Divine Temptation by Nicki Elson Page B

her chest. She brought her hand up to clutch his hair and held him close, her crying softening more and more until she was hardly weeping at all. She fell asleep caressing her angel’s silky hair while he silently rested his beautiful head on her chest and did his very best to heal her heart.

Chapter 8
    O VER T HE N EXT T WO W EEKS , Maggie attempted to recalibrate her mind to where it had been before her escapade with Carl. Talking with Evan helped, but when the angel wasn’t present, it seemed she no longer clung to his influence very well. She considered pursuing the annulment, thinking that might help improve her emotional state, but gave up on the idea. Her marriage had happened. They’d both gone into it foolishly thinking it would last forever, and she wouldn’t negate that, couldn’t erase her mistakes with a piece of paper.
    The end of the school year was busy for Maggie and the kids, with projects and tests and a hundred and one social activities surrounding eighth grade graduation. In between all of that, Maggie made several phone calls to her parents in Colorado. Her father had had knee surgery the day after Liam’s school sing, and she could tell it comforted her mother to be able to give daily reports on the progress of his recovery. The distractions kept Maggie from dwelling too much on her melancholy state, yet when Sharon called about getting together for lunch one more time before school was out, Maggie made up an excuse and declined, not feeling ready to sit under her friend’s microscope just yet.
    A visit from her less invasive sister was exactly what she needed, so it was a blessing that Nancy had already planned to drive up from St. Louis to attend Kirsten’s graduation. She arrived on Friday night, and on Saturday morning, Maggie’s parents got adventurous on the computer and had a video chat with their granddaughter, apologizing profusely for having to miss the big day. Immediately after the call, Nancy and Kirsten disappeared into the bathroom where Nancy pulled her niece’s hair up into a twist and helped her put on a light layer of makeup.
    “Is this my baby girl?” Maggie exclaimed when her daughter stepped into the kitchen.
    “Hey, hey, don’t tear up—you’ll mess up your makeup!” Nancy scolded.
    It was difficult for Maggie not to smear her eyeliner just a little bit in the church parking lot when she saw all the graduates looking suddenly more grown up, the girls in their high heels and strapless dresses, and the boys in their button-down shirts and ties, slapping each other high five as they made their way into church for the Mass.
    “There’s Dad…and Missy!” Kirsten squealed and dashed across the bumpy asphalt as fast as she could in her dress shoes.
    “Who’s Missy?” Nancy asked.
    “Carl’s girlfriend.” Were they back together, or had he merely invited her to the graduation for Kirsten’s sake, Maggie wondered. She threw on her sunglasses to cover the only betrayal of her reaction—the tortured glint deep in her irises—and walked her sister over. Carl gave Nancy a warm, if somewhat awkward, hug and introduced Melissa. While they made polite small talk, Carl briefly locked eyes with Maggie, quirking his eyebrows in a way that told her he’d explain later.
    The ceremony, led by Monsignor Sarto, gave Maggie time to quiet her tumultuous thoughts and ask for the grace she needed to get through the rest of the day without having a meltdown. She knew everything was over between her and Carl, so logically it shouldn’t matter if he was back together with Melissa. But that didn’t stop her from hoping there was some other explanation. All the insecurities she’d felt after he’d cheated swarmed around her, poking to get in.
    After the formalities, the families were invited to a nearby golf club where one of the parents had generously reserved a banquet room. The bright space filled with a happy buzz and loud chatter as the graduates and their families arrived,