Angels at the Table (Angels Everywhere #7)(49)

“I have no idea.” For Josie to have the contact information for Lucie was as much a mystery to Aren as it was to Lucie. “What I can tell you is fairly obvious. My sister and Jack teamed up to bring us back together.”

“It worked. Oh, Aren, Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, my love.”

“Your love. You mean you’re willing to give us another chance?”

“Definitely.”

Lucie blinked back tears. “I swear, this is the best Christmas of my life.”

“Mine, too.” Closing his eyes, he kissed her forehead. “The last time I was here I waited, hoping with all my heart that you’d show. This time I had no expectation of seeing you and here you are.”

“I’m so glad I’m here … and even happier that you are, too.”

“Good.”

Then, as if it suddenly dawned on her, she said, “You’ll come home with me, won’t you? Mom will be ecstatic to see you. She’s got the most wonderful dinner planned. It’s far more than the two of us could ever eat, so please say you’ll join us and then later there’s church. The music is just beautiful and I can’t think of a better person to spend Christmas Eve with than you.”

Aren couldn’t think of a better way either.

“You’ll have dinner with us, won’t you?” Her eyes widened as she pleaded with him.

Aren nodded.

Lucie hugged him tight. “I’ve been so miserable and too stubborn to admit it. I’ve learned so much about myself. Aren, oh, Aren, I’ve been such an idiot.”

“I have been, too.”

“No,” she argued, intent on accepting the blame. “You were more than reasonable and I was—”

He stopped her the only way he could think of and that was by taking her in his arms and kissing her senseless until they were interrupted by the guard.

“Hey, folks, I hate to interrupt a romantic moment, but we’re closing down for the night.”

“Oh, sorry,” Lucie whispered.

Aren wrapped his arm around her waist. Holding on to each other they took the express elevator down to the ground floor. As soon as they were outside Aren reached for his cell.

“Who are you calling?” Lucie asked.

“My sister, seeing that she arranged all this.” He tapped his contact list and scrolled down to her name. It rang three times before she answered.

“This better be important,” Josie whispered. “Jack’s here and he just gave me my engagement ring back.”

“I wanted to thank you, actually both Lucie and I send our appreciation.”

“Ah … for what?”

“The text you sent her and the one Jack sent me.”

“What text?”

“Come on, Josie, the jig is up. Lucie got your text and I got the one Jack sent. The two of us met up at the Empire State Building just the way you planned.”

“Hold on, bro. I didn’t send Lucie any text.”

“You didn’t?” This wasn’t making any sense. “Check your phone, will you?”

“Sure, but it won’t do any good. I know what I sent and it wasn’t anything about the Empire State Building, and for that matter how would I get Lucie’s cell number?”

Good question, and one Aren had already considered. “Okay,” he said, “I guess there’s been more than one Christmas miracle. Congratulations to you and Jack. I’m heading over to Lucie’s for dinner and church, but will connect with you in the morning.”

“Merry Christmas, Aren.”

“Merry Christmas.” His sister sounded like the happiest woman in the world. He understood because he was walking on cloud nine himself.

“Do you want to explain how Josie got Lucie’s cell number?” Gabriel asked Mercy and her friends. They’d gathered in the choir loft of the Brooklyn church for the Christmas Eve services. Aren, Lucie, and Wendy sat in the pew midway up on the left-hand side.

Aren and Lucie shared a hymnal. Their voices blended beautifully as they sang the classic Christmas carol “Silent Night.” Unfortunately they had yet to hear the angel choir, which was beyond anything on earth, but thankfully they would one day.

“Ah …”

“Mercy, why do I think this is your doing?” Gabriel pressed.

“We had to do something,” Will explained. “I felt personally responsible for this mess, so we tweaked a few of your instructions and made it work.”

“What’s going to happen with them?” Goodness pried. “You know the future. We don’t.”

“You answer my question first,” Gabriel demanded.

“Well, you said we couldn’t interfere in their lives,” Will said, although a reminder wasn’t necessary.

“Interfere in their lives again,” Gabriel corrected.

“Right,” Will added.

“And so …” Gabriel fixed his gaze on Mercy.

“Why are you staring at me?” she asked, doing her utmost to look as innocent as a budding rose.

“Because you have always been the ringleader when it came to mischief.”

“Me?” Mercy was downright offended. Of the four of them she was the one who kept everyone in check. “That is grossly unfair,” she protested. “I have prevented more interferences on Earth than you will ever know about.”