He's No Angel (Heaven Can Wait Book 1) by Jacquie D'Alessandro Page B
Authors: Jacquie D'Alessandro
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know, she hasn’t even gone on a date. She’s married to her work. Always has been.” Her expression turned serious. “I do love her. She’s my mother, and she’s not a bad person-- you know, no murders or anything. That I know of. But she’s very difficult. A brilliant, career-driven perfectionist who expects, actually demands, that everyone around her live up to the very exacting standards she sets for herself. Good qualities for a lawyer, but not so much for exuding warm fuzzies to a family. I spent the first eighteen years of my life trying to meet her expectations. It wasn’t until I went away to college that I began discovering me . And life in general.”
“And what did you discover?”
She paused to take another sip of her wine then said, “I discovered fun. Laughter. That there was more to life than textbooks and studying. More on tv than documentaries. That parties could be enjoyable events rather than solely career networking opportunities. That people actually celebrated birthdays with gifts and cake.”
“What did you think birthdays were celebrated with?”
“Nothing. It wasn’t something we did. It was just another day on the calendar. Another day to study, to read, to do schoolwork.”
Liam could only stare. “You’re telling me you didn’t have birthday parties?”
“No parties. No cake. No candles. No happy birthday song.”
“That’s… ” He shook his head, filled with sympathy for her as memories of his various childhood birthday celebrations flashed through his mind. “I don’t know. Really sad.”
“True, although I didn’t really know what I was missing until I left home. I had my first birthday party freshman year. I cut myself a big-ass piece of cake with extra frosting and ate it in eighteen bites-- one for each year.” A smile flirted with the corner of her lips. “It was the best, most satisfying piece of cake I’d ever eaten.”
Liam laughed, “I bet. So what else did you discover?”
“I spent a semester abroad studying in Italy, then a summer backpacking around Europe. Experiencing other cultures, seeing the world outside the tunnel of academia in which I’d been raised was enlightening and nothing short of miraculous. My mother pushed hard for me to go to law school or med school but I’d discovered my calling. I loved books and wanted to be a librarian.”
“A dream you made a reality.”
“Yes, although not without a fight, one I ended by paying for grad school myself, a decision that meant some financial hardships but was so emotionally freeing it was worth every penny. I attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as they have an excellent library science program. It was while I was there that I discovered London on a weekend hiking jaunt to the north Georgia Mountains. After that, I came back as often as I could. London’s the sort of place that’s easy to fall in love with and difficult to forget.” She studied him for several seconds. “But I guess you understand that.”
Liam nodded. “Perfectly. But you only moved here recently.”
“Yes. After grad school my mother hounded me to apply for admission to a doctorate program. In her mind, if I had to be a librarian, I of course should earn my Ph.D so I could be one at a prestigious university. But the truth was I’d had enough of school. I’d been a student my entire life and the last place I wanted to work was a university. I longed to get out into the ‘real world.’” She emphasized the last two words by making air quotes with her fingers.
“I landed a job at a branch of the New York public library system in Manhattan. At first I really embraced the hustle and bustle of the city, but after a few years I found myself longing for… something. I wasn’t sure what. I loved my job, but the rest of my life wasn’t nearly as fulfilling. I only knew that I was living in a city of more than eight million people, yet I felt alone. Plus the cost of living in Manhattan was
“And what did you discover?”
She paused to take another sip of her wine then said, “I discovered fun. Laughter. That there was more to life than textbooks and studying. More on tv than documentaries. That parties could be enjoyable events rather than solely career networking opportunities. That people actually celebrated birthdays with gifts and cake.”
“What did you think birthdays were celebrated with?”
“Nothing. It wasn’t something we did. It was just another day on the calendar. Another day to study, to read, to do schoolwork.”
Liam could only stare. “You’re telling me you didn’t have birthday parties?”
“No parties. No cake. No candles. No happy birthday song.”
“That’s… ” He shook his head, filled with sympathy for her as memories of his various childhood birthday celebrations flashed through his mind. “I don’t know. Really sad.”
“True, although I didn’t really know what I was missing until I left home. I had my first birthday party freshman year. I cut myself a big-ass piece of cake with extra frosting and ate it in eighteen bites-- one for each year.” A smile flirted with the corner of her lips. “It was the best, most satisfying piece of cake I’d ever eaten.”
Liam laughed, “I bet. So what else did you discover?”
“I spent a semester abroad studying in Italy, then a summer backpacking around Europe. Experiencing other cultures, seeing the world outside the tunnel of academia in which I’d been raised was enlightening and nothing short of miraculous. My mother pushed hard for me to go to law school or med school but I’d discovered my calling. I loved books and wanted to be a librarian.”
“A dream you made a reality.”
“Yes, although not without a fight, one I ended by paying for grad school myself, a decision that meant some financial hardships but was so emotionally freeing it was worth every penny. I attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as they have an excellent library science program. It was while I was there that I discovered London on a weekend hiking jaunt to the north Georgia Mountains. After that, I came back as often as I could. London’s the sort of place that’s easy to fall in love with and difficult to forget.” She studied him for several seconds. “But I guess you understand that.”
Liam nodded. “Perfectly. But you only moved here recently.”
“Yes. After grad school my mother hounded me to apply for admission to a doctorate program. In her mind, if I had to be a librarian, I of course should earn my Ph.D so I could be one at a prestigious university. But the truth was I’d had enough of school. I’d been a student my entire life and the last place I wanted to work was a university. I longed to get out into the ‘real world.’” She emphasized the last two words by making air quotes with her fingers.
“I landed a job at a branch of the New York public library system in Manhattan. At first I really embraced the hustle and bustle of the city, but after a few years I found myself longing for… something. I wasn’t sure what. I loved my job, but the rest of my life wasn’t nearly as fulfilling. I only knew that I was living in a city of more than eight million people, yet I felt alone. Plus the cost of living in Manhattan was
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