AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When they’d been at school together, there had been quite a few other non-Caucasian students around. Janessa had been friends with some of them, but she certainly hadn’t limited her friendships to people of one skin color or another. She had befriended anyone who seemed to need a friend.
Aria had definitely fit into the latter group. She hadn’t known at first what to make of the friendly young woman who had been her roommate. Janessa hadn’t seemed to suffer from the intense homesickness that Aria had. Thankfully, Janessa had been gentle in her interactions with her.
“Did you see who’s on the drums?” Janessa said, drawing Aria from her thoughts.
Aria looked toward the front of the sanctuary where people were gathering at the mics and instruments. It only took a second for her gaze to find a familiar figure standing next to the drums with drumsticks in his hands as he spoke to a woman who had taken her place behind a keyboard.
“Gareth plays the drums?” she asked.
“Yep. We all play the piano, and most of us play a second instrument too. Gareth plays piano and drums. Jay plays the guitar, as does Wilder.”
“That’s amazing.” Aria had never had the opportunity to learn to play an instrument, though she’d always wished she had.
Gareth spun one of the drumsticks in his hand before walking to the seat at the drums, which were positioned behind what looked like a plexiglass shield.
“Why is he sitting behind that?”
“It helps to muffle the sound, so that it doesn’t overwhelm all the other instruments.”
Gareth moved with such confidence without showing arrogance, and his friendly smiles seemed to be genuine, no matter who he was offering them to. With his good looks, he was the total package, and Aria found that to be very appealing.
The past few days had shown her that Janessa’s older brother was also as nice as Janessa. He’d been endlessly patient with her questions at the basketball game, and then again later, at the family home, about learning to build a fire.
And now seeing him up on stage added a new dimension to the man she was coming to know. She might have promised not to comment on Gareth’s broad shoulders, but Aria was finding plenty else to admire about the man.
There was nothing she could do about that admiration and attraction because he was her boss. Plus, there were a lot of other reasons why she shouldn’t let herself get too close to him.
As much as she wanted to just be able to forget everything that had happened in the past year, Aria knew that wasn’t possible. At most, she hoped that her recent past wouldn’t impact her future, which it wouldn’t as long as she didn’t tell anyone about the events that had shaken her to her very core. Destroying her belief in herself and her confidence in her abilities.
With a glance at Gareth, the woman at the keyboard began to play. After a few moments, the guitars joined her, then finally Gareth set a light beat. No one sang, but Aria recognized the melody as a song they’d sung at the church she’d attended with her mom.
People were still finding their seats in the sanctuary, and conversations still flowed around her. The musicians’ mics must have been turned off because they were talking to each other as they played. All except for Gareth.
Behind his shield, he looked out at the sanctuary. His dark gaze moved across the congregation, and when his gaze connected with hers, a smile quirked the corners of his mouth, even as he continued to keep time with the music.
Aria’s heart skipped a beat, and she was sure her cheeks flushed in a way that she couldn’t hide as she smiled back at him. His gaze moved on from her, and as she watched him smile at others, she realized that there was nothing special about the one he’d given her. She should have been relieved, but instead, she felt disappointed. Which was dumb. So dumb.
She didn’t want a relationship. After her engagement had ended so badly, she’d decided that there were other things in her life she needed to prioritize. And that was still true.
When a man climbed the steps to the stage, the conversations faded away, leaving just the music coming from the instruments. Soon, even that ended.
“Welcome,” the man said with a smile once the music had stopped.
Aria tried to focus on the man as he read through some announcements, but her gaze kept drifting to Gareth. His attention, however, stayed firmly on the man who was speaking. After he finished with the announcements, he prayed, then turned the service over to the worship team.
“Good morning,” the woman on the keyboard said with a beaming smile. “I hope you’re ready to worship God with us this morning.”
The woman played as words filled the screens at the front of the sanctuary. Aria immediately recognized the song. She was glad that despite being in a completely new environment, she was at least familiar with the music.
Once again, she had a hard time keeping her eyes off Gareth. Even though he didn’t have a mic like the other musicians had, he still sang along with them. He wasn’t a flashy drummer like some she’d seen, but it was clear he knew how to balance his drumming with the rest of the instruments.
When the music portion of the service was over, Gareth filed off the stage with the rest of the team and sat down in one of the front pews on the opposite side of the church.
Aria tried to focus on the service, but she was struggling.
The last time she’d been in church had been with her mom, not long after she’d received her cancer diagnosis. She’d sat beside her mom, trying to find peace amidst the worry and fear that filled her heart.
The last thing she wanted to do was break down in tears. For some reason, she hadn’t thought that attending church would trigger her grief. But apparently, it had.
