Falling Angel

by Carmen Richter

  “Love,” she scoffed. “Right. You’ve known the woman a grand total of four months and you’re in love with her.”

  “Yeah. I am. And maybe she’s not there yet, but I know she cares about me and Ari. After what we’ve been through, I would have thought you’d be happy for us.” I stood up. “I’m going to take Ari and Daphne home, but the three of us will be back soon. Daphne wants to get to know you too. She’s just tired. So am I. It’s been a long-ass day of traveling.”

  “Yes, on her tour bus, which is parked on our property. Really, she couldn’t find anywhere else to park that thing?”

  “Nowhere that wouldn’t leave a paper trail. What part of ‘she’s in trouble and needs to stay off the radar’ didn’t you understand?”

  “The part where someone as well-known as her wants to just disappear. She’s hiding something, Ezra. Don’t you see that?”

  “No, she’s not. I know exactly what she’s hiding from, Mom. I’m not telling you everything because I can’t. As both her boyfriend and her bodyguard, my first priority is her safety, not satisfying your curiosity. All I can tell you is someone’s out there who’s trying to hurt her, and she needed to go somewhere they wouldn’t think to look for her.”

  “Okay. I’m just worried that it’ll end up breaking Arielle’s heart if this doesn’t work out. The odds of this working out in your favor are pretty slim. Once she’s gotten what she wants from you, she’ll leave you and Ari alone and brokenhearted while she goes off and marries an actor or something.”

  “Mom, just stop,” Rachel cut in. “If Daphne is just using Ezra for protection—and that’s a big if—he’ll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime, why can’t you let him and Ari be happy?”

  “Because people like us don’t just get handed things, Rachel. You should know that. Look how Tim used you! To look legitimate while he went out and knocked up that floozy behind your back!”

  “Yeah, that’s right, Mom. The whole world is out to take advantage of your poor, perfect, innocent children, isn’t it?” I groaned. “I’m done with this bullshit today. I’m going to take my daughter and girlfriend home and give you time to cool off. We’ll be back soon. All three of us. And I hope you’ll at least give Daphne a chance. By the way, thanks for the overwhelming support here, Dad.”

  “You know your mother. When she gets on a roll, it’s no use trying to stop her,” he sighed.

  I rolled my eyes. “Rach, do you want to come grab some of the drinks and snacks we’ve got left in the minifridge? We have to unplug it so it won’t drain the bus’s battery, and you know I don’t keep a ton of junk food in the house.”

  “Yeah, sure,” she said.

  We left the house, and as soon as the door shut behind us, I groaned again.

  “Give them time, Ezra,” Rachel said sympathetically. “They were always going to be weird when you finally brought a girl home to meet them. The fact that this girl just happens to be one of Ari’s idols didn’t help. But for what it’s worth, Daph’s been a sweetheart on FaceTime. I’m sure she’s even sweeter in person. And that came out a lot dirtier than I meant it to.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, I’m not going there with you. So, Hector tells me you two have been talking. A lot.”

  “Subtle,” she chuckled weakly.

  “Hey, I’m not saying anything. You know he’s one of my closest friends.”

  “He’s been really sweet and understanding, but just I’m not sure if I’m ready to jump into anything yet. I mean, I’m not even technically divorced yet, you know?” She sighed. “I’ve been seeing a therapist for a little bit, and I really think I need to work on myself before I try to get involved with anyone else. Otherwise I’ll just end up bringing my issues and baggage from my relationship with Tim with me, and that’s not fair to the other person.”

  “I get it. But for what it’s worth, you’ve got my blessing,” I told her. “No matter what you and Hector decide.”

  “Thanks, I guess. But if you’re hoping for your daughter to get a decent uncle, I think you’ll be waiting a while,” she teased.

  “He’s already her uncle. It doesn’t matter if he’s related or not,” I chuckled as we walked onto the bus, which had the door open.

