you join our afternoon tea in a few days so you can get to know everyone better?”
It would be absolutely rude to refuse or decline, so Lily nodded her head and smiled, telling them she would love that. They took turns giving her Ethel’s house directions before deciding that one of the women should just pick her up and drive her there. It was such a hospitable gesture that Lily again didn’t want to decline, so she said she would like that, too.
They chatted there for what seemed like half an hour before some of the women started filing off with the excuse that they needed to go home to their husbands or kids. Ethel bid her goodbye too, and soon only three women were left with Lily, two she couldn’t remember the names of and the last one among those who didn’t speak much earlier. If she wasn’t mistaken, the woman’s name was Janice. Lily smiled at the three, suddenly feeling awkward.
“Actually, my uncle referred me here and asked me to look for Pastor Seb. Do you have any idea where I can find him?”
One of the women sighed pleasantly while Janice raised a brow. Lily stared in confusion. “Is something wrong?”
“You’re definitely in for a treat,” the woman who sighed said.
“What do you mean?” she asked politely.
The other woman, who looked quite young, grinned. “That’s the town’s most popular pastor. Once you get a look at him, you’ll know why.”
Lily’s brow rose. “Is he as pleasant and nice as my uncle, then?”
Janice rolled her eyes, then grinned. “What these starry-eyed ladies mean is Pastor Seb is physically the most popular pastor in town. You know…dreamy eyes, nice hair, the works.”
“Don’t forget the body,” the first woman piped in.
“And the smile,” the other one said.
Lily didn’t know how to respond, considering they were talking about someone who had committed his life to serving the church. Not that they were celibate or anything. She had generally seen her share of hot guys, too. Lowell was hot—one of the hottest guys she had ever met, with his perfect blond hair and own set of dreamy blue eyes. But that had turned sour pretty quickly. As it was, she was immune, and simply wanted to stay off that type of guy for now.
Not wanting to be rude, Lily merely gave them a smile. “I’m not really into guys like that. I had a boyfriend who turned out to be not as pretty on the inside.”
“But the pastor’s nice,” the first woman said.
Janice whistled. “And we’re done. Hanna, Darla, go home and pine over other men. Lily, let me take you inside and get you started on your tour before the pastor takes over.”
The two women left, and once inside, Janice gave Lily her first smile. She was a cute girl with a bob cut, and intelligent black eyes. “Sorry about the townspeople. They can get on your nerves sometimes. But they mean well.”
Lily immediately liked Janice, who seemed to have a slightly sarcastic sense of humor. Janice had an altar boy go find the pastor and bid her leave as well. Lily found herself standing alone just near the altar as she waited.
She could get used to this. It might not be big-time Los Angeles, but it felt pleasantly different. Change was what she wanted anyway, so obviously she was going to have to be prepared for that.
After a few minutes of checking out the interior layout of the chapel and inwardly humming to herself, Lily heard footsteps approaching her from behind. She supposed that was the pastor already and a small smile appeared on her lips as she remembered the enthusiasm—and obvious crush—of the two women earlier. Confident she could handle it and was immune to such looks, Lily smiled wider and turned around to greet him first.
The greeting died on her lips at the sight. There was a second or two of staring, then a second of tingles running up her spine as she stared into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. The smile sort of died on her lips, too, though she forced it back up.
It was like looking at a man dressed as an angel.
With the eyes of sin itself.