Flame & Fortune (Angels of Sojourn) Read online

  A corner of Kieran’s lip turned into a charming smile. “No worries. I just hope I wasn’t boring.”

  “Oh, no. On the contrary. It’s just that…” She realized her shoulders were scrunched to nearly her ears, and she forced them to relax and she smiled sweetly. “Well, it’s not important. Let’s get on with that interview.”

  Kieran led her inside the cozy, dimly lit restaurant. As soon as the door closed, blocking the warm sun from her skin, a rush of thoughts of the barren landscape of the Underworld returned. Goosebumps formed on her skin even though the room was not cold. She looked up at Kieran. “Can we eat outside?”

  “Only if you don’t fall asleep again.”

  Lena fought a smile. Was he teasing her? Before her heart could warm too much, she remembered her task. Distract him. Could she take advantage of Kieran’s interest in her? How did she feel about leading him on? When this was over, she was returning to the Underworld.

  “Do you have a table outside?” Kieran asked the hostess.

  The hostess picked up two menus and led them out back onto a beautiful patio overlooking a small stream. Trees surrounded nearly a dozen tables that created a feeling of privacy, despite the few other people enjoying the outdoors. The scent of blooming lilacs reminded her of the bush planted outside her childhood home.

  Almost immediately after they were seated, a waiter who looked like he could guard the gate of the Underworld all by himself approached. “What can I get for you?” He lifted his pad of paper which caused the black t-shirt around his bicep to tighten enough Lena wondered if it cut off his circulation.

  Kieran looked to Lena, but she was silent as she stared at the waiter’s shaved head. She didn’t remember what she used to drink as a human. She turned to Kieran. “Whatever you have.”

  He smiled a lopsided, sly smile. “We’ll take two long islands.”

  Long islands. Lena started to remember. Those were alcoholic and strong. A flash of her human life came back. She had always enjoyed alcohol, but near the end, she remembered it got out of control. Perhaps she should have asked for a soda.

  KIERAN

  Kieran’s goal was to keep Lena from putting on her reporter hat. The longer he stalled, the longer this afternoon would last. There was magic in Lena’s eyes when she looked at the world. Her child-like wonder reminded Kieran of his younger years—of birthdays, Christmases, and even Sunday brunches with his family.

  Their conversation was smooth, now that she had napped. Odd as that was, he couldn’t help but find her comfort in his presence amusing. This beautiful woman was as flawed as everyone else, and it made her more approachable. He’d have something to tease her about on future dates, if they had one.

  They would have another date. Kieran committed that to himself, and when he put his mind to something, he succeeded. But…this wasn’t even a date—only a business meeting. After years of bad relationships, he was picky. So picky that nearly a year had passed since he last dated. Across the table sat one of the most beautiful woman he remembered meeting, and he was glad he waited.

  Half-way through his long island, he noticed Lena hadn’t touched hers. “Did I order you the wrong thing?”

  “No. It’s fine. I mean…I don’t drink. At least not anymore.”

  Was she a recovering alcoholic? Kieran’s chest tightened from guilt as he flagged the bodyguard posing as a waiter. “Could you get something else for the lady?”

  “No,” Lena said. “It’s okay.”

  “Nonsense,” Kieran said. “What do you like to drink?”

  Lena searched for the first drink that came to mind. “Milk.”

  Kieran laughed as the waiter disappeared. Lena pushed her drink in front of Kieran. “I should have said something earlier.”

  “No problem. I don’t mind having two. Call it liquid courage.”

  “Why do you need courage?”

  “It’s just that…” He picked up his glass and swirled the little liquid that was left, causing the ice cubes to clink. “It’s just that you’re amazing and make me a little nervous.”

  Lena laughed loud enough for the other couples on the patio to turn their heads.

  The waiter came out with a glass of milk along with their appetizer sampler. It was too early for dinner and Kieran was stalling—making the afternoon last as long as possible.

  Lena’s eyes sparkled when the waiter brought the appetizers.