  The second I stepped on, I heard Daphne singing the last lines of “Queen of the Angels,” and I walked to the bedroom, where Arielle was sitting on the bed with a huge grin on her face as Daphne sang to her.

  We will not be quiet

  They will hear our cries

  No one can silence

  When millions unite

  You’re the queen of the angels

  I’m the queen of the angels

  We’re the queens of the angels

  “Okay, I think I just died a little,” Rachel said quietly as she walked up behind me.

  “I told you I caught them singing along to Miley Cyrus in front of Daph’s dressing room mirror together when I brought her to the show in the city, right?” I chuckled.

  “No. That’s adorable. She looks so happy, Ezra.” She wrapped an arm around me.

  “Daph or Ari?”

  “Both of them, actually.”

  The song ended, and Daphne turned around to look at us.

  “Is fun time over?” she asked with a grin.

  “It doesn’t have to be,” I chuckled. “We’ve got all afternoon.”

  “Too bad I can’t unhook this thing and bring it with us.”

  “Why can’t you?” Arielle asked.

  “Because it’s attached to this mixing board and it was all professionally installed. And I don’t want to mess anything up. I just play the thing. I don’t know how all the mechanics work,” she explained. “But how about one more song before we head out?”

  “Okay!” Arielle agreed enthusiastically.

  I went to sit on the bed, picking my daughter up and planting her on my lap. She curled up into my arms, and I kissed the top of her head. I was so glad we had a whole month off. I’d missed this little squirt, more than I realized. I wasn’t sure how I’d survive leaving her for another four months after this.

  “You’re not going to Rick-roll me again, are you?” I teased.

  “Darn. There goes that idea,” Daphne giggled.

  “That would have been hilarious,” Rachel snickered.

  “Maybe some other time. But right now, here’s one that’s not a joke.”

  Daphne turned back around and started playing Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move.” I swear, Daphne made any song she covered sound ten times better than the original. She blew me away with her rendition of this classic.

  When she turned back to look at us after the song was over, there was a definite rosy hue to her cheeks that hadn’t been there before. Like she’d picked the song for some reason other than just liking it. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.

  “You can never go wrong with Carole King,” Rachel said.

  “Yeah, she’s classic no matter who you are,” Daphne agreed. “My piano teacher loved her, so I learned a lot of her music growing up.”

  “Well, I will let you and Ari hang out back here for a little bit longer while Rachel and I get the fridge cleared out and unplugged,” I told her. “Anything else we need to turn off or unplug, other than the keyboard?”

  “Nope. I took care of everything else. Ari, want to learn a song while your dad and Rachel get the fridge cleaned out? It’s super easy.”

  “Yeah,” Arielle giggled, jumping off my lap to stand next to Daphne.

  “Okay, play this after me,” Daphne instructed.

  She started to play the melody to “Heart and Soul,” and Rachel and I stood up to head back out to the living area. As I grabbed a huge canvas bag I’d gotten for this occasion and knelt down to unplug the minifridge, Rachel bent down next to me.

  “Seriously, I’m dead,” she whispered. “I know this is a weird situation and you’re bringing Daphne into Ari’s life a lot sooner than you would be if it was someone else. But Daph’s
so good with her.”

  “I’m really trying not to get ahead of myself, but I look at them together and I just can’t help but think about how much Ari needs a mom.” I put the last of the bottled water into the bag and ran a hand over my face.

  “And picture Daph in that role,” she finished for me.

  “Yeah,” I admitted. “I thought that the very first time I saw them together a couple of months ago. And I tried to tell myself it was just seeing another woman with Ari at all that made me think about that, but it wasn’t. It was seeing Daph with her. I don’t think about it when I see you with her or when I see Mom with her. And I’ve never thought about it with any other women I’ve dated since she was born.”

  She shook her head, smiling. “You’ve got it bad, bro.”

  “Am I crazy?” I asked.

  “For what? Finding someone who makes you happy? Who treats your daughter like a princess? And who just played a damn love song for you? Who cares who she is to the world, Ezra? What matters is who she is to you.”

