Love's Image (3 page)

She heard Janie groan.

Shannon whipped around and saw the man as he walked up, grinning ear-to-ear, like he’d just discovered gold. He was nice-looking but not devastatingly handsome. What she liked about him right away, though, was the way his eyes seemed to twinkle when he smiled. Like stars.

“Yeah, so she sells corn chips,” Janie said before Shannon had a chance to speak. “Don’t hold it against her.”

The man chuckled, showing teeth with character—not perfectly straight like Armand’s. But still, there was something that compelled her to continue studying him. He was interesting-looking, the corners of his lips slightly upturned, and he gazed right at her, not past her.

“What brings a famous model to our church in downtown Atlanta?” he asked.

“My friend Janie brought me,” Shannon said, taking his comment at face value.

“Janie has always been full of surprises. C’mon, let’s go grab some coffee before the rest of the vultures arrive.”

She glanced at Janie, who’d already turned to grab a stack of Bibles from the table behind them. Shannon realized she was on her own.

Shannon followed the man to the long row of tables lined up against the wall. “I’m terribly sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”

The man stopped and pivoted to face her, thrusting his right hand toward her. “Sorry. My name’s Judd Manning. I’m the pastor’s nephew, so I didn’t exactly have a choice but to join this singles’ group when I came to stay with him a few months ago.” He laughed as if he knew a joke he wasn’t telling. “These goons seem to think I might know something. Don’t tell them my secret, but I’m just as lost as the rest of them.” He made a face before adding, “Maybe even more so.”

Shannon instantly felt at ease by this very nice man who became handsomer the longer they chatted. Taking his hand in hers, she tilted her head toward him. “I’m Shannon McNab.”

“Yes,” he said quickly. “I know.”

“You know my name?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s not like your picture isn’t plastered all over the place.”

“I guess being a model has a few drawbacks.”

“You don’t like it?” he asked, pulling his hand back and once again edging toward the tables.

Shannon shrugged. “Oh, I like it all right. It’s just that …” Her hand went up to touch her face. Janie shot her a warning look, so she jerked it back down to her side.

Judd studied her face, his eyes resting on her scar, the smile fading from his lips. “What happened?”

“I thought Janie told everyone,” Shannon replied.

He shrugged. “I wasn’t here when Janie announced the details. I had to go out of town.”

Although Shannon hated talking about it, Judd’s openness made it easy for her to reply. “Car accident.”

“Man, that’s rough. How are you otherwise?”

“Fine, I guess.”

“You’re fortunate, then. It could have been much worse.”

Obviously, Judd Manning didn’t know what he was talking about. How could it have been any worse than it was? Did he realize she was scarred for life and would never be able to earn a living doing the only thing she knew how to do?

“Who wants to lead the prayer tonight?” Paul asked as he scanned the room. “Janie?”

“Sure,” she replied.

Shannon listened to her best friend as she thanked the Lord for the many blessings, asked for guidance in the Bible study, and begged forgiveness for sin. The prayer wasn’t long, but Shannon could tell it was heartfelt.

When everyone opened their eyes, Shannon noticed several of them looking at her, smiling. She started to reach up and cover her face, but she remembered what Janie had said. She resisted the urge and shyly grinned back.

“Janie, why don’t you introduce your guest?” Paul said.

“Everyone, this is Shannon McNab. She and I have been best friends practically since we could talk,” Janie began.

Judd interrupted. “And you haven’t stopped talking since.”

Janie shot him a glare, then continued. “Several weeks ago, Shannon had the misfortune to be in a really bad car crash. The man driving the other vehicle wasn’t as fortunate, and he didn’t make it. We need to pray for his family.”

Shannon gulped. It hadn’t crossed her mind to pray for that man’s family until now. After all, the accident had been his fault. If he hadn’t been drinking, she wouldn’t be sitting here right now feeling like the world was staring at her scar.

“How long will you be in Atlanta, Shannon?” Paul asked.

“I, uh … I’m really not sure,” Shannon said. She hated being put on the spot. “Probably until my—”

Janie cut in. “She’s got to figure out what to do with the rest of her life now that she won’t be modeling anymore.”

Shannon had never told Janie she wasn’t going to model anymore. That was just an assumption she had based on her own ideas of what she thought Shannon should decide.

Hoping to end the conversation as quickly as possible, Shannon just smiled and nodded, fully intending to talk to her friend about this later—to set her straight. At some point, she needed to start speaking for herself, something she always did whenever Janie wasn’t around.

As the group settled into their discussion of the scripture topic of the evening, Shannon felt the warmth of Judd’s stares. She’d gotten used to people looking at her, but this was different. He never looked away when her gaze met his. He only smiled and occasionally winked. She felt her cheeks grow hot each time.

When Paul called a break, everyone stood and made a beeline for the snack table, including Janie. Out of habit, Shannon hung back. She’d learned early on that munching on snacks wasn’t conducive to keeping her model figure.

“Not hungry?” Judd asked as he joined her.

She shrugged. “Not really. I don’t generally eat anything after dinner.”

“Which consists of a salad without dressing and water to drink, right?” He leaned away from her, studying her face, making her squirm.

She held her breath. Was he testing her?

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Well, isn’t that what models eat? Rabbit food?”

Shannon started to argue with him, but she stopped short. What was the point? He obviously understood her as well as he possibly could, considering they’d just met. Besides, she didn’t owe him anything—certainly not an explanation as to why she wasn’t gorging at the snack table.

“Not exactly,” she said. “But close enough.”

