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Twenty One

Electric Waves

A lexa opened her eyes to search for her sister’s face in the crowd of worshippers out of habit but stopped herself.

Cassie and John were in Kentucky, visiting John’s grandparents. She closed her eyes and focused back on the song. This was one of her favorites to sing; Passion’s Here It Is.

Leading the worship was no longer a show for her, and it wasn’t something she enjoyed just because it was her passion to sing on a stage. Sometime over the last two years, she had begun to mean every song she sang.

Though she still struggled to have faith like she had once before, Alexa no longer doubted that God cared for her. He loved her, and He had never let her go.

According to her, she had been a good child lately; tame, kind, and compassionate. She attended church every Sunday, arriving early and leaving late. She read her Bible every day, as well as prayed every morning and night. She avoided fun at parties. She upheld her standard as a Christian.

For the first time since losing her dad, Alexa was finally living like a Christian again.

As the final notes of the song faded, Alexa let her voice trail off, joining the harmonious silence that filled the sanctuary. The male vocal lead, Wesley, stepped forward and said the closing blessing over the congregation. Alexa took the time to look out at the crowd.

Her gaze moved from face to face, all of them familiar, each one lost in the reverence of the moment—though some were preparing to leave already. She had been one of them before, so she refrained from rolling her eyes even inwardly.

Her gaze continued to scan the room until they locked onto something—someone—unexpected.

Standing at the back of the hall, partially obscured by the shadows, was a young man she hadn’t noticed before. He was tall, with sharp features and dark hair that contrasted strikingly against the light filtering into the room. His presence was magnetic, drawing her attention like a beacon.

And he was looking directly at her.

Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, the world seemed to shrink down to just the two of them. Alexa’s breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat. There was something intense in his gaze, something that made her feel seen in a way she hadn’t expected, even from this distance.

She felt electric waves. And it startled her in its immediacy.

As quickly as it happened, she looked away, her cheeks flushing. She forced herself to focus back on Wesley’s voice, on the words of blessing he was offering to the congregation. But the stranger’s image lingered in her mind, and she found her gaze drifting back to him despite herself.

He hadn’t moved. His eyes were still on her, unwavering, as if he was trying to understand something about her. Alexa felt a shiver run down her spine; curiosity and something else she couldn’t quite place took over her. She tried to concentrate on the service, but her eyes betrayed her, glancing back at him every now and then.

Finally, Wesley finished speaking, and the congregation began to stir, the quiet reverence giving way to the soft murmur of conversation. Alexa’s heart was still racing as she and the rest of the worship team made their way off the stage, heading toward the backstage area.

She stole one last glance at the back of the hall, searching for the stranger, but he was gone. The spot where he had been standing was now empty, as if he had never been there at all.

He couldn’t have gone. Not that fast.

Alexa went straight to the backstage exit, but before she could leave, Wesley’s voice stopped her.

“Alexa!”

She turned to him impatiently but tried not to show it. “Yes?”

The man, slightly older than her, walked up to her. “You’re not leaving already, are you?”

“No, I’m just—” Just what? “—gonna see someone. What is it?”

“Oh, I…” He hesitated, shifting from one foot to another. He looked nervous, and Alexa knew what was coming next. John’s teasing was going to become her nightmare. “I was wondering if you’d like to come and grab lunch with my family?”

How bad could it be to dine with the pastor’s family?

“Uh… sure.” She shrugged. “I’ll see you there.”

Seeing Wesley’s smile before she turned to leave, Alexa wasn’t sure if accepting his offer was a good idea after all. But she’d deal with it when the time came. What mattered now was the handsome stranger.

Geez, did she already deem him handsome?

Alexa reached the worship hall and searched the spot where he had been standing before looking around everywhere else. Where did you go?

If she had been thinking rationally, Alexa would have known what she was doing right now was completely un-Alexa-like. But that was the case. She wasn’t thinking .

She was driven by intrigue. Driven by her first impression of him.

She fought her way to the sidelines to reach the exit but was stopped by a young couple—who had gotten married a day after her sister had—asking where Cassie and John were. Alexa concealed her impatience with a smile and answered them.

She glanced past them toward the exit longingly—and froze.

There he was, glancing around the room, standing right next to the doorway as people filed out. He wore a black button-down paired with black jeans that contrasted attractively with his skin, hands in his pockets. His searching eyes brushed past her before they did a double take.

Their gazes locked.

Alexa’s heart did a backflip. Had he been looking for her?

He stared, in that same searching, intense way. Alexa tuned out of what the young couple was telling her. When he finally tore his gaze away and turned toward the exit, she was certain it was her he had been looking for.

Something tugged on her heartstrings. A familiar yet strange feeling. It urged her to follow him.

“Please excuse me,” she muttered and hurried toward the exit, keeping her eyes on his back as he disappeared into the other room with the crowd.

She stumbled into the entry hall and looked around, and found him hurrying toward the main exit.

He was wrong if he thought he could get away that easily after making her feel electric waves at first glance. She had to know who he was.

Alexa chased after him, keeping her pace normal to avoid making it obvious that she was chasing him. At the same time, it was unable to fight off the feeling that this was familiar.

Like she had done this before. Chasing someone’s attractive back.

With each step she took, the feeling grew intense. Dang it, when had she done this before?

Alexa had been chasing boys away from her since her breakup with Jude. She’d never been the one to chase them in nearly three years.

The handsome stranger was already walking down the portico when Alexa reached the exit. Perhaps it was best she cornered him away from prying eyes, she thought.

But just as she took another step forward, something incredible happened.

A bolt of light, electric blue and impossibly bright, struck the stranger from above. Alexa staggered back, her heart slamming against her ribs, gasping in shock. The light was blinding, but beyond that, something else was happening—something inside her.

It was as if a fog was being lifted from her mind, a veil torn away. In one breath, she felt like a different person, and in the next, everything changed. It was as though a missing piece of her heart, one she hadn’t even realized was gone, was suddenly right in front of her.

And then she saw him. She really saw him.

The man was no stranger. He was Tristan.