  I smiled. “Do me a favor and put in a good word for her with Mom and Dad.”

  “I will,” she promised. “And if you guys aren’t going to drink this Arizona tea, I totally will.”

  “Save a few cans for Daph. And we’ll eat the yogurt and string cheese. But the sodas and pudding cups are all yours.”

  “More sugar for me,” she teased.

  Pharrell Williams’s “Happy” blared from the TV in my living room, and I sat on the couch, a spectator for once, as Arielle and Daphne danced to the choreography on the Wii. I was beyond glad that Arielle had found someone else to play Just Dance with. This game always reminded me what a horrible dancer I was. In a club setting, I was passable, but any kind of choreography? Forget it.

  As the song ended, a glance at the clock on my cable box told me that it was almost ten already.

  “Okay, jelly bean, time to go brush your teeth. It’s way past your bedtime,” I announced.

  Arielle gave me an adorable pout. “But you just got home.”

  “And I’m here for a whole month. Nice try.”

  “One more song?”

  I chuckled. I was half-convinced she’d grow up to be a lawyer because she was so good at negotiating.

  “Fine. One more. And then it’s time for bed,” I conceded.

  Daphne scrolled through the song selection—which was pretty much the entire Just Dance library—and looked at Arielle with a grin when she found “Party in the U.S.A.”

  “What do you think, Ari?” she asked. “Want to see how close their dance is to the one we came up with a couple months ago?”

  “Yeah!” Arielle agreed enthusiastically.

  “Okay. Here we go.”

  Daphne hit play and proceeded to let Arielle get a better score than her. Either that or she was crashing. Then she turned the Wii off.

  “All right, sweetheart, you heard your dad. It’s bedtime,” she announced. “The game will still be here tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Arielle groaned.

  “Teeth brushed and PJs,” I told her. “I’ll be there in a few minutes to tuck you in.”

  She sighed with all of her eight-year-old angst, but didn’t fight me this time. After she left the room, Daphne collapsed on the couch next to me.

  “Oh, my God,” she panted. “I dance every night for my shows. How am I so tired right now?”

  “Well, to be fair, your shows were choreographed with the knowledge that you’d be singing live too,” I pointed out. “And we’ve also had a long day. I’m glad she loves playing that game so much, though. It’s an easy way to make sure she’s staying active without her realizing it.”

  “Yeah, I agree. I used to love playing Just Dance with my friends when I was a teenager, but I haven’t played it in years.”

  “I’m just glad Ari found a new partner for it. And that she didn’t wrangle us into watching Elsa singing about letting it go tonight.”

  She giggled. “Has she seen Frozen on Broadway?”

  “Nope. I could never afford to take her.”

  “Will you let me take you guys sometime this month? It’s just a couple of hours on the train. I can probably even get us backstage.”

  I still heard Arielle brushing her teeth in the only bathroom in the house, so since I knew she wouldn’t be coming out here for a few seconds, I pulled Daphne into a kiss. Her arms curled around my neck as she deepened it, but before we could get too carried away—or get caught by my daughter—I pulled back.

  “Was that a yes?” she teased.

  “Yes, that was a yes,” I murmured, brushing her lips again. “Do you want to come say goodnight with me?”

  She grinned. “I’d love to.”

  I unlocked and opened the door to Ezra’s house and quickly typed the code into the security system to disarm it. He carried his sleeping daughter inside so we didn’t have to wake her up, and then I shut the door and set the alarm again. It had been a perfect day in the city, seeing Frozen on Broadway—which Arielle loved—walking around Times Square, and going to Junior’s.

  Okay, really, it had been a perfect week here with them, period. It had been refreshingly normal, and I hadn’t heard a peep from my stalker.

  We still hadn’t figured out how to tell Arielle that we were a couple. We’d talked about it and it was going to happen, one way or the other, before we left for the second leg of the tour. We just weren’t really sure how to broach the subject with her. But she’d warmed up to me enough now that I felt like it needed to happen sooner rather than later.

