“You’re being stubborn, you know.”

“I know.”

“I thought we agreed on this issue.”

“Seriously, Jordan, it’s not a big deal.”

“I beg to differ.”

I crossed my arms beneath my chest and narrowed my eyes at Michael as he sat comfortably across from me in the booth. Truthfully, this setting danced on the border of ridiculous.

First of all, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been out to lunch with a guy, and certainly not one this good-looking. The man certainly wasn’t hard on the eyes, but by now I was quite immune to his appearance. Practice.

Second of all, I hadn’t been outside of Albany in damn near forever. My life was oddly self-contained, maybe even confined, to my apartment, the restaurant, and the park. Sure, I’d been to the homes, workplaces, and graves of many ghosts, but none of them had been cause for me to vacate the city’s towering structures. Clean air. Green grass. Critters. It was friggin’ weird.

Third of all, discovering how my mother spent her last days before the demons got her murdered was the final nail in the crazy coffin. It would be worth the four-hour drive and the many weeks it had taken to save up to pay for food and gas. Except for some reason, Michael insisted on paying for this meal, even though we had arranged for him to pay for the rental car and hotel. Therein lay my current dilemma.

Our perky waitress Krystal appeared, smiling as she caught the tail end of the argument.

“Newlyweds?”

I adopted an insulted look. “He wishes.”

Michael chuckled. “How can I not when you sweet-talk me like that?”

My eyes immediately rolled and she giggled before continuing onward. “Can I get you two anything else?”

“No, you can bring us the check.”

The blonde waitress reached into her frock and withdrew the bill. I reached for it but Michael snatched it out of her hand, flashing me a challenging smirk. I kicked him in the shin.

“Ow!” He winced, rubbing the injured spot. “Why am I being punished for being a gentleman?”

“Because I’m not a lady, dammit. Now give it here.”

“You paid for breakfast in Atlantic City. It’s only fair.”

“Since when has fair ever been a factor in this relationship?”

Krystal glanced between the two of us. “…are you sure you’re not married?”

“If by ‘married’ you mean me hating him, then yes.”

Michael rolled his eyes and handed her his Visa card. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” She walked away, shaking her head with an amused look on her face.

I sighed and leaned my head backward, trying to stifle my irritation. At least the meal had been good. I hadn’t eaten pancakes in ages. Michael had offered to make them once, but I declined the offer because it was too damned domestic. Our arrangement had been going on for nearly two months now. It didn’t need to become any more complicated.

“How far are we from our destination?”

“Not far. Maybe another hour’s drive,” Michael said, his voice less humorous this time. We didn’t have much of a plan for when we arrived in New Jersey, but that had never stopped us before. We were nothing if not determined.

I sat up straight and regarded him with a bemused look. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you sound worried.”

His brows knit together in the beginnings of a frown. “For good reason.”

His green eyes lowered their gaze to the spot over my heart where a faded scar lay hidden beneath my black t-shirt. I had gotten the stitches out, but the skin was still a light brown that didn’t match the rest of my chocolate complexion.

Two months. It’d be two months in a couple of days. I tried not to think about it too much.

“Don’t get your feathers all ruffled,” I scolded. “We’re being much more careful than we were before.”

“Being careful is never enough. You know that,” Michael replied.

I shrugged. “Being worried isn’t going to help any either.”

He seemed to take my words to heart this time, but it didn’t matter because Krystal reappeared with Michael’s debit card in one hand and a tray full of empty glasses balanced on the other.

“Thanks for coming out. Have a nice day!”

“You too.” I slid out of the booth and stretched my arms above my head before patting the pockets of my grey duster to make sure everything was in place. Just when I turned to go, Krystal’s tray started to slide out of her hand. Michael miraculously caught it in mid-air, saving the dishes from peril. He handed it back to the relieved girl, who sighed heavily and said:

“Thanks. You’re an angel.”

I laughed so hard that Michael had to shove me out the door.

