Mypresent.
And I supposed, since both our wings were now complete, myfuture.
Chapter 63
Eve landedon the edge of the avenue, her body haloed by her yellow-gold wings and the puffing sea at her back. “Good evening,Seraph.”
Too stunned to utter a word, I simply stared. At her oval face, her hazel eyes, and the long swoop of dark hair that fell over a dress made of several layers of red chiffon accented with a gold leatherbelt.
“I just dined with Mother who told me you were ascending, Leigh.” Eve was slightly flushed, as though she’d flown at wind speed to arrive before I did. “I didn’t believe her, but here youare.”
“Here I am,” I saiddrily.
Asher cleared his throat. “You two are actually neighbors. We thought you’d appreciate having a friend closeby.”
Oh, the sweet torture.I supposed he hadn’t been informed of our little spat back in Paris. Unless he had but deemed our bond too solid to be destroyed by barbedwords.
Eve plucked a small bloom from the wall and twirled it beneath her nose. “Mother wanted a word with you, Seraph. At your convenience, of course. You can find her at GreatOak.”
As he began retreating down the avenue, I called out, “Will I see you tomorrow,Seraph?”
He glanced over his shoulder at me. “If you wantto.”
What I wanted was to return to Earth and see Jarod, but that was impossible. Seconds ticked by as he waited for my response. One that never came, because I didn’t want to give Asher the impression I desired anything more than his friendship. Until he got betrothed or Jarod arrived—whichever happened first—I’d keep mydistance.
“Good night,” he said in a tight voice that rumbled through the street, garnering more than a little attention from the angels passing by or watching from theirwindows.
Once he was gone, Eve said, “I didn’t request this livingarrangement.”
“I imagined asmuch.”
She dropped her hand to her side, bruising the small flower in her fist. “I apologized. What more do you want fromme?”
“I’m not angry about Jarod. I was at first, but Jarod’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, so thank you forhim.”
Her long, arched brows dipped low. “Then why did you blow up at me inParis?”
“You mean, when you insultedCeleste?”
“She insulted meback.”
“Eve, you think you’re better than everyone else, and in many ways, you are, but don’t expect to have real friends if you belittle them at everyopportunity.”
She gasped, the flower sliding from her fingers and drifting like a feather toward the buffed stone. “Belittle them? Who did Ibelittle?”
“Me.” Even though I kept my voice low, the heat of it seared the air. “You’ve always disparaged me—my weight, my proclivity for romance novels, my deliberate slowness to accomplish missions. I’m far from perfect, and considering all that’s happened to me in the last few days, this”—I gestured between us—“feels ridiculous, not to mention petty. I don’t want to fight with you. I’m tired of fighting. I’m plaintired.”
“You lookexhausted.”
I shut my eyes, annoyance threatening to boilover.
“But most of all, you lookdepressed.”
My gummy lids opened. “Wow. Thanks. Criticism was exactly what Ineeded.”
“I didn’t mean it like that—” She squared her shoulders. “Forget it. I’m the bad guy, and that’s all I’ll ever be to you.” Her wings unfolded, and her sandaled feet lifted off theground.
Before she could take off, I said, “I didn’t want to ascend. Jarod and Asher took the choice away from me. The Seraphim signed me off so I could start earning feathers again. I’m trying not to be angry at either of them . . . or at you. I don’t want this anger. I hate anger. It’stoxic.”
