Free Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole Page A

called.
    He leaned back into his pillow. “I know this is probably crazy, given everything that happened today, but I can’t stop thinking about that kiss. I think it was probably the best kiss I’ve ever had in my life.”
    There was a long pause, then he heard her breath shake on an exhale. That one little sound went through him like a static shock.
    “Well, I don’t have much experience in such matters, but…I feel the same way.”
    Those words eased past all of the ugliness of his encounter with his father, past the fear that had pumped through him when he thought Sofie might get hurt by the crowd.
    “Sofie.” He wasn’t one for emotional displays, but it seemed that every minute that went by without him revealing how he felt was a moment lost. “I know you have lots more important stuff to worry about, but I’d like to take you out. I understand if you say no, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I never have, if I’m being perfectly honest.”
    He thought about all the times over the years he’d seen someone who looked like her. A sudden hope would pound a ridiculous beat in his veins at the possibility…of what? It wouldn’t be a second chance, really, but an opportunity to see what could happen.
    He heard footsteps; the click of her heels on wood floor. Ivan held his breath, waiting for her to reject him. Their kiss had been amazing, but why would a woman like Sofie want anything to do with him?
    “You know of someplace that we can go without starting a riot?” Her voice was quiet, like she was trying not to be overheard. Still, the playfulness in the tone of her serious question buoyed him.
    “I have an idea,” he said. “You free before church?”
    “Sure.”
    “I’ll pick you up at eight, then.”
    “Make it seven,” she said. “Bye.”
    Ivan sat staring at the phone. Maybe he was crazy, but he was pretty sure she’d agreed to a date.

Chapter 10
    Sofie slipped through the doorway and out into the cool breeze of the Sunday morning dawn. She’d left a note for her father, and she prayed that the early hour she’d chosen meant that neither he nor her neighbors would see her slip into the Buick as it pulled in front of her house. She was dressed in her favorite outfit, a brown pencil skirt she’d spent hours sewing but never worn outside her room paired with an ivory shell. The little ruffles down the front of the shirt were both girlish and a hint at her feminine curves, so she offset it with a beige cardigan lest anyone else at church think her a hussy. After the way Ivan had made her feel, she was thinking maybe being a hussy wasn’t such a bad thing.
    “Hey,” she said, nerves jangling as she settled into the seat and Ivan pulled away, taking them to some unknown destination. The smell of coffee and eggs wafted from the back of the car, making her stomach rumble.
    “Hey,” he said. The tight awkwardness of her greeting was contrasted by the smoothness of his deep voice. “I picked up breakfast for us. Milkshakes are apparently a great hair conditioner, but I decided I’d rather have food in me than on me today.”
    She laughed, even though it was a crazy thing to laugh about. They could have been killed the day before. Maybe she laughed because they hadn’t been.
    “Where are we going?” she asked. She wasn’t afraid, at least not of Ivan.
    “There’s only one place I could think of where we could hang out without worrying too much,” he said with a shrug. “It’s only slightly better than the dumpsters from yesterday, so I understand if you don’t want to stay.”
    He pulled up in front of a small brick building adorned with a sign that read “Jack’s Brick House.” A peeling painting of boxing gloves hung from the door, and junk that looked like castoffs from a mail-order fitness regimen littered the side of the building.
    “I see what you mean by ‘slightly,’ but I’m guessing this is better than getting chased down Franklin Street.”
    She stepped out