Page 15 of Ruled By Fate

Brie woke up to a strange light.

At first, she thought it was the sun. There was the same warmth, the same instinctual draw. But it was too close, too powerful, and too gold.

She blinked several times in rapid succession, then turned over in the bed to see Cameron sitting on the side of the mattress — head bowed, hands folded, haloed in all that radiant light. Her mouth fell open slowly, and her breathing hitched. It was as if some lovely dream had carried with her into the waking hours. He glowed like a celestial statue in the grimy motel room.

It looked like he was meditating or maybe praying. Certainly, he was communing with a higher power, allowing her to study him in secret delight.

An angel. There is an actual angel in my bed.

She stared at him in silence, lamenting the recent death of her phone and her subsequent inability to immortalize the image in a picture. After only a few seconds of consideration, she realized this must be what Michelangelo was trying to create when he sculpted David. Every angle was perfection. Like one of those great artisans had dreamed him to life.

Time and again after her mother’s death, she’d fantasized about this man coming to save her from the ruination of her life, but she’d never fantasized about him as a person. Not in that way. It was always an emotional rescue, a grand fixing of all her problems.

Never in all her dreams had they ended up in bed.

With the curiosity of a child, she lifted a tentative hand, tracing the tips of her fingers between his shoulders. He startled and whirled around, the bright glow fading from his eyes.

“What are you doing?”

She froze in panic, then decided to tell the truth. “Looking for wings,” she answered shyly.

His lips parted in surprise, before curving up. “No wings. At least, not when I’m like this.”

She couldn’t tell if he was joking.

He hesitated, looking suddenly shy himself. “Disappointed?”

She warmed and shook her head. She was many things that morning, and most of them were so overwhelming they would need to be processed at a later date. But she was in no way disappointed.

“Come on,” he continued, taking her hand. “I want to show you something.”

She threw on the sweater from her backpack and grabbed the room key on her way out.

No need to check beneath the bed for errant clothes or possessions, she thought ruefully. She was basically wearing everything she owned. I wonder if I should have looked into that before I left. Maybe they make traveler’s insurance for this kind of—

She froze the second they stepped outside, blinking in astonishment. Her car was sitting in the parking lot. Not a scratch. Nothing beyond the usual wear and tear that was there before. And on top of that…

“All my stuff,” she gasped in amazement, looking at the boxes stacked neatly in the back seat. “How did you—?”

His finger pressed her lips as he glanced towards the motel’s front office. “I didn’t do anything,” he answered casually with a twinkle in his eye. “Just had it towed over this morning.”

She turned to face him, beaming with gratitude. “Well, isn’t that convenient?”

“It is, indeed.”

The unlikely pair shared a quick look, then walked back into the main office to check out. Lucy was there again, this time wearing a low-cut top and a shocking amount of makeup.

Subtle, thought Brie, internally rolling her eyes.

“Was everything to your liking last night? Do you need anything else? Anything at all?” Lucy asked, pressing her arms to either side of her chest as she leaned across the counter.

Utterly oblivious, Cameron rested his hand next to the pile of brochures, then looked up with a wondering expression. “The tree used to make this desk was three hundred fifty-six years old and had over ten thousand children before it was felled by loggers in upper Appalachia.”

Lucy straightened up slowly. “What?”

“Everything was fine, thank you.” Brie left the key on the counter and grabbed Cameron’s sleeve, pulling him almost out the door before reconsidering and turning back. “Actually, do you know a good place to eat breakfast around here?”

The girl blinked, recovering herself. “There’s a waffle place down the road.”

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