Page 18 of Love and Loathing

The visiting pastor with the bow tie, whose name he’d already forgotten, went to the podium. “Hello. It’s good to be here. You’re probably wondering why I’m here, and no, Pastor Brown isn’t retiring.”

A light chuckle came from the same row where Jessie’s sisters sat. The sister with the glasses had her hand over her mouth.

“If you’ll look around the room, you’ll notice everyone who stayed are young singles. I was invited because I recently invented an app that helps pair singles through a questionnaire filled out by your parents before church and through commonalities found on your different social media sites. We had you swipe your phones to get you set up. By now you should have several matches waiting for you on the app Fish in the Sea.”

Alex furrowed his brow. What on earth? Talk about an invasion of privacy.

“Yes!” Charlie said in a stage whisper that no one seemed to notice. An air of shock seemed to have filled the room. Charlie showed Alex the app that had been installed on his phone without his permission. On it was a picture of Caroline. “This says we’re ninety-one percent compatible.”

“Charlie, they didn’t ask you if you wanted to participate. Doesn’t that bother you?” Alex whispered.

“Nope. And I thought you’d feel that way.” He pulled another phone from his pocket and held it out. Alex’s phone. “So I swiped for you. Oh, and I filled out the questionnaire.”

Alex grabbed his phone and shoved Charlie’s shoulder—hard.

Charlie laughed. “What? I bet you’re already paired with Jessie.” Charlie’s countenance brightened at the prospect. “Check!”

No fudging way was he checking that thing. And he had every intention of deleting it as soon as he was out of Charlie’s presence. He did not need to be set up on dates with a bunch of women he didn’t know and who would only want to go out with him because of who he was.Alexander Young. Famous people didn’t use dating apps for a reason.

Pastor Bow Tie continued, “If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or Pastor Brown. And we encourage you all to take advantage of the app and start getting out there and dating.” He sat down.

Conversation broke out around the chapel. Charlie was out of his seat in a hot second and sat next to Caroline. He showed her his phone, and she showed him hers. Then they both laughed. They were only ninety-one percent compatible?

Alex stayed where he was, watching as the crowed conversed and dispersed. Jessie talked to a pretty redhead he’d seen go into that honey store in town, and a brunette he was sure he’d see at Choco Latte. He’d stopped in there a couple times since they’d rented their villa. Their hot chocolate was mouthwatering.

Alex managed to keep his cool as several people asked them to sign their programs and asked him questions about acting. Finally, Jessie moved away from the women and headed down the center aisle. He excused himself from his fans and moved to intercept her.

She stared up at him, her eyes going wide again like she was surprised to see him. Maybe she was. “Alex?” Her gaze darted to the crowd of women behind him. He so wished he could make them go away.

Jessie was even more stunning today than he’d realized from the back row. “You look beautiful.”

“Really?” She narrowed her eyes. “Because last time you saw me in this dress, you told me it wasn’t suitable for the Hayes/Beaumont wedding. Actually, your exact words were ‘you must be with the groom, because no one on the bride’s side would wear a sundress to her wedding …’”

Alex furrowed his brow. “That wasn’t an insult, Jessie. It was just a statement of fact.”

“Jessie?” a male voice called from behind him. He turned to look, and there stood the one person he hated in this world. His entire body tightened like a coil. Jacob Whitley smiled at Jessie, then looked at him. His face fell, and he took a step back.

Good thinking, because Alex was about to beat the crap out of him. Alex took a step forward, but before he could move, a hand fell on his shoulder. It was Charlie.

In a low voice that only Alex could hear, Charlie leaned in and spoke. “Not here, Alex. This is a church.”

“You know each other?” asked Jessie.

His gaze fell to her again, and his body eased just a little.

She narrowed her eyes and looked after Jacob again. He was heading out of the chapel. She looked at him again, and he opened his mouth to explain … but what would he say? What could he say?

She turned from him and raced after Jacob, and Alex wanted to beat the guy all over again—church or no. The fans started to crowd in again, and he suddenly couldn’t take it. He pushed through the throng to the side door that led to the parking lot. He had to get out of here.

* * *

Jessie caught up with Jacob outside the chapel and grabbed his arm. “Jacob, wait.”

He pulled his arm from her grasp. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“How do you know Alex?” she asked.

“It’s nothing. We have a past.”

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