Busy in Heavenly Delights’ kitchen, Lucie paused, certain she’d heard the sound of tinkling bells. The piped-in music was low and subtle but the gentle ring could be heard above and beyond that. Bells? Someone was ringing bells in the restaurant, and while that seemed rather odd, the melody resembled a favorite Christmas carol. “Jingle Bells.”

Glancing outside the kitchen, thinking she might find the source, Lucie caught sight of someone who resembled … Aren.

It took a moment for her brain to register the fact that the man sitting at the table, reading over the menu, was indeed Aren Fairchild. Instantly her heart started racing at double time. Aren was here … in her restaurant? She swallowed hard, debating what to do … if anything. It’d been almost a year. She would hardly know what to say to him. How could she explain what had happened?

Mark, their headwaiter, stepped into the kitchen and Lucie grabbed him by the arm. “Get my mother.”

Mark stared at her and his eyes rounded. “Now? Is everything all right?”

“Yes, I think so … just get my mother.” She clenched her hands together and was grateful there was a lull in the kitchen. It was early—they had just opened for dinner—but soon the orders would come pouring in.

“Are you sure everything is all right?” Mark frowned, concerned.

Lucie had already started to shake. “Yes … of course.”

Not more than a minute later Wendy raced into the kitchen. “Lucie, what’s wrong?” She reached for Lucie’s trembling hand.

“He’s here … in the restaurant.” But her mother seemed oblivious to whom she meant.

“Who’s here, sweetheart?”

“Aren. Empire State Building Aren.”

“Aren,” her mother repeated slowly and then her eyes widened into round orbs. “That Aren?”

Biting into her lower lip, Lucie nodded. “And he’s alone.”

“That does it. You’re coming with me.”

“Mom …”

It was too late, her mother caught her by the sleeve of her cook’s jacket and dragged Lucie through the swinging doors of the kitchen. Lucie knew the instant Aren saw her because his reaction was close to her own. The warm bread roll he held in his hand fell onto his plate and he slowly rose to his feet.

“Lucie?” Her name was a wisp of sound, as though he couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Hello, Aren.” Beyond a greeting she couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Her tongue felt as if it’d grown to twice its normal size, filling her entire mouth and making speech impossible.

“I’m Lucie’s mother, Wendy Ferrara.” Her mother stepped forward and clasped Aren’s hand with both of her own as if she were meeting a Greek god. She gazed up at him as though transfixed, studying his features as if wanting to memorize them.

Aren’s gaze didn’t waver from Lucie. Apparently he’d been struck with the same malady, because he didn’t seem inclined to speak either.

“Did you … were you there?” Lucie didn’t need to explain where she meant. Aren knew.

He broke eye contact and looked away before nodding.

Lucie felt dreadful to have left him to stand in the cold, believing she had chosen not to see him again. She would have given anything to live out her own version of Sleepless in Seattle, but apparently it wasn’t meant to be. “Did you wait long?”

“Awhile.” He shrugged as though it was nothing. “I left as soon as I realized you weren’t coming.”

Lucie noted that he didn’t mention the length of time he’d stood in the cold and wind. She remembered that it had rained that day and hated the thought of him outside, dealing with the elements. She hoped he’d been out of the cold. Lucie wanted to ask, but didn’t.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and she was. Still, against impossible odds, they’d found each other again and now they couldn’t seem to take their eyes off each other.

“Give him your phone number,” her mother urged, poking Lucie in the side with her elbow. “Never mind, I’ll do it, and listen, dinner is on us. Order anything you want.”

Aren broke eye contact. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Please,” Lucie added. “It’s the least I can do.”

Just then a lovely woman strolled up to the table. “It looks like we’re having a party. Sorry I’m late.”

Lucie’s heart sank. She’d assumed Aren was dining alone. How foolish of her. How completely naive she was to entertain the idea that he’d pined for her the way she had for him. Clearly he’d met someone else. While Lucie was dressed in her kitchen gear with her hair tied up in a net, the other woman was striking in every sense of the word.

“Oh.” Lucie retreated a step before Aren spoke.

“Lucie, this is my sister, Josie.”

His sister? Lucie remembered that Aren had talked about his sister. He’d been living with her at the time.

“Lucie?” Josie asked, focusing her attention on her. “That Lucie?”

“Yes.”

She noticed that he didn’t elaborate beyond the one word. Apparently his sister knew all about her.

