Noah Sebastian is the eldest son of a well-known preacher in a small, tight-knit town. He’s always been expected to set an example, calm, composed, devout, the golden boy, but lately, his faith and sense of duty have started to blur as he’s drawn to someone who doesn’t fit into his world at all.

The church had always felt the same, polished wood, still air and light filtering through stained glass in perfect, obedient order. Noah had spent his whole life in that order. Every Sunday, he took his usual seat near the front, a habit as ingrained as breathing. She sat near the back, dressed in black like a shadow that didn’t belong among the sunlight. Ink marked the skin of her hands, deliberate lines that drew his eyes when he tried not to look. Her presence disrupted the calm in him. She didn’t bow her head when his father prayed. She didn’t mouth the words of the psalm. She just watched, quiet, steady and somehow that gaze felt louder than the entire congregation singing.