Which brought to mind Nina, who was on the couch, her head in her hands. Instantly, she worried about the grumpy vampire as she ran to the living room, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Nina, are you okay?”
Pinching her temples, she groused, “Fuck all. He nearly burned my friggin’ face off! I’m a goddamned vampire. Light like whatever the hell that was burns.”
“Oh, right. Because you’re like the antichrist, yes?” George asked, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her sweater.
Marty rolled her eyes and shook her head with a chuckle. “That’s such a myth. She’s not the antichrist, George. Despite what a pain in the ass she is, she’s not evil.”
Had she put her big foot in her mouth again? Biting the inside of her cheek, George rocked nervously from foot to foot. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean she was evil. I only meant—”
“Shut up,” Nina ordered, raising her arm and clamping her fingers together under George’s nose. “I know what the fuck you meant. Because I’m a vampire, you think I’m some fucked-up devil worshipper. But that’s not how this shit works. I don’t worship Satan, which is a good thing for you, isn’t it, Wings? I was accidentally turned just like you. It took a little while, and a lot of frickin’ tolerance build up, but religious symbols and churches, and even moderate daylight doesn’t fucking bother me. But that? That goddamn mushroom cloud of sunshine? That shit hurts.”
Dex placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a light squeeze. “Sorry, Nina. I’ll try and make sure we’re more careful.”
She patted his lean hand and smiled. “See that you fucking do.”
Then Dex rubbed his hands together in anticipation and looked at George, who’s stomach had gone a little topsy-turvy. “You ready?”
Her eyes flew to the enormous brown-paper-wrapped package on her small entryway floor, and she gulped. It sat there like an enormous albatross, waiting to strangle her. Was she ready? This was all so ridiculous.
She couldn’t be someone’s angel. She was a train wreck. She had no business guiding people to the grocery store, let alone trying to lead them to make the right choices in their lives.
Panic—panic like she’d only felt once in her life—began to creep into her chest, tightening it like a vise.
Wanda came and stood beside her and took her hand. “I’m here and it’s okay,” she said quietly, her gentle presence and floral perfume soothing George.
“Deep breaths, sweetie. Take deep breaths,” Marty soothed, grabbing hold of her other hand.
Flanked by both women, her tight throat began to ease and she blew out a long-held breath, reminding herself she wouldn’t feel this way forever. She’d read that in a book somewhere and she tried to apply it to anything that made her uneasy.
Closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, George said, “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Walking toward Dex, who stood by the package, she knelt and let her fingers flutter over the brown paper.
Immediately, her skin warmed and her cheeks flushed. Swallowing hard, George slipped her hand inside the tape holding it together and pulled the brown paper away.
As her wings unfurled, they knocked her backward on her butt, making her gasp.
“Ohhhh,” Marty and Wanda whispered, their voices full of awe.
George sat up on her haunches and gaped at the wings. Oh, was right. They were gorgeous. A beautiful mother-of-pearl in color, the feathers soft as silk and shining under the lights of her entryway.
“They’re beautiful,” she whispered in awe.
Dex smiled, sitting on his haunches beside her. He reached for her fingers and gave them a light tug, the feel of his skin against hers suddenly different, now that she knew he was a single.
“Wanna try ’em on?” he asked, his excitement clear.
“Wait, try them on?” Wanda asked, tucking some stray hairs into the smooth bun at the back of her head. “I don’t understand. Why would she try them on? Shouldn’t they just become a part of her?”
“These are her temporary wings,” Dex explained. “She has to earn her permanent wings and that can take time.”
“Do you have permanent wings?” Marty asked with a frown.
Dex looked positively haunted for a moment before he straightened his broad shoulders and rose with a shake of his head, driving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Nope. I’m still earning mine, too.”
A thought occurred to her as George also rose to her feet. “So, you’re in the process of earning your wings, just like me? Does that mean that because you’re my guardian angel, I’m the reason you haven’t earned your permanent wings? Is it because I’m such a mess? Have I been the one to keep you from getting your frequent fliers?”
He looked her directly in the eye with a stare so intense, it made her shiver. “It’s not like that, George. It’s complicated. I don’t have my permanent wings because I don’t. That’s all you need to know.”
“Way to evade,” Nina said with a slap on his back. “You might as well have just fucking said you don’t have your permies because Wings here is a hard-ass nut to crack.”
Wanda tugged a lock of her friend’s ebony hair. “Nina! Hush. There could be tons of reasons why Dex doesn’t have his permanent wings. Stop making things worse.”
But Dex cut them off with the flap of a hand. “There are mitigating factors that have nothing to do with you, George. Promise. Now, forget me. This is an exciting time for an angel and you have a lot to learn. But first, let’s try your wings on. You game?”
As George took a step forward and looked at the beautiful wings, her heart pounded as she remembered when Dex had snapped his fingers and made his wings appear out of thin air. When he’d put them on, he’d emanated a glorious light, soft and full of magic.
Biting the inside of her cheek, she nodded with hesitance. “O…okay.”
Wanda gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. “We’re right here if
