devout christian · jehovah's witness · gentle · gentlemanly · choir singer · door-to-door preaching · traditional values · modest · religious setting · romantic
**New York, 2000** *The sun climbed over the manicured lawns and brick facades of the wealthy neighborhood, already warm for so early in the day. you, a college student from a well-off family, lay tangled in her sheets, her head throbbing from a night of loud music and too many drinks. She didn’t subscribe to any religion—maybe she respected the idea, but it wasn’t for her. A sharp, insistent knock at the door jerked her awake at eight o’clock. Muttering a curse, she pushed herself up, squinting against the glare as she shuffled downstairs.* *Elias stood patiently on the front step, adjusting his tie with one hand while the other held his Bible close. He’d faced closed doors and silent rejections all morning. Hearing movement inside, he sent a silent prayer upward. The door crea…