4. Caleb

FOUR

Caleb

“But you just… and he just…” Josie waved toward the door, where her landlord had just abruptly exited, her mouth hanging open like a fish.

She’s incredibly sexy when she’s all cute and flustered.

“Yes,” I said gently, hoping she wasn’t about to react badly.

Again.

When I’d told her the truth of what I was seven years ago, she’d pushed me away in disbelief. Refused to see me for nearly a week before she agreed to talk again. After that, I hadn’t had time to prove things, not really, before I’d been called back to the Host for correction.

A correction I’d more than deserved . Josie had been the perfect distraction, one that had led to too many slip-ups. A dozen couples, two dozen fates, knocked off course, all because I thought I’d found my Chosen. An angel finding his Chosen was a big deal—a once-in-eternity kind of thing—but there was one big problem. Josie was human. Despite that, I’d let myself get carried away with the belief that she could be the one, at the expense of those who relied on me for their fates .

It was egregious. Too much, and even a loving heavenly Host had to do something to right my wrongs. So they had. My wings were stripped and my other couples reassigned until I’d corrected the matches I’d messed up.

Seven long years of being earthbound, fallen from grace, and I was finally down to the last few names on my list. All I had left to do was match my last three couples, and I could get my wings back. Be whole again.

But what would that mean for Josie? A human Chosen… I didn’t know. It had never before in the history of angels happened—an angel having a human Chosen. I wasn’t even sure it was divinely possible to have a human Chosen. Only that I felt that pull in my chest, always to her.

She was doing fine without me, my presence back in her life seeming to throw her off more than anything. She still didn’t believe what I was. So maybe I was wrong. A Chosen should need her other half, and Josie didn’t seem to need anything from me. I’d been wrong about so many things.

I resisted the urge to shake my head to clear it. She was still staring at me like I’d grown a third eyeball. I needed to say something to set her back at ease, prove that she wasn’t losing it.

Of course, being a cupid specifically was a bit harder to prove than for most supernatural species. Wolves could shift, vampires had fangs and super speed, and trolls had blue skin.

But cupids?

Well, we helped true loves find each other. It was a very precise art, and it wasn’t easy to explain or show at the drop of a hat. So I couldn’t blame her for her reaction.

Granted, bringing couples together wasn’t my only divine trick, hence our current predicament. The flick of my hand that sent the angry landlord away had gotten her unstuck from her current predicament, but had also made her head spin.

As for the landlord, he would get back to his desk and make his very important phone call—a need I’d plucked out of the cloud of stress hanging over the man—and be distracted for a while. But eventually, he’d be back, trying to toss out her cats. He was allergic, so the instinct was understandable. But perhaps there was something I could do to fix the problem permanently?

I needed to change the topic of conversation, but it was hard to think straight. Josie was exactly as I remembered, only slightly older, slightly wiser, and even more gorgeous. She wore a simple sweater, her hair pulled halfway up, the bottom spilling over with a waterfall of soft curls. She’d also filled out a little, and the extra curves looked phenomenal on her.

A stretchy neon book cover would look phenomenal on her. It’s Josie.

“Your landlord doesn’t like the cats? They seem quite content here.” I threw out the first thing that came to mind, even though I already knew the answer. Anything had to be better than the thought of her curves and how badly I wanted to touch them. Needed to touch them.

Josie had always brought out un-angelic urges in me. She was my downfall and my addiction—one I needed to steer clear of.

She finally snapped out of it, focusing on what I’d said.

“Yes, they are quite content, given the fact that they each showed up and made themselves at home.”

“They’re strays?”

She lifted her chin in challenge. “Not anymore. They belong here. They’re part of the Bookish Cat family.”

I smiled, impressed with Josie as usual. She was never one to back down from a challenge. “You’ve always had a big heart. It’s one of the first things I admired about you, way back when.”

She cocked her head. “Well, thank you. Do you often run away from people you admire , without ever looking back? Or saying goodbye? Or explaining?” Her aura turned sour, almost bitter. She leveled me with an accusing glare and picked up the fluffiest of the cats.

She missed me?

She’d always held a special place in my heart, but she’d moved on. I knew because I had come back for her. It was only a few human weeks after I’d been called up to give an account to the Host, and I’d used my powers to trace her as soon as my feet were back on mortal ground.

I remembered it like it was yesterday. It was raining—like always in Seattle—and I was drenched through my soggy, squelching shoes by the time I found her at the edge of her college’s football field. She was huddled under an enormous maple tree, snuggled up to a college guy in one of those brightly-colored leather jackets. Josie never knew I was there, but I saw the whole thing—his arm around her shoulders, the two of them tucked together, studying. When he leaned in to kiss her, I walked away.

I was too late, had left too abruptly, been detained by the heavens for too long, and I had to let her go. So I did, keeping myself busy for seven long years, patching up failed matches and ignoring the constant pull in my chest toward her.

“You know, everybody told me working at a bookshop would be boring, but I have to say, you sure keep it exciting.” A woman appeared out of nowhere at my side. “Is he part of the decor now? I approve.” She ambled away again, a stack of Highlander romance books tottering with each step, but not falling.

“I’m sorry about my employee. She’s, well, Barb.” Josie’s cheeks colored, a beautiful peach flush tinting her skin, taunting my fingers with the desire to touch. To taste.

“Don’t apologize. I love everything about what you’ve built here, truly. I knew if you decided to follow your dreams, you’d make it spectacular.”

