Ingenue's Choice (15 page)

She wished she had a partner, or someone she could turn to, talk to, besides her angels, someone to give her advice. Someone who would understand what she was going through, even better, someone who knew either Patryk or Keir. But that wasn’t possible since she wasn’t allowed to contact anyone on the earthly plane outside of Patryk. She had gotten away with that one slip-up communicating with Keir, but she didn’t think they would let her get away with it twice. Whoops, make that three times. She’d forgotten about the bouncer!

The only people who even remotely understood her were the two people she was too embarrassed to face after what she had put them through her last trip to Earth—Quincy and Zack. She was sure, also, that Micah and Jamaereh would never let her contact them.

114

Gracie C. McKeever

Better to let sleeping dogs lie…at least for now.

You can talk to me, young thing.

Who was
that?
It didn’t sound like either Micah or Jamaereh.

Another angel, one she hadn’t yet met, or…

Try someone a little closer to home…Patryk’s home.

“Who are you?”

You’re in with Patryk, pretty little thing. And you and I have some things
to sit down and talk about, if you have a mind to set things right.

She hadn’t gotten a better offer all day. “Deal.”

* * * *

Patryk didn’t even have a chance to get into his brownstone apartment proper before Zara made an appearance, standing in the middle of his living room with both fists on her hips, silently fuming and looking like a miniature Wonder Woman, minus the red-white-and-blue bikini and the lasso.

What truths would he spill if she did have a lasso and tied him up with it?

What could he say? That he’d let his wounded ego get the best of him and let the man he loved walk out of his life? That he’d given up the minute things got rough?

Patryk held up a hand in warning as he tossed his keys on the pegboard behind the door and descend the two steps into his sunken living room. “I’m not in the mood, so save it.”

“Too bad you’re not in the mood because we’ve got things to discuss.”

“Not now.”

“Yes now.” She reached for his ear and twisted it between her thumb and forefinger before dragging him over to the sofa.

“Ow, ow,
ow
!”

“Sit.” She released him long enough to shove him down onto the leather couch.

Ingenue’s Choice

115

Patryk remained seated, glaring up at her as he folded his arms across his chest. “All right, bully. What do you want?”

“I’m not a bully. I’m just taking an interest in my investment.”

“What, do you get timeshares in heaven if Keir and I stay together?”

“Don’t be a wiseass.” She flopped down on the space beside him, eyes taking on a decidedly soft sympathetic look that Patryk did not want to entertain.

“Okay, stop the pity act right now.” He moved to stand, but Zara grabbed his hand and jerked him back down.

“Just sit down and shut up.”

“Fine.”

“When I said I had an investment, it had nothing to do with pity or my assignment. I like you, Patryk, you and Keir. I just want to see you two happy.

And it might interest you to know I’m not the only one who feels that way.”

Patryk frowned, not in the mood for twenty questions. “Who else? Your mentors?”

“Them, but someone else who has a more personal stake in your emotional well-being.”

A shudder of anticipation and anxiety shot through Patryk. “Don’t toy with me.”

“Would you rather I toy with you then?”

Patryk jerked his gaze across the room to where his grandfather Bennett’s ghost was descending the stairs. He walked across the sunken living room until he stood in front of Patryk and Zara, who still sat on the sofa beside him.

“Grampa…”

“Yep, it’s me. Not exactly in the flesh, but I’m here.”

If he hadn’t already believed in ghosts and hadn’t already met with Grampa Bennett since the old man’s death, Patryk might have been shocked. But after his past and most recent celestial visitations, nothing much surprised him anymore.

He turned to Zara and grinned. “Pulling out all the stops, huh?”

116

Gracie C. McKeever

“I do that when I think it’s a worthy cause.” Zara got up, and Grampa Bennett took her place on the sofa beside Patryk. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”

Then she was gone.

Patryk threw his arms around his grandfather, stopped just short of bawling as he held tight to the ghost’s surprising solidity. “Grampa, I’ve really messed things up. I walked away when I should have stayed and fought.”

“Seems to me like you’ve already got things figured out. You just need to go to Keir and make things right. Follow through.”

“Have you…did you…?”

“Keir’s a good young man. Our spirits mesh. I don’t think I could have done a better job picking him for you than Zara’s angels did. He’s certainly a sight better than that asshole Derek.”

If he’d wondered where his grandfather had disappeared to almost a decade ago, he didn’t wonder any more after that statement, only wondered why he’d waited until now to reappear and make his presence known.

“You didn’t need me before.”

That was news to Patryk because he could have certainly used his grandfather’s shoulder after Derek. But it wasn’t for him to question his good fortune now. “Keir said he doesn’t want me, Grampa,” Patryk blurted out.

“But you and I know he didn’t mean it, don’t we?”

Patryk nodded, still in denial, still unwilling to admit he’d been a coward.

He’d been a big-time procrastinator in his life, sure. Naïve? Most definitely. But he’d never been a coward.

“And you’re not now. You just got sidetracked, is all.”

“It’s not desperate to go over there and tell him I want to be with him?”

Grampa Bennett cupped his face with both hands. “You’re just claiming what already belongs to you. Nothing desperate in that.” He leaned in and kissed Patryk’s forehead, infusing him with all the strength and wisdom that his grandfather had earned in several decades on Earth and beyond.

Finally emboldened, Patryk nodded and pulled away to stand. “I’ll do it.”

Ingenue’s Choice

117

If he were a smoker, he’d be puffing away out back of the club where most of
Zara’s
employees took their cigarette breaks.

Instead, Keir just settled for catching a break from the customary mating dance that inevitably ensued when healthy, red-blooded males got together at a gay night club.