“Yeah, I try to stay away from the desserts myself. I have to watch my figure, too.” He quirked his eyebrows as she snapped around to look at him.

A retort started to form in her mind, until she realized he was having fun and kidding around with her.
Okay, time to lighten up
. She tilted her head back and forced a hearty laugh.

“You’re too much, Judd.”

“Too much of a good thing, I hope.” He suddenly looked serious, and his voice was laced with hope. She felt a quick flash of satisfaction.

“Oh, I’m sure,” she said with a little flirty hair toss. This felt really odd for Shannon. She hadn’t flirted since before she’d met Armand. Who was this guy, other than some man with nothing better to do than hang out at a church on a Monday night?

“Good,” he said with a self-satisfied smirk. “I’m glad you agree. I like you, too, Shannon McNab. You’re not half bad for a beauty queen.”

“Wait a minute.” Shannon felt her defenses rise. “What, exactly, do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is,” he said very slowly, drawing closer to her and lowering his voice to where no one else could hear him but her, “you’re a very sweet woman. Unpretentious. Smart. Not what I’d expect from a world-class model.”

His backdoor compliment caught her off guard. Her face heated once again, and her senses were out of balance. She couldn’t think of a quick comeback, so she flashed one of her famous smiles. “Wow,” he said. “Now I know what it’s like to experience my own personal sunshine.”

Most people had the wrong idea about models. They had no idea who she was deep down. Nearly everyone thought that with her looks, she could have everything she wanted with a snap of her fingers, but that simply wasn’t true. Sure, Shannon was satisfied with her life for the most part, but the reality of losing it all just as quickly—as her accident had proven—was stressful.

“I have a feeling—” he began.

“C’mon, everyone,” Paul said to the group, interrupting Judd. “We have a lot to cover tonight, so let’s get going. Bring your coffee and cookies with you, and we’ll get back to our topic.”

“You have a feeling …?” Shannon prompted Judd as they turned back toward the circle of chairs.

“We’ll talk later,” he said as he turned his attention to the speaker.

Throughout the remainder of the evening, Shannon was fully aware of the effect Judd was having on her. Each time he looked at her and smiled, she felt a tingle coursing through her. Sometimes she smiled back, but other times she tried to pretend not to notice.

After an hour, Paul requested another prayer. “Why don’t you say the closing prayer, Judd?”

“You sure you want me to do this?” Judd asked.

“Yeah, but try to keep it sane, okay?”

A few snickers could be heard through the room, but Judd began his prayer. As Shannon listened to his simple words, she realized they were open, honest, and sincere.

She liked Judd Manning. He was a different kind of guy from anyone she’d ever met, but he made her feel good on the inside. She had a feeling he might be attracted to her because of who she was or how she once looked, but that wouldn’t be what determined their friendship. There was nothing pretentious about him. His face wasn’t perfectly chiseled like Armand’s, but he was handsome enough—in a sort of scholarly way. He wore glasses and dressed in khaki slacks and a polo shirt. Nothing out of the ordinary. But he’d struck a chord in her that made her want to know more about him. The warmth of his brown eyes offered her a sense of peace and understanding.

Shannon wasn’t surprised when Judd cornered her immediately after everyone stood to leave. “How long will you be in town?” he asked.

“I’m not really sure yet. Everything’s still up in the air at the moment.”

He studied her scar. “Tough break on the car crash, but you’re still just as beautiful as ever. More beautiful, if that’s possible.”

Shannon chuckled. “You’re too kind.” She wasn’t able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Really,” he said as he folded his arms. “The scar gives you character.”

“Character?”

“Yeah.” A slow grin crept across his lips. “Perfection isn’t nearly as interesting as a little flaw here and there. It shows something—”

Shannon was waiting to hear what it showed, but Janie came up and grabbed her arm. “We gotta go, Shannon. I need to drop you off and get home.”

Judd tipped an imaginary hat. “Nice meeting you, Shannon McNab. Maybe I’ll see you again.”

“Here’s her number,” Janie said as she thrust a small slip of paper toward him. “Call her later.”

On their way out the door, Shannon crinkled her forehead and glared at Janie. “Why’d you do that?”

“What?”

“Give him my number. I don’t generally make a habit of giving my phone number out to strangers.”

Janie tilted her head forward and glared at Shannon from beneath her thick eyebrows. “Judd Manning isn’t exactly a stranger, although I have to admit he can get strange at times.”

“You’re avoiding the point,” Shannon said.

“Look, Shannon. This group is tight. If you want them to accept you as an individual and not a celebrity, you have to act like the rest of us. We exchange phone numbers.” She paused before adding, “That’s just something we do.”

“Oh.”

Once again, Shannon was given something else to think about. She’d never considered herself a celebrity, although she’d stopped giving out her number several years ago for personal reasons. Stalkers had begun invading her modeling friends’ personal space, and her name was becoming known to the extent that she needed to guard a piece of her personal life. Only after getting to know someone well would Shannon give out her phone number, and even then she was nervous about it.

“Besides,” Janie continued, “these people couldn’t care less about what you do for a living. They’re there to study the Bible.”

“Is that why Judd’s there? He didn’t seem all that well versed—at least not as much as the rest of you.”

Janie laughed. “Judd’s a different subject entirely. His uncle’s the pastor, so he’s sort of been pushed into the group.”

“He’s not a Christian?”

“Oh, he’s a Christian, but he admits he doesn’t know scripture. We’re working on him.”

Shannon smiled. “He acted like he enjoyed being there.”