She looked down, sinking her nose into the cat’s ruff and taking a beat before responding. “It was thanks to you, you know. What you said back then gave me what I needed. Do you remember?”

“Of course I do.”

“‘ The future you seek is seeking you .’ Everyone else told me it was crazy, that I should do something secure .” Her eyes were fiery when she looked back up. “You know what’s secure? Trusting my instincts. Leaning into what I believe in. Knowing what I can do. That’s my security.”

Pride for her accomplishments swelled in my chest, the feeling surprising. I had no claim on her, no horse in this race, and yet… I wanted this for her. I wanted her to be living the life of her dreams. Except, I sensed no trace of the football player. No leftover wisps of his essence, nothing changed about her, or her signature, to indicate they were still together. Nor that she was with anyone else, as far as I could tell.

Was she single again?

It shouldn’t matter. It really shouldn’t. I’d tried to get closer to her before, and it hadn’t turned out well at all . Clearly, she hadn’t believed me when I told her what I was, based on her reaction to my distracting her landlord a few minutes ago .

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she prodded, shifting back and forth nervously on her feet.

“Like what?” I asked, curious about her thoughts. She’d always had a unique read on every situation.

“Like…” She let one hand drop from the cat, disappearing under the counter. It was like watching a light bulb turn on, her expression suddenly clear. “You’re here for a romance? For yourself?”

That had me rocking back on my heels. “What? Why would you say that?”

“Just a hunch. You did come in here for a couple, after all.”

Heavens help me. The couple . They’d left ages ago, and I’d been so distracted with Josie, I completely forgot to follow them. She’d recommended two completely off-the-wall books, they’d paid, and I hadn’t batted an eye as they left.

And here I was, still enraptured by the sight of her instead of doing my job.

Again, damn it.

This was a mistake I couldn’t afford to repeat, though. I needed a perfect record to get my wings back, and this was the only extra couple I’d been assigned in seven years . I couldn’t screw this up, even if every fiber of my being was screaming to stay, to spend time with Josie, to bask in her achingly familiar presence a little longer.

“I have to go,” I said, unable to hide the regret in my voice.

“I’d say I’m surprised, but that would be a lie.”

Yeah, she wasn’t going to forgive me any time soon. Her acidic tone told me everything I needed to know, and then some.

“It was good seeing you again, Josie. I’d love to catch up if you’d be open to the idea.”

She bit her lip, both hands sinking into the cat’s white fur once more, but she didn’t answer right away. I had to go, but I somehow couldn’t uproot myself until she answered me. There was no part of me that would leave.

“Oh, for cripe’s sake,” Barb interjected, hands on hips in the aisle. “She’d love to, Caleb. Call the shop any time. Don’t look at me like that, Josie!” She wagged a motherly finger. “You know it’s not going to work out with any of those wannabe fishermen on your app. This hunk of a man right here is what you need to wow your mom’s socks off.”

I looked back at Josie, hoping she’d confirm that I could call and maybe even tell me what Barb was talking about.

Fishermen?

Wowing her mom’s socks?

“Fine! He can call, just please stop talking!” She made the universal cutting motion for Barb to be quiet, but the woman only grinned, looking pleased as she surveyed the two of us.

Josie was reluctant at best, but it was more than I’d dared hope for when I first walked in, and I’d take it. But now, I had to go track down my couple and see what I had to do to get them together.

“I’ll call you tomorrow morning,” I said as I walked out the door.

“But will you?” she whispered, a question I was very sure wasn’t meant for me but which sent pain spiraling through me just the same.

I found them a little over a mile away and slowed my pace as I realized they were still together and lingering in Gas Works Park. It was a unique piece of Seattle history—what used to be a coal gasification plant had been turned into a park where people and geese alike enjoyed the view of Lake Union.

My couple, however, was ignoring both the water and the Seattle skyline. I spotted them leaning against a fence, elbow to elbow, and… arguing?

No, that wasn’t right. They were loud, and they were gesturing animatedly, but they both glowed with happiness, not frustration. I walked slowly, gazing out over the water, then back to the gasworks where they stood, keeping my surveillance subtle.

“It’s not about the sex. If that’s what you think, you’re missing the point,” he argued.

She threw up her hands, a glint of playful exaggeration in her aura, but no real heat. “Really, then? Enlighten me. What is it about?”

“The journey. The adventure . Taking a risk, putting yourself out there! Haven’t you ever wondered what might happen if you just let go, gave in to the possibilities?” His chest heaved as he stared into her eyes far too intensely for a near-stranger. He looked like he wanted to tear her clothes off.

“Yes, yes I have.” The words were soft, so subtle the evening breeze would have carried them away from anyone without supernatural hearing.

Something wordless and wild passed between them, and then she was kissing him, and he was kissing her right back, his hands cupping her jaw and tipping her head up. Heat spiraled upward toward the night sky, and a smile split my lips.

New love. Passion that burned so brightly, the heavens couldn’t help but take notice.

They were meant to be, and everything inside me reveled in joy at the sight of a perfect match coming together for the first time.

Josie had known exactly what they needed to spark the flame. I felt that same rush of heat in my own veins, the couple’s desire thick in the air affecting me, making me think back to the time Josie and I spent wrapped up in each other like that.

I sped up, leaving the couple alone to see where the night took them. My hand fell to my pocket, grabbing the cell phone I kept there for clients. In seconds, I had pulled up the shop phone number for the Bookish Cat, but my thumb hesitated over the call button.

I needed time to think, to say the exact right thing. If I wanted any shot with Josie at all, I couldn’t mess it up a second time.