By the time we reached the hotel, the day had wound down into sunset and the city seemed to swallow us whole. We’d have more time to take in some of the sights and local culture after I had a shower. The day was as sticky as the candy that would be passed out at the end of the month.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Michael opened the hotel door with his keycard, causing a blast of cool air to hit my face. Hurrah. The cream-colored walls and burgundy comforters were almost as inviting as that air conditioning so I shuffled inside with my suitcase and kicked the door shut. Michael gravitated to the queen-sized bed closest to the door since he was technically my angelic bodyguard so I dumped my stuff on the other mattress before collapsing face-first onto it. Michael let out a faint groan as well before silence enveloped us both. Once the sweat coating my spine dried, I rolled over and kicked off my Reeboks.

“How far is the place from here?” I asked.

“Ten minutes, or so MapQuest says.”

“Good. Means we won’t have to roll out of bed until noon or so tomorrow.” The socks came off next. I wiggled my toes on the fuzzy white carpet and sat up on the edge of the bed. Michael was sprawled on his back with his long legs trailing onto the floor. The urge to giggle rose in my throat. When he wore khakis, he looked like an enormous brunette stork.

“Sounds like a plan. Might give us some time to take in the sights, too.”

A frown tugged at my lips. “This isn’t a vacation, y’know.”

He shrugged, raking the hair out of his eyes so he could meet my gaze. “I know. But it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.”

I spared him a sarcastic smirk. “Yeah, because we all know what that idea was.”

The archangel rolled his eyes. “One day you’ll appreciate the sacrifices I make for you.”

“Sure, I will. Dibs on the shower.” He groaned as I unzipped my bag to get out my clothes.

“Oh, c’mon, I drove for four hours. The least you could do is let me shower first.”

“I offered to drive and you declined.”

Michael finally sat up, scowling at me. “I’m a guy. We have things about driving.”

“Well, too bad. Ladies first.” Having gathered my clothes, I headed towards the bathroom, but he called to me before I got there.

“I thought you said you weren’t a lady.”

I stopped and glared at him. The archangel had the most infuriating smirk on his face. I contemplated taking another shot at his shin.

“I am when it suits me.”

The accursed smirk widened. “And when is that?”

I flashed him a very mean smile. “You’ll never see it.”

Before he could supply another snappy comeback, I slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. A few weeks ago, he might have talked me out of taking my shower first but I’d caught on to his methods by now. Sure, Gabriel was the most eloquent of the archangels that I had met, but Michael had a strangely compelling way of arguing. Hell, that was how he’d ended up accompanying me in the first place.

The hot shower left me in a much better mood than before. Maybe I had just needed the alone time. Michael was great and all, but I hadn’t been close with an attractive male aside from Gabriel in a while. It took some getting used to.

I redressed in comfortable clothes—a plum-colored t-shirt and black Capris. It took nearly an entire minute of adjusting my hair before I realized I was preening. What the hell. I shot myself an annoyed glare in the mirror before stomping out of the bathroom in a huff.

Michael had stripped down to a white tank top, proof that he too felt a little hot under the collar. His eyes tracked my movement across the room, but he didn’t say anything. That was a first.

The television spouted information about the weather and current events, which didn’t surprise me. Michael would want to know what kind of environment we’d traveled into and if it was any better or worse than Albany. If we were lucky, though, we’d only be here for a few days. It all depended on whether the psychiatric hospital had held onto the full records of my mother’s stay. I had called ahead and requested patient information but they needed me to bring legal documentation—in my case, a copy of my birth certificate—to confirm that I was her daughter in order to access the files.

“Shower’s all yours,” I said unnecessarily. Some part of me enjoyed pushing Michael’s buttons and I couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad thing. He stood, tossed me the remote, and began searching through his duffel bag for clothing.

“What’s the plan for the rest of the night?”

I shrugged, eyes locked on the TV screen. Ooh, Castle rerun. Nice. “Order a pizza and sleep?”

His back was facing me but I could hear the smile in his voice. “Great. Something new and different for us.”

Wonder if I could set his head on fire with my mind. Nah. “What would you suggest then, Mr. O’Brien?”

“We’re in a new city. The least we can do is have dinner somewhere.”

I paused. “Why does that sound like a date?”

Michael turned and arched an eyebrow at me. “Is there something you need to tell me, Jordan?”

I spared him a cold look. “Ha-ha.”

He flashed me that million-dollar smile and I snorted, waving in the direction of the bathroom. “Stop flirting with me and go take a shower, pretty boy.”

His soft chuckle lingered even after he disappeared into the bathroom. Stupid sexy angel.