  “You look delighted by the food.”

  She looked up, her long eyelashes nearly tickling her eyebrow. “I’m just appreciative of everything. Aren’t you delighted by the food?” She smiled, throwing his words back at him.

  Kieran looked at the array of bacon-wrapped vegetables mixed with some deep-fried ones drizzled in chutney sauce. A sprig of rosemary laid on the side, contrasting the white plate. “Yeah, I guess it is delightful. It’s a work of art.”

  “Sometimes, you just need to appreciate things. You never know how long it’ll be until you see them again.” Lena smiled as she filled her plate with a few fried mushroom and bacon-wrapped water chestnuts and asparagus.

  She took a bite of the water chestnut, closing her eyes as she chewed. Kieran sliced a piece of bacon-wrapped asparagus and popped it in his mouth, trying to taste with a fresh perspective. It was rich and smoky, with a kick of spice from the chimichurri sauce.

  He rolled it in his mouth before he swallowed, opening his eyes to Lena’s intense stare and beautiful white smile. “I was just doing as you suggested and appreciating what was in front of me.”

  Lena looked down and cut a breaded mushroom in half. “So was I.”

  Kieran laughed. Who was this woman and where had she been all his life? “Let’s play a little game.”

  “A game?” she arched an eyebrow as she placed another bite of water chestnut into her mouth. Her love for it showing just as strongly as before.

  “A while ago, I read in Cosmo ten questions you should ask on a first date—not that this is a date, but it’s a way for us to get to know each other. I’ll ask one question, then you can ask a question for your article. Is that a fair trade?”

  “You can go first.” Lena stuck her fork into another appetizer.

  “Okay. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?” He pushed his empty glass aside and took a sip of the other Long Island.

  “I’d go somewhere warm. Unbearably hot, even. Somewhere with so much work to do that I’d never get bored…like…Central America.” For the first time, Kieran saw something other than joy and wonder upon her face. Her eyes glossed over like she was far away. Sadness veiled her, and Kieran wanted to pull her into his arms.

  He set his silverware down. “Do you want to hear where I’d be if I could be anywhere?”

  Lena shook the look from her face. “Okay, Mr. Plugh. Where would you be?”

  He took another drink of his long island before capturing her eyes. “Here. I’d be right here at this moment.”

  Lena looked at the appetizers on her plate.

  Had he gone too far? Perhaps a subject change. “Okay. Ask a question for your article now.”

  Lena swirled her fork. “I understand Gen Power Systems will be stopping their funding of the Grief Relief charity. What sparked this decision?”

  Kieran took another sip. They had already stopped funding Grief Relief. Perhaps he wasn’t supposed to know that, and that’s why Fred asked him to do this interview. He had no desire to lie to Lena. Instead, he avoided the full answer. “After balancing our budgets, we found there wasn’t anything left for Grief Relief. I hope that in a few months we can reconsider.”

  “You look genuinely sad for that decision. Your boss stated you have personal connections to this charity?”

  Kieran forced those thoughts out of his mind and put on a smile. “Not so fast. That’s two questions. I get one first.”

  “Okay. That’s fair.” She took another bite.

  “What’s something I wouldn’t guess about you?”

  She l
aughed. “You have no idea.”

  “Come on. You have to answer.”

  “Okay.” She looked around. A smile growing on her face as a man played a violin inside the restaurant, the music finding its way onto the patio through an open window. “I used to love to dance.”

  “Used to? How can you fall out of love of dancing?”

  She shook her finger at him. “That’s another question. First you need to answer mine. What is your connection to Grief Relief?”

  “My sister used the program after our father died.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Lena’s beautiful grey eyes caught his—a true look of sympathy radiated from them.

  “It’s okay. How about ditching the questions and going for a distraction instead?” Kieran stood up and took Lena’s hand. “I’d love to dance with you. Let’s see if you can fall back in love with it.”

  After a moment of hesitation, Lena set her cloth napkin on the table and slid her hand into his.

  His phone beeped, and he pulled it from his waistband—work.

