Page 38 of When the Angel Falls First

She isn’t human.

The woman squeezed my hand. “You’ll get your happy ending, darling.”

And she was gone, the books she’d selected poofing out of existence right along with her.

The air was electric as I stood there in the silence, a buzzing energy that hummed beneath my skin and jolted through my veins. She had been standing there, as real as I was, but these days, as I became more and more aware of the not-so-human beings around, I knew that woman could have been anything.

And that made her message all the more important. My heart pounded an erratic beat against the backdrop of hushed whispers from the old, worn books. The realization hit me like a lightning bolt.

Caleb is the man for me.

Gatsby appeared, purring at my feet.

I saw it then, as clear as the sun’s first light breaking the dawn, as undeniable as the constellations adorning the night sky. He wasn’t just another character in the complex web of my existence. No, he was the plot twist, the climax, the denouement, all rolled into one.

I’d been trying to map out my life’s narrative without its protagonist, the key character around whom everything revolved. It was Caleb. It hadalwaysbeen Caleb.

I could see it in the way his name resounded in my mind, an echo reverberating off the walls of my heart, leaving a trail of warmth. I could see it in the way the universe seemed to be aligning itself in a strange, inexplicable pattern, leading me back to him.

Even the fact that it had been seven years… there was something powerful in that number.

Everything inside me filled with a cocktail of emotions so potent it threatened to spill over.

Fear. Excitement. Longing. Hope. Desperate need. Each one vied for dominance, but one stood out, stronger, bolder.

Courage.

I would not be held back by fear or uncertainty anymore. I was ready to face Caleb, to lay everything out on the line. To tell him that despite the chaos, the turmoil, the celestial complications, he was the one.

My heart’s compass pointed toward him, as certain as true north.

This was bigger than us. It was a saga written in the stars, etched into the universe’s grand design. It was our love story, and I was ready to turn the page and start the next chapter.

Gatsby jumped onto the counter, and I’d be damned if he didn’t just push my keys at me ever so slightly with a wink just as Barb walked in.

“Barb, I’ve got to go!”

“Nice to see you too?—”

I flew out of the bookshop and ran faster than I thought was possible to Caleb’s office. I had to get there before my courage had any chance to falter.

I was in love with an angel, and I was going to make him mine.

SIXTEEN

Caleb

I’d always beena morning person—angels didn’t have to sleep, so nighttime was boring now that I couldn’t flit off to a part of the world that was awake. I already knew every language in the world—perks of being an angel, we got all the good downloads—and there was only so much to watch on TV. So the sun’s first rays peeking through the gloom were a gift, each and every day I spent on Earth.

Except today.

Today, the cold light of reality shone like a beacon on all my regrets, all my failings. I’d lain in bed tossing and turning all night, and there I stayed. The way I’d lost my wings seven years ago echoed into the present, a burn of longing that I couldn’t ignore. The longer they were gone, the more I felt the loss was permanent. My relationship with Josie back then mirrored the one that was growing now… starting with that earth-shattering kiss last night.

Even thinking about it hurt because it didn’t makesense. How could something so perfect, that seemed so clearlyordained, be at the same time everything I’d ever wanted and everything I couldn’t possibly have?

I was starting to understand why some angels fell permanently from grace. Being on the outside of love had never been a problem before Josie. It was my purpose, mycalling, and I found great joy in it. But now? Now it felt hollow. Painfully empty, like opening the most beautifully wrapped gift in the world only to find there was nothing inside all the pretty paper.

I had to distance myself, stay apart from her, and that thought cut me to the quick. There was no other way to earn back my wings, and if I fell permanently… well, I’d never be worthy of her. Then, I wouldn’t even have my duty to keep me busy. I’d be forced to wander the Earth alone, cut off from the Host permanently as darkness slowly ate away at the edges of my soul, and I descended into demonic ruin.

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