Page 16 of Ruled By Fate

“Got it. Thanks!”

Brie towed the angel swiftly towards the parking lot, not seeing how the girl stared after them or how she melted into a puddle of hormones on the counter and sighed, lost in the throes of infatuation.

“Do you always do that?” she asked, unlocking the car.

Cameron circled quickly to the driver’s side and opened the door for her, staring back with a completely innocent expression as she climbed inside. “Always do what?”

“Never mind.”

? ? ?

Ten minutes later, Brie was stealing peeks over the top of an oversized diner menu. If her life hadn’t recently been turned so utterly sideways, the scene would have been hilarious. Her guardian angel was attempting to be equally discreet, taking in every corner of the diner, studying every server and patron while holding his menu like a stage prop. He hadn’t yet realized it was upside-down.

Maybe he only reads ancient Aramaic.

A waitress came by with the usual, “What can I getcha?” only to stop short at the sight of the angel sitting in the booth. He flashed a smile, and Brie watched the poor woman melt, utterly enchanted.

“Well, aren’t you just a tall drink of water,” she said, putting a fist to her hip in genuine appreciation.

Cameron went blank, trying to interpret, then answered as best he could. “I’d love one.”

Brie snorted into her menu, trying not to laugh.

The waitress, whose name tag identified her as Pam, lifted her eyebrows slowly, then gave Brie an unsolicited pat on the shoulder. “With looks like that, he doesn’t need to be a genius, honey.”

Brie grinned back widely, handing her the menu. “French toast, please, and the biggest, most irresponsibly sweet coffee you have.”

“Coming right up. And for you, mister?”

“Just the tall drink of water, please,” he said with another blinding grin.

The waitress pursed her lips, flipped his menu right side up as she collected it, and walked away after giving him a quick pat on the hand. “Anything you want, honey.”

Brie waited until she was gone, then folded her hands on the table. “You are utterly ridiculous.”

He stopped playing with his napkin, lifting his eyes in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Okay, aside from the fact that you were delighted by the traffic lights on the drive over and you used all my remaining quarters playing the claw game on the way in here so you could, and I quote, ‘rescue the little bear’ — this.” She gestured to his body, tracing a finger up and down. “This is utterly ridiculous. Don’t you see it? You don’t see how out of place this is?”

He frowned. “You mean—”

“I mean your face, Cameron. I mean, your perfect, clueless face.”

There was a slight pause. “I am as I was made. I see nothing ridiculous about it.”

Of course you don’t.

The waitress returned with his ironic beverage and a fragrant assortment of sugar, carbs, and caffeine for Brie. She gave Cameron an exaggerated wink before walking off again as Brie inhaled deeply, reveling in the lovely scent of cinnamon and maple.

Near-death experiences and supernatural plot twists really make you work up an appetite.

As the delicious chemicals began to work their magic, she considered her companion.

He felt no need to fill silences — that much was clear. He spent an excessive amount of time taking his straw out of its plastic sheath before dropping it into his drink and stirring curiously at the ice cubes, but he never took so much as a sip. He also seemed to be constantly checking the exits, though whenever he caught her looking, he smiled as though nothing was wrong.

He’s guarding me, she realized. He’s afraid it will happen again.

The idea resonated with a sudden pang.

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