“Delia?” She arched her eyebrows.
“Mom?”
“That’s better. And, yes, I would. Thank you.”
She poured punch in all the cups.
Delia’s stomach growled. She’d been so busy getting ready for the party, she hadn’t eaten anything. She reached for an egg salad sandwich.
Izzy cleared her throat.
“What?”
“Angel isn’t here. It’s polite to wait for all the guests before starting to eat. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”
Delia glanced pointedly at the vacant seat once occupied by Bubbles. “How do you know he’s not here?”
Izzy rolled her eyes.
“Don’t do that. It’s rude.”
“Sorry!” She hunched her shoulders. “Angel promised to be here at twelve o’clock. Is it twelve o’clock yet?”
“Five minutes ’til.”
“Then we have to wait five more minutes.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Maybe both. Tomorrow they would talk, but for now, maybe the big present would help. She removed her hat. “Tell you what. You wait here for your angel. Mrs. Beckman has been keeping one of your presents. I’m going to get it. Stay here. Don’t leave the house.”
She had planned to bring in the puppy at the end so it didn’t upstage the party, but her daughter needed a real friend now. Maybe, hopefully, with a dog she’d forget about Emily, Emma, and the angel.
* * * *
He has wings, but this alien is no angel…
Traumatized by the deaths of his family and the destruction of his planet, Wingman lands on Earth in search of a haven and the solitude to nurse his emotional wounds. When a chance decision foils a kidnapping, he’s drawn into the life of a young widow and her daughter. He’s shocked to discover the human woman is his genmate, the one he’s genetically bonded to.
To escape a stalker, Delia and her imaginative, impressionable daughter flee to a small town where nobody can find them. She’s concerned, but not overly so, when her daughter says she’s invited an angel to her birthday party.
Until the winged alien actually shows up. After a rocky start, Delia begins to see Wingman for what he really is—one of the kindest, most protective, sexiest men she’s ever met.
But just as passion deepens their bond, dangers resurface to threaten Delia and her child. Will Wingman be able to confront the demons of his past to make the sacrifice necessary to protect them?
Wingman is available everywhere. Get it from your preferred bookseller.