“I…I’m here for family issues. What are you doing here?” I asked, hating that my heartbeat had tripled in the last five seconds. Unfortunately, his good looks hadn’t faded in the least. His skin was a rich mahogany, teeth perfect and white, full lips softening his square jaw darkened by the presence of a goatee. His six-foot frame was encased in a navy suit jacket over a black shirt and blue jeans. I felt woefully unattractive in my comfortable, but unimpressive get up.
“Doctor’s conference,” Terrell said, the shock melting into a pleasant expression. “I’m here until Wednesday. Man. It’s crazy seeing you like this. How long’s it been?”
I shoved my hands in my pockets so he wouldn’t see them shaking. “Two and half years or so.”
“Sounds about right. Looks like they’ve been good to you.” A sly smile tugged at the edge of his lips. The blood in my cheeks heated up.
I shuffled momentarily, trying to regain composure. “I was just heading out of the park so…it was good seeing you.”
“Oh, come on, you’re not using that weak line on me, are you?” he said, arching an eyebrow.
I winced. “What do you want me to say?”
“Jordan, it’s been almost three years. The least you can do is let me buy you dinner so we can catch up.”
Deep inside, I felt my resolve beginning to crumble. Damn him. This man was the only person on Earth I couldn’t say no to.
“I dunno if that’s a good idea…”
He paused. “Oh, wait. Are you seeing someone…?”
I shook my head. “No, but I don’t want to make things complicated.”
“It’s dinner, not a week in Hawaii. Tomorrow night, the Dynasty, eight o’clock. Don’t be late.” With that, he flashed me another brilliant smile and kept walking. I stared after him for a long moment before turning around and returning to Michael and Marianne waiting for me. When I reached them, Michael was scanning the crowd with a slight frown on his face.
“Something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No, I just got an odd feeling all of the sudden. Ready?”
I thought about pressing him to explain what he’d felt, but decided to do it later. “Yeah. Let’s head for the Applebee’s and see if anything rings a bell for Marianne.”
It didn’t take long to get there, but luck still wasn’t on our side. The staff didn’t recall seeing anyone with her friend’s description, but they let me have all the last names that started with A. We headed back to the hotel to begin the tedious search process to see if anything turned up.
Twenty minutes on Google proved fruitless until I managed to get lucky with the eighth name on my list of potentials. The guy in the photo’s name was Jameson Micah Arlo. He’d used his middle name for the reservation. He worked at an orphanage outside the city limits. We couldn’t call to meet with him because it was after visiting hours and all the kiddies would be asleep, so we’d have to arrange a meeting tomorrow. I gave Marianne instructions to meet us tomorrow in the afternoon. Like most ghosts, she felt worried about leaving our presence while we slept, but I assured her a walk the city might help her memory return.
With a groan, I toppled over backwards on my bed, eyes dropping closed. The cool cotton of the comforter felt great. Peace at last. Not that I’d keep it that way.
“So what was with the ghost party in the park?”
“That I don’t know,” Michael said. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. I left Gabriel a voicemail asking if he’d encountered something similar.”
“I don’t suppose it’s Christ’s Return, is it?”
He let out a small chuckle. “Ah, no. Trust me, you’ll know when that happens.”
A grin touched my lips. Well, he had a point. Revelation painted a much more vivid picture of the Rapture, after all. I wasn’t the best Christian, but I did know the basics.
“Is there anything that could cause such a large collection of souls?”
Michael paused before replying. “Perhaps a holy item being discovered? Not something like the Spear—something that has more of a connection to mankind. The spear represented man’s sin. It would have to be something…purer.”
I sat up, the grin evaporating as a thought occurred to me. “And what are the odds it would appear the same time we’re in New Jersey?”
His green eyes radiated the same concern as my brown ones. “Impossible.”
A sigh escaped me. “For once, can I just have a normal week?”
Michael spared me a faint smile. “Apparently not. How ‘bout I pick out somewhere nice to go tomorrow night to make up for it?”
“Can’t. I have plans.”
Up went the angel’s eyebrows. “With whom?”
I pointedly did not look at him as I answered, choosing to sift through my suitcase for my nightclothes. “Terrell.”
“Terrell? You mean ex-boyfriend, white-picket-fence Terrell?”
“The same.”
“When’d you run into him?”
“When I went to grab the rosary in the park.”
“Oh.”
An awkward silence fell. I ignored it.
Michael took a moment before speaking again. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Funny how he echoed me having not been there when it happened. “It’s dinner, not a honeymoon in the Bahamas. Wasn’t my idea in the first place.”
“But you still agreed to go.”