me take you to church on Sunday.”
Her brain made that sound like when a needle scratches a record. Mr. Adonis just invited her to church.
In her experience, church people could be categorized one of three ways. There was the eager and preachy model that liked to tell her she was going to hell with a smile on their face. She thought of them as scripture-quoting Golden Retrievers. Her freshman roommate had been one of those. There was the dour, judgmental model like old Mrs. Bagley, who lived down the hall from her friend and coworker, Maxi. Mrs. Bagley liked to tell her and Maxi they were going to hell, and she never did it with a smile. Then there were the fun ones who paid their dues on Sundays but did whatever they wanted the rest of the time. She didn’t mind them so much, but she didn’t get them. Why spend an hour every week feeling guilty about who you are?
Which model was Emmett? She would have pegged him as one of the fun ones, because there was no way a guy this sexy and flirty followed all the rules all the time, but the fun ones didn’t ask people to go to church with them. In fact, they usually got embarrassed if the topic of religion came up.
At her silence, his dimples disappeared and his eyes hardened like he was pissed at himself. But his voice was relaxed when he said, “Never mind.” He waved a dismissive hand. “My sister says I’ve always got my needle buried on friendly. You’re new in town, and here I am overwhelming you with invites. How about we just pick a time for me to do that quick trim?”
“Sure, yeah,” she said. Disappointment plucked at her stomach. So much for having her wicked way with him. He probably had all kinds of religious hang-ups about sex. Oh, he had it, she was sure, and he’d be damned good at it. But he probably felt guilty about it the next day. And if he knew she’d stripped to earn her way through school, he’d probably treat her differently. He would still hang out with her, but not around his church friends.
Ten minutes ago, she couldn’t decide whether to be friends or more with Emmett. Now it looked like neither option was in the cards. She wasn’t going to be anyone’s dirty secret or pet project.
On the bright side, she’d bet her prized pair of thrift shop Louboutins her flirty church boy was a shirts-off kind of mower. If all she could do was look, she was going to look her ass off. They settled on Thursday, and she began plotting how she would get her money’s worth out of Herald and Son Lawn Service.
* * * *
Emmett pulled the sweeper’s door shut and thumped his forehead on the steering wheel. “Gee, incredibly hot girl who I just met, wanna go to church with me? I’ll carry your Bible for you.”
What a dork. He should have asked her on a real date. Gorgeous Boston girl like her would probably like Billy Bob’s. The vibe was country-western, not the hip-hop she was probably used to, but there was pool and dancing. He’d have to be deaf, blind, and stupid to miss the fact she was flirting with him. She would have said yes.
Damn.
Now whenever she saw him, she’d think he was some kind of one-dimensional proselytizer. Even he got uncomfortable when they came knocking on his door. He wasn’t ashamed of his faith, but there was more to him than that. Unlike a lot of the folks he went to church with, he drank and cursed when the occasion called for it, and he loved loud, “worldly” music. He and the Lord got along fine while he did those things. After all, the Bible was filled with Christians dancing, feasting, and drinking wine. Christians should spend more time enjoying life and less time criticizing how others liked to have fun.
But Jade wouldn’t know he felt that way. To her, he probably came off as a judgmental Bible-thumper. He could tell from the way her hazel eyes had dulled that she’d lost interest the second he’d mentioned church.
He would just have to be content to have her business.
He started the
Her brain made that sound like when a needle scratches a record. Mr. Adonis just invited her to church.
In her experience, church people could be categorized one of three ways. There was the eager and preachy model that liked to tell her she was going to hell with a smile on their face. She thought of them as scripture-quoting Golden Retrievers. Her freshman roommate had been one of those. There was the dour, judgmental model like old Mrs. Bagley, who lived down the hall from her friend and coworker, Maxi. Mrs. Bagley liked to tell her and Maxi they were going to hell, and she never did it with a smile. Then there were the fun ones who paid their dues on Sundays but did whatever they wanted the rest of the time. She didn’t mind them so much, but she didn’t get them. Why spend an hour every week feeling guilty about who you are?
Which model was Emmett? She would have pegged him as one of the fun ones, because there was no way a guy this sexy and flirty followed all the rules all the time, but the fun ones didn’t ask people to go to church with them. In fact, they usually got embarrassed if the topic of religion came up.
At her silence, his dimples disappeared and his eyes hardened like he was pissed at himself. But his voice was relaxed when he said, “Never mind.” He waved a dismissive hand. “My sister says I’ve always got my needle buried on friendly. You’re new in town, and here I am overwhelming you with invites. How about we just pick a time for me to do that quick trim?”
“Sure, yeah,” she said. Disappointment plucked at her stomach. So much for having her wicked way with him. He probably had all kinds of religious hang-ups about sex. Oh, he had it, she was sure, and he’d be damned good at it. But he probably felt guilty about it the next day. And if he knew she’d stripped to earn her way through school, he’d probably treat her differently. He would still hang out with her, but not around his church friends.
Ten minutes ago, she couldn’t decide whether to be friends or more with Emmett. Now it looked like neither option was in the cards. She wasn’t going to be anyone’s dirty secret or pet project.
On the bright side, she’d bet her prized pair of thrift shop Louboutins her flirty church boy was a shirts-off kind of mower. If all she could do was look, she was going to look her ass off. They settled on Thursday, and she began plotting how she would get her money’s worth out of Herald and Son Lawn Service.
* * * *
Emmett pulled the sweeper’s door shut and thumped his forehead on the steering wheel. “Gee, incredibly hot girl who I just met, wanna go to church with me? I’ll carry your Bible for you.”
What a dork. He should have asked her on a real date. Gorgeous Boston girl like her would probably like Billy Bob’s. The vibe was country-western, not the hip-hop she was probably used to, but there was pool and dancing. He’d have to be deaf, blind, and stupid to miss the fact she was flirting with him. She would have said yes.
Damn.
Now whenever she saw him, she’d think he was some kind of one-dimensional proselytizer. Even he got uncomfortable when they came knocking on his door. He wasn’t ashamed of his faith, but there was more to him than that. Unlike a lot of the folks he went to church with, he drank and cursed when the occasion called for it, and he loved loud, “worldly” music. He and the Lord got along fine while he did those things. After all, the Bible was filled with Christians dancing, feasting, and drinking wine. Christians should spend more time enjoying life and less time criticizing how others liked to have fun.
But Jade wouldn’t know he felt that way. To her, he probably came off as a judgmental Bible-thumper. He could tell from the way her hazel eyes had dulled that she’d lost interest the second he’d mentioned church.
He would just have to be content to have her business.
He started the
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