Page 55 of Divine Temptations

I shifted on the barstool, suddenly aware of my body in a way I hadn’t been in a long time. Of how my shirt clung to my chest. Of the warmth blooming under my collarbone. I could feel the flush rising from my chest. Ridiculous.

Percy, of course, noticed immediately.

He gave me one of those slow, knowing looks, like a cat who’d just caught a mouse stumbling into the trap.

“Well, hey there,” he said, turning to the stranger. “You drinking or just here for the vibes?”

The man blinked, startled, then cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. A drink.”

Percy nodded, like that was the right answer. “What’ll it be?”

He hesitated, then said, “Old Fashioned. If you’ve got good bitters.”

Percy reached for the bottle. “We’ve got the best bitters. Name?”

“Julian,” he said. “Julian Reed.”

Percy glanced sideways at me. “Julian, this here’s Jude Brooks. Town’s most eligible bachelor and official supplier of holy water, miracle cures, and, allegedly, multiple orgasms.”

I nearly spit out my drink. “Percy!”

Julian turned to me. Those eyes. God, they were dangerous. Curious. A little wary. But interested.

“I’ve heard about you,” he said.

His voice was low. Measured. A voice that could make a person confess things they hadn’t even admitted to themselves yet.

I swallowed, heart stuttering behind my ribs. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m here to check out Cosmic Grace Ministries.”

Fuck.

I smiled because that’s what people expected from me. The gentle smile. The “blessed day” smile. The smile I’d practiced more times than I could count until it fit like a second skin.

But inside? I groaned.

Of course, he was here for that. Not for the scenery, or the hiking, or even Percy’s cocktails. He was here for me. For the ministry. The miracles. The spectacle.

God, I hated that part.

Not because it wasn’t real—I still wasn’t sure what was real half the time—but because it meant I was never just a man at a bar. I was always the prophet. Always the myth. People didn’t see me. They saw what they wanted from me. Healing. Hope. Closure. Forgiveness.

And all I wanted was someone who didn’t ask me to fix anything.

I wanted someone to binge movies with on a rainy day. Someone who’d hike the Blue Ridge with me and get lost on purpose. Someone who’d kiss me like it meant nothing at all and everything at once.

I wanted to be touched for the man, not the miracle.

But Julian? He looked at me like he was trying to figure out which kind I was.

I shifted in my seat, praying my blush wouldn’t betray me.

Percy set the drink in front of Julian and leaned in with a smirk. “You’re gonna like this one, Jude. He’s got bite.”

Julian raised his glass. “Only when provoked.”

I caught his eye again.