They walkedinto the kitchen, and he sat at the table with Raphael. Opheliaflicked the switch on the kettle.
“I thought youtwo wouldn’t want to see me again after my behaviour the otherday,” he confessed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’sforgotten,” said Ophelia as she spooned coffee into a cafetière andpoured steaming water over the granules.
The aroma offreshly-brewed coffee made his stomach growl.
“Have youeaten?” asked Raphael.
“No, not for awhile.”
Raphael went tothe fridge and peered inside. “We were going to have bacon andscrambled eggs for lunch. There’s plenty here if you’d like tostay?”
The knots inhis shoulders eased a fraction. “I’d like that, thanks.”
Caleb sippedhis coffee while his friends prepared and served the meal.
Nothing evertasted so good, and he wolfed down his food in no time.
“Are youfeeling any better now?” Ophelia asked.
He nodded. “Iwill be once I’ve had a shower and figured out why I can’t fly.Raphael said he’s heard of this before.”
Ophelia reachedacross the table and held his hand. Her soft brown gaze heldnothing but kindness. “You were trying to fly away from the truth,Caleb.”
“What do youmean?”
“Why did youdisappear for days? Evie texted me and said she couldn’t get holdof you. She’s worried about you, and so are we.”
Evie.He’d tried to block it out, but guilt returned full force, tearingat his heart like it was made of tissue paper. He slid his handaway from Ophelia’s and scrubbed his unshaven jaw. “I’ve donesomething unforgivable,” he told them.
“There isn’t abone in your body that is capable of any wrong-doing,” saidRaphael. “Your heart is pure.”
“You’re wrong.Evie and I…” He swallowed the lump in his throat. He drank morecoffee and took a moment to compose himself. “I lost control. I’mher teacher, and I abused my position.”
“Tell us whathappened, Caleb.”
“We madelove.”
Instead of theshock he’d expected, his friends’ beaming faces shone back athim.
“Finally!”Ophelia remarked. “I’m so happy for you.”
He frowned.“What? No. It’s a bad thing. I only went around there to comforther because she’d had this awful date with an adulterous warlock.She was so sad… she’d been drinking, and I took advantage ofher.”
“Are you sure?She did try to kiss you once.”
The image ofEvie as he threw her on the bed came to mind. Naked, she’d openedher legs for him… She’d asked him if he felt the chemistry betweenthem, too. “No, I’m not sure now,” he answered truthfully.
Maybe he had itwrong. Maybe he hadn’t forced himself on her after all. Maybe she’dwanted it too. And she had tried to contact him multiple times…Surely she wouldn’t have done that if she felt he’d taken advantageof her? Or maybe she’d wanted to give him a piece of her mind; tellhim what a lowlife he was.
Caleb pinchedthe bridge of his nose. “It doesn’t matter. She’s my student, Ishouldn’t have—”
“We all knowEvie is much more than your student, Caleb,” Ophelia interrupted.“The first time she came for dinner, we knew she was in love withyou.”
The air escapedfrom his lungs. “She’s in love with me?” For some reason, his pulserate accelerated.
Raphaelchuckled, much to his annoyance.
He took severalmoments to process, but it still didn’t make any sense. “No, shecan’t be.”
“What makes yousay that?”
“Because shewouldn’t have joined the dating agency if she felt that way.”
“The datingagency you suggested to her,” Ophelia pointed out. “Talk aboutgiving the girl mixed signals.”
“What mixedsignals?”
Now Ophelialaughed. “Wake up, Caleb. You’ve fallen for her too. It’s writtenall over your face.”
“I’ve neverheard anything so ridiculous in my life.” His tone lacked thecertitude he’d intended. Something tugged inside, like an invisiblethread reeling him towards something magical.
“Look insideyour heart,” said Raphael. “Be honest with yourself. Angels deserveto be happy too.”
As if on cue,his heart skipped a beat. He’d told the same thing to Evie, so whydid he find it so hard to listen to his own advice? “No, it’simpossible,” he said, still trying to deny it, as though admittingit might somehow snap that delicate thread of hope. “We’re goodfriends. Or at least we were. I’ll lose my job over this.”
“I can’tbelieve you’re worried about your job.” Ophelia harrumphed. “Youare quite possibly the most stubborn, exasperating angel I haveever met.”
“Calm down,dear,” said Raphael. “You can’t force Caleb to see the truth.”
Err, I’mstill here.
“No, I won’tcalm down. Someone has to tell him,” Ophelia continued. “Have youever stopped to think that’s why those Above chose you to be Evie’steacher, Caleb? They had a greater purpose for you two from thebeginning.”
Caleb openedhis mouth, then snapped it shut again. Were his concerns overfailing the Powers That Be completely unfounded? Had they plannedthe whole thing?
“Are you okay?”asked Raphael. “You’ve gone awfully pale.”
His handstrembled. Thoughts swirled inside his head, made him lightheadedagain despite the hearty meal.
Evie…
Ophelia calmedand gave him another one of her compassionate smiles. “You’ve beenin love with Evie since the moment you two met, but you’re too damnobstinate to admit the truth to yourself.”
His whole bodywarmed as though it too compelled him to see the truth.
He could see itall now. Her turquoise eyes twinkling like sunlight on a tropicalocean. Her charming smile when she’d teased him over his irrationalfear of spiders. The sound of her soft laughter had seeped into hissoul without him realising it, and now he couldn’t remember thesilence before he met her.
Caleb’s gazeflitted between his wisest friends.
He leapt upfrom the table, grinning. “Thank you, both of you, for talking somesense into a stubborn old chap. You’re right. I am in love with themost incredible angel I’ve ever met.”
They grinnedback. “Glad we got it sorted.”
“I have to seeher. Now.”
Opheliachuckled. “Not smelling like that, you don’t.”
She had apoint, and there was something else too. His shoulders dipped.“Since my wings don’t work, can you drive me home, Raphael?”Whatever was wrong with them was the least of his priorities.
“I’d be happyto, but your wings will work fine now. Try them.”
Caleb circledhis shoulders, and sure enough, the power flowed back into hiswings. “How is that possible?”
“Like I toldyou,” said Ophelia. “You were trying to fly away from thetruth.”
It made sense.His wings had stopped working the moment he’d left Evie’s flat.
“Remind meagain why I did that?”
Ophelia andRaphael answered together. “Because you’re a stubborn oldfellow.”
He smiled. “Notanymore. I owe Evie a huge apology and
