FINDING ANGEL
Maria saw him coming towards her in the restaurant and experienced an
instinctive wave of panic. She recognized him, of course. Joshua Hamilton was
the city's most eligible bachelor, frequently featured in the society column of
the papers, a beautiful model or starlet practically draped over him. Lately
though, he was more frequently seen solo than with his usual arm candy.
What would he ever want with me, she thought.
Yet he was making his way purposefully towards her. She swiveled quickly to
face the bartender and ordered a scotch, straight up.
“Fancy meeting you here, Angel,” she heard him say softly beside her.
That voice could melt steel, she mused. It flowed over her like honey.
Calm yourself, she warned her jangling nerves, he can't help how he speaks. For
God's sake, don't act like a lovestruck fool!
Maria turned to face him with a studied indifference she silently
congratulated herself on. “Sorry,” she said with a half-smile, “you seem to
have mistaken me for someone else.” She saw his brows rise in surprise as she
turned away. She accepted her drink from the bartender with a soft thanks.
“I don't think so, Angel. You're exactly the person I've been searching
for the last six months.” His eyes were focused on the drink in her hand and
she felt ashamed that she had let him unsettle her so much that she – surely
the world’s last teetotaler - would forget her values yet again.
She turned to face him with a polite smile mixed with the beginning of
irritation. “I've never seen you before in my life. How could I be the one
you're looking for? And before you ask, no, I don't have an identical twin
named ... Angela?”
“Angel,” he corrected. He studied her and it was all Maria could do to
bear his scrutiny calmly. It was when he looked into her eyes as if seeking out
her secret thoughts, that Maria understood that this Angel would have a hard
time escaping him if he ever found her.
At last he seemed satisfied that he had made a mistake. He mumbled an
apology but stayed rooted beside her. He was silent for a long moment and she
realized that he was staring at her as she downed her drink. Her expression of
distaste as the fiery scotch burned a path to her stomach seemed to satisfy
him. A faint grin ghosted across his lips. She felt the walls closing in on her
and wondered why she should feel so unsure of herself with this man she hardly
knew.
Divine help came in the form of the waiter who came to escort her to her
solitary table. She forced herself to walk calmly toward her table and sit down
primly. Her waiter took her order and left. One second she looked away and that
was all the time it took for Joshua Hamilton to materialize at her table. This
time her smile held more irritation than politeness.
“I'm sorry to bother you Miss. My name is Joshua Hamilton. May I join
you?” He didn't wait for her to reply before seating himself opposite her.
“Let me pay for your dinner to make up for my intrusion into your
personal space back there.” Apparently he did not see the irony. He brushed off
her attempt to tell him not to bother. “Really, I insist. It's the least I can
do. Don't worry, you have nothing to fear from me. Any
waiter here can vouch for me.”
Maria recognized a stubbornness in him that she
knew could not be shaken. He intended to speak to her and one way or another,
he'd get his way. She did not doubt that he would eventually find his Angel. He
would not give up until he found her.
She gave in to a force of will greater than her own. “Well
alright, Mr Hamilton. You can buy my dinner
since it seems that's the only way I'm gonna get rid of you.” His laugh said he
did not take offense.
“That's the first thing I noticed about Angel. She's never shy about
airing her feelings. The tongue-lashing that lady put on me the first day I met
her still makes me squirm.” He looked at her deliberately. “You look just like
her.”
“Look Mr. Hamilton,” she
Maria saw him coming towards her in the restaurant and experienced an
instinctive wave of panic. She recognized him, of course. Joshua Hamilton was
the city's most eligible bachelor, frequently featured in the society column of
the papers, a beautiful model or starlet practically draped over him. Lately
though, he was more frequently seen solo than with his usual arm candy.
What would he ever want with me, she thought.
Yet he was making his way purposefully towards her. She swiveled quickly to
face the bartender and ordered a scotch, straight up.
“Fancy meeting you here, Angel,” she heard him say softly beside her.
That voice could melt steel, she mused. It flowed over her like honey.
Calm yourself, she warned her jangling nerves, he can't help how he speaks. For
God's sake, don't act like a lovestruck fool!
Maria turned to face him with a studied indifference she silently
congratulated herself on. “Sorry,” she said with a half-smile, “you seem to
have mistaken me for someone else.” She saw his brows rise in surprise as she
turned away. She accepted her drink from the bartender with a soft thanks.
“I don't think so, Angel. You're exactly the person I've been searching
for the last six months.” His eyes were focused on the drink in her hand and
she felt ashamed that she had let him unsettle her so much that she – surely
the world’s last teetotaler - would forget her values yet again.
She turned to face him with a polite smile mixed with the beginning of
irritation. “I've never seen you before in my life. How could I be the one
you're looking for? And before you ask, no, I don't have an identical twin
named ... Angela?”
“Angel,” he corrected. He studied her and it was all Maria could do to
bear his scrutiny calmly. It was when he looked into her eyes as if seeking out
her secret thoughts, that Maria understood that this Angel would have a hard
time escaping him if he ever found her.
At last he seemed satisfied that he had made a mistake. He mumbled an
apology but stayed rooted beside her. He was silent for a long moment and she
realized that he was staring at her as she downed her drink. Her expression of
distaste as the fiery scotch burned a path to her stomach seemed to satisfy
him. A faint grin ghosted across his lips. She felt the walls closing in on her
and wondered why she should feel so unsure of herself with this man she hardly
knew.
Divine help came in the form of the waiter who came to escort her to her
solitary table. She forced herself to walk calmly toward her table and sit down
primly. Her waiter took her order and left. One second she looked away and that
was all the time it took for Joshua Hamilton to materialize at her table. This
time her smile held more irritation than politeness.
“I'm sorry to bother you Miss. My name is Joshua Hamilton. May I join
you?” He didn't wait for her to reply before seating himself opposite her.
“Let me pay for your dinner to make up for my intrusion into your
personal space back there.” Apparently he did not see the irony. He brushed off
her attempt to tell him not to bother. “Really, I insist. It's the least I can
do. Don't worry, you have nothing to fear from me. Any
waiter here can vouch for me.”
Maria recognized a stubbornness in him that she
knew could not be shaken. He intended to speak to her and one way or another,
he'd get his way. She did not doubt that he would eventually find his Angel. He
would not give up until he found her.
She gave in to a force of will greater than her own. “Well
alright, Mr Hamilton. You can buy my dinner
since it seems that's the only way I'm gonna get rid of you.” His laugh said he
did not take offense.
“That's the first thing I noticed about Angel. She's never shy about
airing her feelings. The tongue-lashing that lady put on me the first day I met
her still makes me squirm.” He looked at her deliberately. “You look just like
her.”
“Look Mr. Hamilton,” she
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