Ever the promoter, Wendy handed Aren a business card. “I’ve written Lucie’s cell number on the back here. And, young man, you should know something …”

“Mom …” Lucie placed a restraining hand on her mother’s arm.

Aren accepted the card and set it down on the tabletop.

Lucie hesitated. She really should get back to the kitchen. “Enjoy your dinner,” she said in parting, retreating backward, one small step at a time. She bit her tongue to keep from telling him that she really would like to hear from him. The decision to contact her belonged to Aren. Now she would be the one left waiting and wondering.

Aren addressed her mother and sounded quite adamant. “Listen, I appreciate the offer but I insist upon paying for our meal.”

“We’ll argue about it later.”

Although she was already in the kitchen, Lucie was able to overhear the conversation.

“I insist, Wendy. I will pay for our meal or Josie and I will need to leave.”

Lucie heard her mother reluctantly acquiesce. Almost right away dinner orders started to come in and soon Lucie was preoccupied with cooking and getting food onto the plates. Within a matter of minutes she was so busy that she managed to put the fact that Aren sat only a few feet away out of her mind.

When next Lucie had the opportunity to look out to the dining area, she saw that another couple sat at the table where Aren and his sister had dined earlier.

Aren was gone.

Wendy had made certain that Aren had Lucie’s cell number and she was left to wonder and hope he’d phone. Lucie wasn’t finished cleaning the kitchen until after eleven. Her mother joined her and brought them each a cup of decaffeinated coffee.

“I see what you mean,” her mother said, raising the cup to her lips. “Your Aren is real easy on the eyes.”

“He isn’t my Aren,” she countered and then quickly added, “You think so?”

A smile quivered that her mother made no attempt to hide. “I wish you could have seen the look that came over you when you heard him say he’d been waiting for you.”

“All these months. Oh, Mom, I feel dreadful.”

“You wanted to meet him. Why wouldn’t you let me tell him what happened and that you were on your way to meet him when the hospital phoned?”

Lucie wasn’t sure. “The timing wasn’t right. I figured it simply wasn’t meant to be.”

“What do you think now?”

Lucie was afraid to reveal how happy she was that she’d found Aren. Although she’d worked a grueling shift, she wasn’t tired. In fact, she was fairly certain she would have a hard time falling asleep. Her mind and her heart were filled with the hope of reconnecting with the man who’d swept her off her feet last New Year’s Eve.

“Do you think he’ll phone?” she asked her mother.

Wendy lowered her gaze to her coffee. “Sad to say, no.”

Her heart plummeted. “He won’t?”

“He said as much.”

“You spoke to him after I went back to the kitchen?” Lucie had been too busy to pay attention to what had gone on after their initial meeting.

“At length.”

“Mom!” It was just like Wendy to keep her in suspense like this.

“Sometimes I wonder about you, daughter.”

“Why, what did I do now?”

Wendy shook her head. “Well, first off, you asked him how long he’d waited for you.”

“Yes, I wondered … I mean, it’s only natural to wonder if he had.” He couldn’t fault her for that.

“But you didn’t bother to mention that you’d been on your way to meet him when you got the call from the hospital.”

“I know …” Perhaps it’d been a mistake to keep silent.

Her mother sadly shook her head. “In fact, you didn’t say a single word to encourage him.”

Lucie’s heart sank. Her mother was right.

Lucie was horrified at her thoughtlessness. “I noticed that he didn’t really answer how long he’d waited for me.”

“As well he shouldn’t. Just think about it, Lucie. You stood him up and then asked him to confirm the fact.”

Hearing it put like that made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Don’t you think that was hard enough on his ego without you rubbing salt in his wound?”

Her mother was right. Lucie had messed up her chance with Aren royally. Not once, but twice. No wonder he’d made it clear he had no intention of contacting her. How completely dense she’d been. Hearing it now, and realizing how utterly foolish she’d been, made her want to weep.

Pushing the coffee aside, Lucie felt heartsick. “So he told you he has no intention of contacting me … ever.”

“A man has his pride, Lucie.”

“And I managed to stomp all over his.”

“That you did,” her mother said, and then hesitated. “However, Aren and I did manage to have a lengthy conversation.”

Lucie’s head snapped up. “What did he say?”

“Well, the truth of the matter is, I did most of the talking.”

Oh, brother, this might not be good. “Mom, what did you tell him?” Lucie waited, holding her breath.

