I listened intently to his words, linking them with the explanations he’d given down in his office. Most of what he was saying made sense, although I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with all this information. Well, that wasn’t entirely true; Greg said exactly what you were supposed to do with it, but I wasn’t sure if I could—or even if I wanted to. This seemed like an awfully big decision to make based on an hour of conversation and two rounds of a sermon. He offered to lend me some books if I wanted them, and I was considering taking him up on it, but then I realized that reading those in public—or on the set, at least—would cause quite a stir. I was not the religious type; anyone who had worked with me before knew that. Was I willing to open myself up to the ridicule and questions and cynicism of my coworkers?

I absorbed every word for the second time. He finished and was heading offstage, so I began to stand to go meet him back at his office, when Grace appeared again in the stream of singers returning to the stage. In the mental gymnastics I’d been doing I’d forgotten she’d be singing again, and seeing her made my heart jump. I stared at her and realized that I really—

Loved her? Wanted her? What did I ‘really? I watched her sing, forgetting my intention of sneaking out to talk to Greg again, and realized that, if I didn’t love her already, I definitely was on my way there.

The last group of songs ended, and I discovered I’d missed my chance of getting out while people were distracted. I hastily angled for the exit before the people in the rest of the section did. I was just outside Greg’s door when Grace was suddenly beside me. “Hi!” I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her in with me. “I missed your first set,” I said apologetically. “I didn’t leave here till it was almost time for Greg to preach again.”

Hands on hips, she shook her head in mock rage. “I don’t think I can forgive you for that,” she said, eyes twinkling. “Seeing me sing songs you’ve already heard me sing once should have taken priority over your eternal soul, and you know it.”

I took her hand and pulled her toward the two chairs in front of Greg’s desk. “I did watch the last songs, though, and you did beautifully.”

“Thank you,” she said with a prim nod of her head as we sat down. “And the message? What did you think the second time around?”