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Anael couldn’t help but smile warmly when AJ crossed the living room area to hand her a fresh cup of coffee. God had taken the terrifying event and made it blossom into a flower of sweetness between the two people. AJ had explained to the guys after Anael’s assault at the bar that he would take her back to the hotel. They had teased him a little, but AJ didn’t mind and the boys seemed to understand what was happening. He wanted to make sure that she would be okay and that she would relax. His emotions toward Anael had shifted dramatically since that strange man attacked her. AJ felt an overwhelming sense of desire to protect Anael from everything. Struggling to clear his thoughts away from the new emotions, AJ sat down next to Anael and offered a sweet smile.

“How are you doing?” he asked politely, taking a large swallow of his own coffee.

“I’m doing much better. It was extremely kind of you to come back to the hotel with me. You really didn’t hav’ta do that,” Anael replied shyly with her southern sweetness. She gazed at AJ with curiosity. He had shown her a completely different personality that evening. She realized that if she hadn’t known about all his sinful desires, she would have fallen for his tricks and beautiful eyes.

“I wanted to make sure that you would be okay,” he answered with a simple shrug, not really taking the compliment to heart like Anael had hoped. He was absorbing the timid essence that Anael seemed to expel from her soul. Her personality and looks had triggered a feeling that AJ never thought he could possess.

Just sitting there, AJ finally caught sight of Anael’s amazing beauty. She look venerable just sitting there with her arms settled against her legs. Her golden curls were piled into a messy bun with small tendrils falling against her cherubic face. AJ thought about reaching over and pulling one of the curls behind her ears, but he was afraid she might shatter if he changed her appearance in any small detail. She wore a simple pair of white flood-pants with a light lavender tank top. She cupped the coffee in both of her hands while she sat on the couch with her legs folded underneath her. Her lips were pursed in thought. She was a rare flower in the sea of fake women that AJ usually had contact with. Anael was so real and there was nothing man-made about her body. She was one of God’s rare gifts. However, one small detail sent AJ off a shadowed edge however. Her eyes seemed to throw off her caring nature. Her dark gray eyes hinted to a darker past, but AJ kept that idea within his own soul for fear of angering her.

“Can I ask you a question?” Anael suddenly interjected, breaking AJ’s personal thoughts.

“Sure,” he replied.

“It’s going to be quite bold,” she explained.

“It’s okay, just go ahead. You can’t be worse than the reporters I have to deal with on a daily basis.”

“That’s true.”

“So, go ahead!”

“Why would you care if I was okay or not, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Jezz, Grace-Anne. That’s simple. Because, no matter what you think of me, I really do care what happens to you. I’m not a monster, you know? I really do care about women. I helped my mother when my father left and I’ve always had respect for women. I respect you, too. I do care about you.”

“You do? I honestly thought that you loathed the sight of me. When you broke that glass in anger while I stood there, it scared the daylights out of me. I thought you were some kind of deadly monster! I didn’t know that you felt differently than that. I really did think you were out to kill me. Of course, I never had the chance to think otherwise. You never expressed those feelings toward me.”

“I never had the chance,” AJ sighed with regret.

“You didn’t have a chance?”

“You had a high-and-mighty attitude when you looked at me. It always seemed to explode when I talked to you, which just made me hate you more. That attitude sent me over the edge and I honestly hated the sight of you! But, then I realized that I was somewhat overreacting. I wanted to talk to you, but then you had the Bible time with Brian, which took forever and a day so I could get a word in edgewise. Then the guys told me to stay away from you because I always seemed to upset you.”

“They told you to stay away?”

“Threatened would be more like it.”

“They threatened you? Oh my!”

“They just wanted to protect you. The guys really care about you.”

“I’m terribly sorry about this.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” AJ snorted, but a teasing smile settled on his dark face. He leaned over and gently patted her leg with assurance that there were no hard feelings. Anael smiled with relief, settling back against the cushions of the sofa. She had somehow broken through AJ’s rocky personality. She thanked God silently for the chance to continue her mission. She had feared that she might have failed God in some way and would never get the chance to earn her wings. God had trashed her fears quickly when showing her now that she could never fail Him. He would protect her and make sure that things somehow went His way, no matter what rocky roads there would be to take. Anael promised silently to God that she would always take the roads that he paved, no matter what the troubles that would lay ahead.

“Do you think that we could start over?” Anael
finally asked with hope.

“Start over?”

“Start our relationship over,” Anael explained.

“We had a relationship?”

“A hateful relationship.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“So, could we start our relationship over?”

“How?”

“We could start now as friends?” she suggested.

“But you’re my manager.”

“We could probably make an exception in that case.”

“What kind of exception?”

“I won’t rag on you as long as you don’t curse in front of me. We can be great friends, no matter how different we are. I won’t press my Bible business on you as long as you respect my beliefs. So we’ll start out in a give and take situation,” Anael compromised. She realized that AJ became scared when she spoke of her love for God. She knew that if they could simply become friends that she could introduce God’s love slowly.

“Sounds good to me,” AJ concluded.

Anael thrust her hand out toward AJ, sealing the deal with him. She was thrilled when he took her hand and drew her in for a tight hug of kinship. Electricity zapped inside her soul as she realized the great accomplishments she had made. She had finally broken the animosity that they had created between one another.