  Arielle stirred against Ezra’s shoulder and groaned. “Are we home?”

  “Yep,” Ezra murmured. “Let’s get you into bed, jelly bean.”

  “Can Daphne come say goodnight?” she asked.

  Even though I’d been tucking her in with him every night—at her request—I still looked to Ezra for permission. As close as I already felt with Arielle, I didn’t want to overstep my bounds. But he just smiled.

  “Of course I will,” I told her. “Your dad’s going to get you ready for bed, and I’ll be in in just a minute. I’m just going to go put all this cheesecake in the fridge.”

  “Want to split that key lime one with me after we tuck her in?” he asked. “I’ll make some coffee.”

  “I will never turn down Junior’s cheesecake. Ever,” I chuckled. “That’s like asking me if I want beignets from Café du Monde. The answer is always going to be yes.”

  He chuckled as he headed back toward Arielle’s bedroom, while I headed to the fridge to put the other seven slices of cheesecake we’d brought home with us away. What? We weren’t planning on eating them all at once. In fact, one slice was big enough to split—or cut in half and give to Arielle over the course of a couple of days. And there were way too many awesome flavors to narrow it down.

  When I walked back into Arielle’s bedroom, her face lit up.

  “Hi, Daphne,” she mumbled.

  I smiled as I sat on the edge of her bed and kissed her temple. “Hi. Did you have fun today, sweet girl?”

  “Mmm-hmm. I’m tired, but I can’t sleep.”

  “Yeah, it sucks trying to get back to sleep when you wake up at night, huh?”

  She nodded.

  “What if I sang a song for you? Would that help you get back to sleep?” I asked her.

  “Maybe,” she yawned.

  “Let’s give it a try,” I suggested.

  I started singing “Queen of the Angels,” and a sleepy smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes. A few minutes later, when I was done, her breathing had evened out, telling me that she was asleep again. I stood up and kissed her head again before turning to look at her dad…or what was left of him. Because it looked like most of him had melted into a huge puddle.

  I put a finger to my lips.

  “She’s out,” I whispered.

  He nodded and took my hand, leading me out of the room and shutting the door behind us. Without a word, he led me to the kitche
n. And only then, when we were far enough away that she wouldn’t hear us, did he turn to me and crash his lips to mine.

  His tongue licked at the seam of my lips, and I happily opened for him while he picked me up and sat me on the counter. I wrapped my legs around his waist and molded myself against him, desperate for more. We hadn’t had sex since we got here, and while I understood why, I missed him.

  “I’d have started singing her to sleep a lot sooner if I knew this was going to be the reaction I got,” I teased.

  “It’s not just that,” he sighed. “It’s how easily you’ve accepted her into your life. It’s watching you two together.”

  “Seeing a woman who isn’t family taking the time to connect with her,” I realized. “And seeing her get something she’s missed out on her whole life.”

  He nodded and kissed me again.

  “I told you, I already knew you two were a package deal,” I said against his lips. “I’m not afraid of that.”

  Ezra looked like he was going to kiss me again, but instead, he put the cheesecake I’d left on the counter in the fridge and picked me up off the counter.

  “Fuck the cheesecake,” he growled quietly. “I want you for dessert.”

  He silenced any possible response with a kiss as he carried me into his bedroom and kicked the door shut behind us. As he laid me down on his bed, he slid my shirt up and off, then shed his own before crawling over me.

  “Can you keep quiet, baby?” he whispered, palming my breast through my bra.

  I nodded, biting my lip to suppress a moan as he pulled the cup down and rolled my nipple between his fingers. I pulled him down for another kiss, running my hands over the contours of his back as my hips arched and my legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

  “Ezra,” I breathed. “I need you. Now.”

  I’d learned pretty quickly that I had to tell him exactly what I wanted from him if I didn’t want him to drive me crazy teasing me. Sometimes I let him do that anyway because I liked the anticipation. But even though it had only been a week since we’d had sex, it felt like so much longer. And I didn’t have the patience tonight.