Earthbound Angels Part 1 Read Free Page B

the front desk, the concierge beckoned her over. He smiled at her and handed her a keycard.
    “You'll need this to open the penthouse floor,” he explained. “We were told to keep an eye out for you.”
    “Oh, um, thank you very much.”
    That should be a good sign, right?
    He was not afraid that people knew she was coming up. If something should happen…The thought occurred to her that he had paid the concierge to pay no attention. Surely no one would be so…
    Now, don’t even think about it. That puts the energy out there. It won’t happen if you don’t think about it!
    Yeah, right. I didn't think that accident wouldn't happen to Adam, but it did.
    Ah, so now she was talking to herself.
    She attributed her rambling thoughts to a hungry stomach, and she knew she had to hurry. She walked slowly to the elevators and took one that opened empty before her as if it had been arranged.
    She noticed the letters PH engraved on a little door and beside it, a small slot where she was able to slide her keycard. The door opened and she pushed the button to reach the penthouse. When the elevator stopped, the doors opened instantly onto a foyer. The man standing there waiting to greet her took her breath away.
    “Ms. Talbot, I presume,” he said, smiling and holding out his hand to assist her from the elevator.
    Slowly, as if in a dream, she lifted her hand for him to take, never taking her eyes from his face. All her reservations, her caution and trepidation, vanished like the smoke of a snuffed candle.
    He had the most amazing neon-blue eyes she had ever seen. They were warm and friendly, but they also held a glimpse of wisdom; ancient and self-assured. His hair was jet-black, cut short but falling in a natural wave that didn’t need maintenance. He was approximately 6'3" and built so that she would feel safe going down a dark alley at night with him – strong and able to handle himself, but at the same time, neither vain nor oppressive.
    She couldn't imagine that someone like him would hurt her, but at the same time, neither could she explain why she felt utterly safe just being in his presence. He wore a pair of black dress slacks and an open-necked dark purple shirt with no tie, revealing his tanned upper chest. He looked perfectly human, yet perfectly divine.
    She imagined that if she ever saw an angel, it would look like him. He was, in short, the most beautiful man she had ever set eyes on. And weren't angels purported to be this beautiful?
    “Is there something wrong, Ms. Talbot?” Erick asked, still holding onto her hand.
    “Oh no, no!” Hollianne felt her face heating up as if on fire. “I'm, um, just so amazed at how beautiful this place is.”
    She transferred her eyes to her surroundings, though not really able to take anything in. Erick laughed. Oh, it was a beautiful, caressing sound!
    “Come in, please. Let me show you around.”
    Thus began one of the most remarkable nights of her life.
    Erick showed her around the suite with an easy and unassuming confidence, relaxed and respectful, as if he were expecting nothing more to come of the evening than pleasant conversation. And why would he expect anything other than that? They had only just met. If either of them expected any more than chatting, it would cheapen the evening as well as their beginning connection. They sat down at a table in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window that offered an amazing view of the city, a constellation of thousands of lights like a black plain festooned with multi-coloured stars.
    The table was full of covered dishes that, when uncovered by a suave and efficient waiter, offered a feast unlike anything Hollianne had ever experienced – course after course of delicate, mouthwatering cuisine accompanied by Pétrus and Romanée-Conti, a single bottle of which would cost more than her weekly food budget.
    It was over this dinner that Erick delivered what Hollianne could only call a dream job proposal.
    After outlining what he