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“But why would Miranda do all of this? It doesn’t make sense.”
Cassiel gave her a pitying look. “Oh my god, you’re one ofthosepeople, aren’t you? The ones who are so good they can’t possibly imagine the twisted shit other people are willing to do to get what they want.” He looked mildly queasy. “Bianca’s right. You are perfect for our brother. Okay. Let me explain it to you, nice and simple. Miranda wanted my brother, body, and bank account, but she needed you out of the way. Where are you right now?”
Abbe looked around and nodded, getting it. “Standing in a llama paddock in western Massachusetts.”
Cassiel gave her a cheeky smile. “Pretty out of the way, wouldn’t you say?”
Abbe looked at him, not sure what to think. “You are not a very nice person, are you?”
She saw a flash of genuine warmth in him. “Not to people who hurt my family. And you, little Abbe Jones, have hurt my brother badly.”
It was all just too much. Abbe threw up her hands and turned away from him, tears tightening the back of her throat. She tried to stop it, but a sob escaped her anyway. Her back still turned to him, she heard Cassiel swear under his breath.
“Fuck. Alright, I pushed a little too hard,” he said. “Come here. It’s going to be okay.” He pulled her into a hug. She put her face in his thick chest and cried while he patted the back of her head. “You’re a tender one, aren’t you?”
Abbe let herself cry. Eventually, she heard the sound of tire tread hitting gravel, the growl of an expensive sports car, and she felt Cassiel stiffen. Then a car door was slamming and a familiar voice was shouting, “What thefuck, Cass!”
“Here we go,” Cassiel said under his breath. He sounded almost amused.
Abbe pulled her face out of Cassiel’s chest and saw Rafe storming toward them. His cheeks were flushed, his hair was mussed, and his eyes were wild. Abbe knew he looked as disheveled as she’d ever seen him, but he was still so beautiful to her she almost couldn’t stand it.
“What did you say to her?” Rafe demanded.
Cassiel shrugged, backing away from Abbe as his brother neared. “Just the truth,” he replied innocently. “You two should talk,” he said. “And Abbe? Your license is reinstated. You can open your doors tomorrow if you want.”
Cassiel left them in the field, standing two feet apart, staring at each other.
“Are you okay?” Rafe asked.
Abbe shook her head. “Not even a little bit.”
His face fell, and she noticed how tired he looked. “I should have told you. I know,” he said, his voice rough.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because you were probably the first person I’d met in years who didn’t care who I was. You never even bothered to Google me for chrissakes.”
“So, it’smyfault I didn’t know?” Abbe said defensively, as she touched a hand to her chest.
Rafe gave her an anguished look. “No! I knew I should have told you, but…” he flipped his hands up helplessly. “You wantedmeforme. I’ve never been sure if anyone felt that way about me, but with you I never doubted it. Then everything between us moved so quickly, and by the time I realized I was in love with you, it was too late to tell you without risking losing you. Which I still might have done anyway.”
Abbe was silent for a while, letting herself hear what he’d said. He loved her.
“I think I did know, somewhere in the back of my mind, and I mean, Arc A?” She raised her eyebrow at him “Raphael, Gabriel, and your dad’s name was Michael?”
He nodded. “Archangels.”
“Some part of me must have suspected, at least. Butreallyknowing would mean I couldn’t be with you, so I purposely avoided looking you up,” she said, finally admitting it to herself as well as to him. “I wanted you too much, right from the start.”
He moved a step closer, hope starting to creep into his expression. “And Ididn’tknow what Miranda was doing. Do you remember how I told you I was fighting with everyone at work? Part of that was about you, and funding small-scale charities like yours. Everyone, but Miranda especially, kept telling me you weren’t high profile enough, and that the whole point of donating to charity was to beseendonating to charity.” The disgusted look on his face showed what he thought about that. “I got your funding back, but Miranda went around me and pulled it again without my knowing.”
Abbe nodded. “I believe you.”
He moved another step closer. “Now, your turn. Why didn’t you tell me that the shelter was in danger?”
“I was scared you’d fix it with your money, and then wonder if that’s why I was with you,” she replied honestly. “I didn’t ever want anything like that between us, muddying up how clearly I love you.”
He took the final step and wrapped her in his arms. “Abbe,” he said with a tired sigh. “Please tell me I didn’t lose you.”