  Lena’s smile faded, so he clicked ignore and placed his phone face down on the table. With a galloping heart, he led Lena farther out on the patio to a dancefloor.

  Chapter 3

  LENA

  Kieran’s hands were warm as he placed one against her back and grasped her free hand with his other. Warmness raced through her body, from deep in her fingers, toes, and frozen core for the first time in longer than she could remember. Stepping slowly with the music, Lena followed Kieran’s lead, allowing the melody of the violin to run through her body and settle in her heart.

  She listened to the beautiful sound that she hadn’t heard for so many years, and when she opened her eyes, a tear slid down her cheek. She looked away, hoping Kieran hadn’t seen her tears, but it was too late. He must think she was crazy—sleeping in his car, and now crying—but did it even matter? Her job was to distract him for the evening and despite her flaws, she succeeded.

  She lifted her hand from his shoulder and wiped her wet eyes. “It’s a beautiful song.” More tears threatened, so she placed her cheek against Kieran’s chest so he wouldn’t see. His warmth radiated through his dress shirt, and before she knew it, her body pressed against his, enjoying his warmth, comfort, and peace.

  On the second song, Kieran’s cheek rested against her hairline, and she relaxed into his arms. When that song ended, so did the music. Their bodies separated, and Kieran stepped back, leaving her craving more of his touch.

  “Did you enjoy that? I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  “It’d just been so long since I danced. You may have made me love dancing again.” Her voice softened. “Perhaps a little too much.”

  Kieran’s broad hand wrapped around hers, leading her to their table. “Not too much at all. I think, I may have loved it as much as you.”

  They sat and each took a drink of their beverage. Yuck. Lena had forgotten how terrible warm milk tasted: A creaminess that left a faint sourness on her tongue after she swallowed. She reached over and popped a small breaded mushroom into her mouth.

  “The food must be cold.”

  Lena finished chewing and swallowed. “I didn’t notice.” Nothing would be as cold as the Underworld. “I’m not hungry anymore, anyways.”

  Kieran laughed. “We didn’t get much interviewing done.”

  “That’s okay. We’ll get to it, unless you’re in a hurry.”

  “No.” Kieran’s word was sharp. He explained further. “I’m not in a hurry. Not at all.”

  The Unfortunate had provided Lena with a ton of questions she could ask about Gen Power Systems to keep Kieran’s attention. Lena went through them, one by one. As she watched Kieran talk about his company and his position, she found the outside distractions melted away, leaving the two of them sitting at the table. She gave him her undivided attention and found herself forgetting her assignment. Forgetting the past twenty-three years. Forgetting everything she had done…

  Until he brought up Grief Relief. “It’s a charity for children who had lost someone.”

  Her heart throbbed. When Lena was human, she had angel potential. She didn’t know it, but her destiny was to join the other angels in Sojourn and perform miracles to help the human world.

  Instead, greed corrupted her. She ran a non-profit charity to intervene in families with suspected child abuse. The charity had wealthy donors and had no problem supplying social workers to their clients. The problem was there was more money than cases reported.

  Lena skimmed this money. Nobody would use it, she justified.

  After going through a few cars and purchasing a home with more rooms than Lena could fill, the donors dried up. The money flitted away, and Lena was stuck with a mortgage and a car loan she couldn’t meet. Instead of stopping her thievery, she cut social workers. Without enough social workers, it took a long time between a family reaching out for help and Lena’s charity sending a social worker for an intervention. Eventually, she turned down needy children to prevent her car from being repossessed and her house from being foreclosed on.

  She took and took until there was nothing more. The charity went out of business. Besides the damage she did to those children and families, she lost her house, her car, and the trust of the community. She died right when she realized how terrible of a person she was, but before she had an opportunity to make it right.

  She belonged in the Underworld.

  “Lena?”

  She shook the thoughts away. “Yeah?”

  “You had that troubled look again.”