“Lucie Ann, don’t use that tone of voice with me. I simply explained that you had every intention of meeting him January 7, until you got the call from the hospital. I’m the one who caused you to miss that meeting. I assured Aren that I am not a busybody, but seeing that you failed to make your rendezvous because of me, I considered it my duty to set matters straight.”

“What did he say to that?” Lucie leaned so close to her mother that she was in danger of falling off her stool.

“Well, right away I could see that Aren was grateful to learn the truth. He perked right up and so did his sister.”

“He did?” Lucie frowned. “But you said he had no intention of calling me even though you gave him my cell number.”

Her mother shook her head. “Give the man his due, daughter. His pride took a licking. He left his cellphone number with me and said if you were still interested then you should give him a call. You will, won’t you?”

Lucie needed no time to make that decision. “I’ll contact him first thing in the morning.”

“Perfect.”

Hungry for information, Lucie dug deeper. “Did you and Aren talk about anything else?”

Her mother hesitated. “Well, yes, and I hope I didn’t speak out of turn. I told him that you constantly scoured the newspaper looking for his byline.”

“Oh, Mom.” Lucie wished she hadn’t.

“I could tell he was pleased to hear it.”

“He was?” In retrospect, Aren deserved to know that Lucie hadn’t forgotten him. Not a day passed that he didn’t drift into her mind at one time or another. They’d been together only a few hours; nevertheless, Aren Fairchild had left a powerful impression on her.

“You ready to head home?” her mother asked.

Lucie nodded. “I bet you’re tired.”

“I’m fine. I’ve always enjoyed meeting people, but I do have to say, these dogs are barking.” Removing her shoe, Wendy rubbed her sore toes.

“We did it,” Mercy said and gave Goodness a high five.

“Aren didn’t once wonder why Wendy seated him so close to the kitchen.”

“That was an excellent idea even if I say so myself.” Shirley’s chest seemed to swell double in size.

Will looked unconvinced. “Would Gabriel call this Earthly interference?”

“No way,” Shirley assured him. “It wasn’t even close. If you want to talk about interference, then we can discuss the time Goodness took over that department store escalator or—”

“How did you get Lucie to look out of the kitchen when she did?” Will asked.

Mercy was grateful for the change of topic. She responded by pushing up the sleeves of her long white gown to reveal a row of small bells.

“The bells Lucie heard? That came from you?”

“That will be our little secret, okay?” Gabriel might not appreciate her sleight of hand … a small play on words there.

“Wow.”

“It’s a gift,” Goodness explained, folding her hands and raising her head toward heaven with her eyes closed.

“You mean like peace, hope, mercy … that kind of godly gift.”

“Ah, not exactly.” They were leading Will down a slippery slope that made Mercy uncomfortable. “Actually, the bells are a small trick I learned years ago that I use on rare occasions.”

“To garner humans’ attention,” Shirley supplied. “I remember once when Goodness appeared in church.”

“She appeared in … bodily form as an angel?” This was one of the first lessons angels learned. Only those on direct assignment from God were allowed to appear as they were without disguise or dressed as ordinary humans. In all other instances they were to remain invisible or to take on human form.

“It was an emergency situation,” Goodness clarified.

“It was necessary,” Mercy seconded, “or Goodness would never have taken the risk.”

Will looked to Goodness for an explanation.

“I appeared before a pastor who’d lost his wife to cancer.”

“And with his wife he’d lost his faith, too,” Shirley added.

Goodness’s eyes brightened. “I wanted this poor grieving man to see God’s love. I stood in the front of the church and in the full glory of God’s grace I spread my wings and let my light shine.”

Will’s eyes grew huge and round. “What happened?”

Mercy came to stand closer to her friend. “Maybe we should see what Aren Fairchild is doing now that he’s seen Lucie.”

“No, wait,” Will insisted, “tell me what happened to Goodness and the pastor. You have to tell me.”

Goodness sighed and her shoulders and wings sank several inches. “He didn’t see me.”

“Didn’t see you?” Will was incredulous. “How could he not see you? The light of God’s love should have blinded him.”

“He was too caught up in his grief.”

“Oh dear,” Will whispered, astonished.

“That’s when I came up with the idea of the bells,” Mercy explained. “It’s a more subtle approach. The more time you spend dealing with humans the more you’ll learn that one must be subtle.”

“Most of the time delicate handling works,” Shirley added.

“Most of the time,” Mercy agreed, but then added under her breath, “but not all.”

“Okay, let’s find out what Aren’s doing,” Will said.