Welcome to my Book Birthday celebration for my newest release, Once Upon an Angel. This is a story that's been percolating in my brain for sometime. I've always loved stories of angels earning their wings, yet most are historical in nature. I thought ... what if I were to update the tried-and-true trope, add in a romance (or two), and set part of the book in Heaven?
Once Upon an Angel is a clean and wholesome romance that I hope you'll enjoy. I've been told it's two-tissue worthy, so be prepared.
Given one last chance to earn her permanent wings, Ariel is sent back to earth to help her former fiancée get past her death so he can find true love. A task she’s had before and failed at miserably. When her mentor, Gabe (yes, the Arch Angel Gabriel), insists she take Mark with her, Ariel’s reluctant. However, nobody argues with Gabe.
Rick Norton is still grieving Ariel’s loss, even though it’s been five years, and he’s done his best to move on. Unfortunately, his attempts at finding another lasting relationship have all gone up in smoke. Until now. Could the cute barista at his favorite coffee shop be the one he’s waited for? There’s something about her that seems familiar, yet he can’t quite place it. Whatever it is, it’s drawing him to her like nothing he’s ever felt before. Or, at least not in the past five years.
Sabrina Baker longs to find happiness. Convinced no man could love a short, skinny girl, who comes with her own set of health problems, she goes about her daily routine believing she’s not good enough. That is, until handsome school Vice Principal, Rick Norton, enters her life.
Can Rick and Sabrina finally find what they both need on their own? Or, will it take a bit of angelic help to get them to see they’re perfect for one another? Once Ariel convinces Mark he’s right where he needs to be, will she finally get the beautiful white wings she’s always wanted? Will they both get a friendship that will last for eternity?
And, finally, what has Gabe done to hasten things along both on earth, and in Heaven?
Mark spun around, and met Ariel’s gaze. She looked
exceptionally lovely today. Her long chestnut hair hung in waves around her
heart-shaped face. Her hazel eyes sparkled. The only imperfection—as slight as
it seemed—was the serious expression altering her usually angelic smile.
“We’re going where?”
Mark asked, almost positive he’d heard her wrong.
“Back to Baltimore. Apparently, I’m getting another crack at
my wings.”
“Same task? Get the fiancée to fall in love with another
woman?”
She nodded. “We leave tomorrow afternoon and have two full
days to complete the assignment.”
“Why am I going? I don’t even know—”
“Yes, you do. Or, at least you probably do. You both played
in the teacher’s hockey league at the same time.”
“No sh—” He stopped short and shot her his best repentant
grin. “What’s his name?”
“Rick Norton. He’s—”
“The highest scoring right wing in the league. Or, at least
he was last season.”
“What’s my part in all this? I mean, what do they expect of
me?”
Ariel shrugged, the motion drawing his gaze to her fading
smile. “I assume you’re there to make sure I don’t let my broken heart get in
the way, like the other times.”
“So, you were jealous? Perfectly understandable.” When she
didn’t respond, he asked, “What did you do? Sabotage the relationships?”
“No, of course not. At least not on purpose.”
“Then, why didn’t it work out?”
“The first time, the woman—Helena—called it off when she met
some fancy-suited, high-profile lawyer.” Giving a quick wince, she admitted, “I
may have had a hand in their meeting. I was watching from a nearby doorway and
accidentally bumped into the server carrying a tray of drinks. He bumped into
the lawyer, who tripped and dumped his drink on Helena. When their gazes met,
it was like a bell went off for them both.”
“And, she ended up dumping Rick for the new fellow,” he
guessed.
She gave a short, quick nod, and continued. “The second
woman—her name was Bethany—wasn’t being honest with him. She wasn’t cheating on
him or anything, but she had a gambling problem. A bad one.”
“I take it, Rick found out.”
“As you’ll quickly learn, our presence has a calming effect
on people. It also tends to bring out their honesty, when they least expect it.
One evening, he was at her place for dinner when the messenger app on her phone
kept pinging. At first, she just blew it off as a girlfriend who was bugging
her to meet up at the bar. Then, I did what I thought was best for all
concerned.”
“Which was?”
“I went and stood behind her, placed my hands above her
shoulders, and waited. The next time the phone pinged, she broke down and
confessed that the message was from a man to whom she owed money. A lot of
money. She also told Rick she’d been trying to work up the courage to ask him
for a loan.”
“A loan? I hope he didn’t give it to her.”
“He told her he needed time to think, and he left. He was
angry, so I followed him. By the time he got home, he’d calmed down. He went
back the next day and offered to lend her the money, under certain conditions.
She was to take a leave of absence from her job, check herself into rehab for
her addiction and, once she was out, she’d have to pay him back.”
“Did she accept his terms?” Mark asked.
“I have no idea. I do know he told her that he’d remain her
friend and support her emotionally until she was back on her feet, but that
their relationship was over. Which meant, I’d failed again.”
“Wait a minute. Backtrack, please. You said something
earlier about bumping into the server, which then snowballed into the end of
Rick’s first post-you romance. Does that mean people will be able to see us
when we’re there?”
“No, they can’t see us. We can, however, make things move
when we need to. Or, in my case, by accident.”
“Cool!”
“Not ‘cool’ when it ends up costing me my wings.”
“How does getting us there actually work? Are we beamed
down, or something?”
Her half smirk, half laugh drew his broad grin in return.
“It’s not Star Trek,
Mark.” In a mocking voice, she teased, “Beam
me up, Gabe.”
“Okay, if not Star
Trek, how do they do it?”
“We walk through a door. On the other side, is our
destination.”
“And we just know where to go, and what to do?”
“There’s actually an itinerary. It spells out Rick’s
schedule and Sabrina’s routine so that we know where they’re going to be, and
when we can ‘facilitate’ their relationship.”
“Sabrina, is it?”
“Yes. Sabrina Baker, twenty-eight, and in her last year of
university. Apparently, her education was stalled. For personal reasons.”
“An ill parent maybe? Financial issues?”
Ariel gave another deep shrug of her slim shoulders. “I
don’t know. I guess we’ll find out when we get there, won’t we?”
Nancy Fraser a Top 100 best-selling and award-winning author.
She's also the granddaughter of a Methodist minister known for his fire-and-brimstone approach to his faith. Nancy has brought some of his spirit into her Christian romances. And, her own off-beat sense of humor to her clean & wholesome books.
When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.
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