Normally, watching so many hot and lusty males gather and hook up wouldn’t have bothered him. But tonight, not twelve hours after his own busted relationship, seeing other men happy and together bothered him a whole hell of a lot.

So many times during the evening, before he’d reported to the bar, he’d been tempted to call Patryk, take everything back. But he resisted the urge, told himself it was right to stay away.

He’d even tried to paint to get his mind off of what had happened at the golf course, but the image that invariably wound up on the canvas was of Patryk in one pose or another from Keir’s entrenched memories—memories that would have to suffice, not just for now, but for the rest of his life.

“That number not work out?” Ramsey sidled up to him on his way back into the building.

“What makes you say that?”

“The way you’ve been pouting all night.”

Keir didn’t respond and Ramsey gave him a firm pat on the back and squeezed his shoulder. “Plenty of hotties inside to take your mind off of him.”

118

Gracie C. McKeever

Keir shook his head. “I doubt it.” No amount of bois or hotties alive was going to take his mind off of Patryk Andrews. Keir was going to be at the mercy of his memories for a good long while after their little affair.

Damn, had it only been two weeks? Their relationship had been so intense and encompassing for the time it had lasted, it felt like he’d known Patryk all his life. And Keir knew it was going to take at least the rest of his life to get over Patryk.

“Just like that?”

Both Keir and Ramsey turned at the voice of the new arrival.

Clad in a pair of loafers, snug jeans, and a blue-striped button-down shirt, Patryk stood not five feet away, a shy grin curving his full lips. He looked like a gift-wrapped piece of heaven to Keir.

Ramsey looked from Keir to Patryk, slapped Keir on the back and murmured, “Handle your business, man. Catch ya later.”

Keir didn’t even turn when Ramsey headed back inside the club and the heavy steel door slammed closed behind him. He had eyes only for Patryk.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Keir licked his lips, and stupidly blinked. Had he missed something?

“I asked you, just like that?”

“Just like what?”

“Are you giving up on us just like that?”

“Patryk, I—”

“Listen for a minute before you perform any more beaux gestes.”

“That’s not what I was doing.”

“Isn’t it?”

Keir dumbly watched Patryk approach. He jammed his hands deep in his pockets to keep from reaching out and pulling Patryk into his arms and hugging the shit out of him.

“I’m twenty-five, not a kid. And I know what I want. You don’t need to protect me from myself or my parents. I’m not Elijah.”

Ingenue’s Choice

119

Keir smiled, heart swelling with pride at the confident young man standing before him, as if he had a hand in his growth. “No. You’re definitely not Elijah.”

“I know what it’s like to be haunted by an ex. I’ve only just gotten over mine in the last couple of weeks. Before then, I’d let him and my parents rule my life for far too long. I’m not going to let them rule it any longer, and I’m not going to let them ruin what we have together. I’m not going to let
you
ruin it.”

Now Keir did reach out, slid his arms around Patryk’s waist, and drew him close. “Are you sure you know what you’re getting into?”

“I’m sure it’s my choice and my mistake to make.” Patryk leaned in and gently kissed Keir’s cheek. “But choosing you could never be a mistake. Not for me. I love you, Keir.”

Keir swallowed over the boulder in his throat. “Hell of a trip to lay on a guy while he’s at work and can’t do much about it.”

“I know. But I’ll be here waiting for you when you can do something about it.”

Keir laughed and hugged Patryk tight, decided he wouldn’t let him go this time, no matter what anyone else said or thought. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I’m counting on it.”

120

Gracie C. McKeever

Zara watched the pair from her perch atop a stray cloud with tears in her eyes.

She wondered if this sense of accomplishment was what it felt like to give birth because she certainly felt like she was watching two of her children find their happily ever after.

“Now you know how we feel when any of our charges find happiness,”

Jamaereh said and put a hand on Zara’s shoulder.

“I think I understand now.”

“Good because we have another assignment for you,” Micah said.

“Already?” God, she’d barely gotten over this one. Didn’t they have like hiatuses up here in heaven, a little break between jobs? She was emotionally wrecked.

“Come now. No dillydallying. This one will be easy by comparison. And part of your reward for doing a good deed.”

Had she heard right? She’d earned a reward?

“That’s right, so let us get a move on.” Micah clapped his hands, impatient as ever.

Zara would love to see him just chill out and take it easy for once, or even a little smile from the curmudgeon would be nice.

As if reading her mind, Micah did smile.

Zara’s heart stuttered. A smile from Micah couldn’t be a good sign.

Ingenue’s Choice

121

Jamaereh released her and stepped back to stand beside Micah, both angels facing her.

Zara clapped and rubbed her hands together. “You guys have another pair you want me to hook up? I’m ready to work.”

“Keep up that enthusiasm. You’re going to need it.” Micah framed her face with both hands, just barely touching her. “You’re going home.”

Speechless, Zara felt the sting of tears welling at the idea of getting her life back.

She promised herself she’d be a better woman this time. She’d be a better daughter, a better sister…she’d make amends with Quincy and Zack. She’d—

“Calm down and prepare for your trip, child.”

“It is going to be a bumpy ride, human.”

In an instant, everything went black as Zara was suddenly whisked away with only the sound of Micah’s taunting laughter to convince her that she wasn’t going back to the home she once knew at all.

Oh God, where were they
really
sending her?

122

Gracie C. McKeever

INGENUE’S CHOICE

Zara’s Bois 2

THE END

WWW.GRACIECMCKEEVER.COM

AUTHOR’S BIO

Gracie McKeever is an author from the Bronx, and aside from several side trips along the way, has lived and worked her entire life in the New York City area.