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.CHRISTMAS ANGELS IN LONDONDebbie MacomberBells rang out over the heart of London.Taxis raced past.Shoppers trotted by, laughing and jostling in the cold air.“I do so love Christmas,” Shirley said to her two dearest friends, Goodness and Mercy.“But it never feels like Christmas without snow.” The three angels positioned themselves outside Harrods in the flow of the bustling crowds, their arms filled with packages.“What are you doing here?” Mercy demanded.“We’re assigned to another case in New York.”“Helene lives here in London now.”“Helene? Who’s Helene?”Shirley exhaled sharply.“Years ago I was assigned as her Guardian Angel.It was before Gabriel decided to make me a Prayer Ambassador.”“Well, you just better hope that Gabriel doesn’t get wind that we are here.” Mercy tugged at Shirley’s sleeve, urging her along the crowded street.“Go on without me.I’ve been so worried about her.The last report upset me terribly.”“What’s going on?”Shirley sadly shook her head.“Helene was deeply in love with an Englishman who made frequent trips to the States.They had a long-distance romantic relationship going for a couple of years.When the opportunity arose for her to accept a position in London, she leaped on it, saving it as a surprise for Andrew.”“Don’t tell me,” Goodness murmured.“Yup, the dirt bag was married.”“Oh no, and she’s already accepted the position.” Mercy’s wings fluttered ever so slightly.“That’s her now.” Shirley pointed to the lovely young woman leaving the store, her arms loaded down with packages.“I heard she’s given up on romance and that would be such a shame.There should be someone for her.”“She needs our help,” Mercy whispered.Then she whirled around.“Where’s Goodness? Did anyone see Goodness?”* * *Helene shouldn’t have put off her shopping to the last minute.She would need to wrap her packages this weekend to post first thing Monday morning.Unable to afford flying back to the States for the holidays had depressed her.It wouldn’t seem like Christmas without her family, but she was determined to make the best of it.Agnes, the older woman in her apartment building, had invited her to dinner, and Helene had volunteered to bring the goose.Agnes might be well into her eighties, but her mind was sharp and clear.Best of all, she was an excellent Scrabble player.Helene walked through the happy crowds on Brompton Road, lost in thought.She was planning which gifts to wrap next when suddenly…She stumbled forward hard.Her shoe must have caught on a loose paver.Losing her balance, she staggered and then fell, her packages spilling out of her arms, flying in every which direction.Just before she landed on the cement walkway, a pair of arms caught her.Strong and very male arms.Gasping, she clung to her rescuer, ready to voice her thanks.Then she swallowed the words.“William?” She’d met Agnes’s grand-nephew once before, and it hadn’t been a pleasant meeting.The tall, black-haired Englishman had seemed cool and somehow disapproving.Was it all Americans he distrusted, or just her? Helene wondered.He seemed to find her friendship with his elderly aunt suspicious.To his way of thinking, a lovely, young American woman must have an ulterior motive to strike up a friendship with an elderly woman.“Ms.Parsons.” He dropped his arms so quickly she nearly lost her balance a second time.Without another word, he bent down to help her gather her packages.Helene’s mind raced.Despite their differences, she refused to be rude.“Thank you,” she mumbled.“I don’t know what happened.One minute everything was fine, and the next I was flying through the air.”William handed her the fallen packages and retreated a step.“I was visiting my aunt.”That much was fairly obvious.Really, William wasn’t hard on the eyes, and as Agnes had pointed out any number of times, he was unattached.The older woman had taken delight in letting tidbits of information casually drop into their conversation.William worked as a barrister; perhaps that explained why he remained as stiff as starched sheets.“My aunt invited me to join the two of you for Christmas dinner.”Great.He was sure to watch Helene’s every move for fear she was pilfering the silver.“I should let you know that I’ve never cooked a goose before, and I…” She stopped mid-sentence and her entire mouth went completely dry.Andrew.He was walking purposefully toward her.The instant their eyes met, his face brightened.She must have looked stricken because William asked, “What is it?”Andrew arrived before she had a chance to respond.“Helene, darling.”“I am not your darling.Your darling is your wife.”Undeterred, Andrew moved closer.“Mary and I have separated.”“Wonderful.Mary apparently caught on to the fact that she was married to a no-good, cheating scumbag.”“Now, Sweetness…”“I beg your pardon,” William cut in, tucking his arm around Helene’s waist and drawing her close.“I believe Helene’s interest lies elsewhere.”Andrew glanced from one to the other and then back again as if he were watching a tennis game at Wimbledon.He narrowed his eyes.“It didn’t take you long to find someone new.”“It took me longer than it should have.” Helene smiled up at William.He smiled at her and in that moment something clicked inside her.Their eyes met and held, and neither one seemed able to look away.It was as if he too experienced the same surprising, gentle awareness.When Helene finally managed to tear her gaze away, she saw that Andrew was gone.She felt her spirits unexpectedly soar.William smiled at her slowly.“I think this Christmas shows a lot of promise.”“Yes, it does,” she agreed.A gust of wind swept down the street.Snowflakes began to fall around them.“Oh, look.Snow! It isn’t Christmas until it snows.” Helene lifted her hand and caught the cold flakes on her upturned palm.And into her hand floated a single, white feather.* * *“Goodness, did you cause Helene to stumble?” Shirley demanded.Her fellow angel responded by fluttering her wings.She smiled sheepishly.“Would I do that?” Goodness asked, grinning.debbiemacomber.comTable of ContentsCHAPTER ONECHAPTER TWOCHAPTER THREECHAPTER FOURCHAPTER FIVECHAPTER SIXCHAPTER SEVENCHAPTER EIGHTCHAPTER NINECHAPTER TENCHAPTER ELEVENCHAPTER TWELVECHAPTER THIRTEENCHAPTER FOURTEENCHAPTER FIFTEENCHAPTER SIXTEENCHAPTER SEVENTEENCHAPTER EIGHTEENCHAPTER NINETEENCHAPTER TWENTYCHAPTER TWENTY-ONECHAPTER TWENTY-TWOCHAPTER TWENTY-THREECHAPTER TWENTY-FOURCHAPTER TWENTY-FIVECHAPTER TWENTY-SIXCHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENCHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTCHAPTER TWENTY-NINECHAPTER THIRTYCHAPTER THIRTY-ONECHAPTER THIRTY-TWOCHAPTER THIRTY-THREECHAPTER THIRTY-FOURCHAPTER THIRTY-FIVECHAPTER THIRTY-SIXAuthor’s NoteAbout the AuthorCHRISTMAS ANGELS IN LONDON by DEBBIE MACOMBER
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