  “Did I?” She sipped her lukewarm milk, nearly spitting it out. “I was just thinking about your predicament. It sounds like there could be dishonesty in the company.” When the words came out, Lena cringed. Was this whole thing a setup from the Unfortunate? A way to torture Lena further for her crimes? Why else send her to Kieran who was in the middle of an issue with funding a children’s charity? Too coincidental.

  Kieran leaned forward and tilted his chin. “What makes you think that?”

  “A company does not go from generous donations to nothing at all. There’s more going on. I have experience running a charity that had…questionable practices.”

  Kieran sat back as if assessing Lena, then he sat forward again. “Can you keep a secret? I could use a second opinion.”

  Lena nodded. Distract him any way she could.

  “We need to go somewhere more private.” He flagged the waiter and asked for the bill.

  KIERAN

  Kieran felt foolish. Lena got paid to get juicy stories. What made him think she’d keep his secret? Was it even a secret?

  But if there was something dirty at work, he may need a reporter.

  It was all business.

  But then why, when he followed Lena outside, did he find himself staring at the curves of her body and wondering what it would be like to touch her hips once again? Was he ready to spill all the details of Gen Power Systems simply because he found her attractive?

  Did he want to keep her talking because the joy she showed when examining simple things, like a few appetizers on a plate, was contagious? There was so much more going on behind her eyes than she spoke of. Secrets and stories he needed to hear.

  After Kieran started his SUV, trying to figure out where they could go to chat, his phone beeped. Flipping it over, he remembered the missed call from work. It was now after seven, and nobody would be there. This message wasn’t from work. He clicked to read the text.

  Emily: When are you coming home?

  “Excuse me. I need to take care of this.” Kieran tapped his fingers on the screen, sending a reply.

  Kieran: Do you need me?

  Emily: Woofgang eats at 6.

  Kieran: So…

  Emily: You said you’d pick up a bag of food for him. He was whining before I went in to work.

  Crap. He forgot he picked up dog food on his way to work, and it was in the back of his SUV. Woofgang had run out of food last night
already. Kieran looked over to the lovely woman beside him. Perhaps this was a blessing, as he’d spill everything about work just to keep her talking. A dose of reality was a good way to bring him down from their magical evening. Emily and Woofgang were waiting for him at home.

  Kieran: I’ll be home in 45 minutes.

  He turned towards Lena. “Sorry, I’m going to have to end this evening way earlier than I’d like too. I have to…actually, I need to go home and feed my dog.”

  Lena’s eyes widened, then looked down at his phone.

  “No, seriously. It’s not an excuse. I need to feed Woofgang. He eats promptly at six PM. He’s a little spoiled.”

  “I’d be happy to come along.”

  Kieran didn’t bring anyone home. “No, that’s okay. We can pick this up…perhaps tomorrow night?”

  “No, really. I don’t mind.” A beautiful smile softened Kieran’s resolve. “I’d love to play with a dog. We can feed him, then continue the interview. I have more questions, and you were going to tell me something about the charity.”

  Kieran tilted his chin to read Lena’s face. He wasn’t used to a woman being pushy. What was her motivation? Was it the reporter in her? “I shouldn’t have said anything about work. You won’t get a story out of me. Not tonight.”

  Lena took his hand. “It’s not a story I want. I just…had a nice time and didn’t want the evening to end.” Her eyes widened and her smile slowly began to fade.

  Kieran didn’t want the evening to end, either, but was it worth having her run into Emily? He’d have a lot of explaining to do.

  Her hand moved up his arm and crossed his shoulder, sliding to the back of his neck. She scooted closer. “I mean that. Tonight was more than I expected.” Her lips parted while she guided her lips to his. He didn’t protest, closing his eyes and letting her kiss him.

  It wasn’t much of a kiss. Just a meeting of lips, but inside Kieran, it was something else. It awoke a desire for companionship that clouded his judgement. It made him crave more. He threw his vehicle into drive and pulled onto the road, his cheeks heating. He shook his head. Wow. “You have a point. I mean, feeding Woofgang alone isn’t much fun.”