Jingle Hells by Misty Evans Page B

my head against the wood
underneath it. “You knew, didn’t you? You’re the one who asked
Father Leonard to give me the Bible so I could read Genesis.” My
head now stinging as much as my heart, I lifted it to stare into
Luc’s eyes. Surprisingly enough, he looked as miserable as I felt.
“Why didn’t you just tell me the cat was Eve?”
    “I wanted you to have knowledge of their
history together so that when she finally chose to reveal herself,
you might better understand Adam’s reaction to her.”
    Score one for the Devil. A tiny part of me
did understand Adam’s reaction to his wife, thanks to the lesson of
Eden. They shared something no one else had ever experienced and
the fate of their love story was inexplicably linked to every one
of us on Earth. Even Lucifer was tied to them. “What do I do
now?”
    While I’d meant it as a rhetorical question,
he offered advice anyway. “Do you love him?”
    The only man I’d ever loved was Lucifer.
Comparing my feelings for Adam against the feelings I’d once had
for him sent another stab of pain through my heart and my head. “I
think so.”
    Luc reacted liked I’d punched him again.
Still, he recomposed himself and cleared his throat. “Then you have
to fight for him.”
    While getting advice on my new love from my
old seemed wrong, I had to ask, “But how?”
    “Eve is part of Adam’s past. An important
past, it’s true, but still the past. You are Adam’s present and
most likely his best future. Make him see that, Amy, and you will
win.”
    We sat in silence for a long moment as I
digested his words. “Why are you telling me this? Don’t you want me
back?”
    His gaze told me everything. How much he
wanted me, how much he missed me, how much he loved me. In a blink,
though, his eyes hardened. “I want you to be happy. If Adam makes
you happy, then so be it.”
    Outside my office, I heard music and
people’s voices. Samson’s booming one, Delilah’s beautiful one.
Liddy’s laughter. The shop wasn’t open for business, but Emilia and
Keisha had definitely opened it up for friends. “That’s mighty big
of you.”
    “Yes,” he snorted and tried to smile. “It
surprises me as well.”
    A moment later, there was a knock on the
door. “Who is it?”
    Adam stuck his head in, his face going from
happy to see me to not happy to see Lucifer. He stayed in the
doorway and ignored his nemesis as he spoke to me. “Sorry about
earlier. I was hoping we could, you know, pick up where we left
off?”
    I sat a little straighter and mimicked Luc’s
hard eye stare. “What about Eve?”
    “I explained a few things to her, and well,
I don’t think she’s gone for good, but for now…”
    He trailed off and glanced at Lucifer. Luc
was looking down at the floor, but he raised his eyes to mine and a
world of emotion showed in them. “Go,” he said, jerking a thumb in
Adam’s direction. “Fight. Just remember, I’ll be fighting for what
I love too.”
    The magic in my chest shivered at his
declaration. The rest of my parts did as well. Rising from the
desk, I went to Adam’s outstretched hand.
    “Thank you,” I said to Luc, stopping in the
doorway and turning back to smile at him.
    He nodded. “Be happy.”
    And with that, he shimmered out of
sight.
    “You okay?” Adam asked as we entered the
parlor.
    As I’d suspected, Keisha and Emilia were
throwing a party. All my friends were there from the Witches
Anonymous group and even Father Leonard had come by. He and Marcia
were sharing cookies and he raised a glass of red punch to me when
he caught my eye. Bing reminded us he’d be home for Christmas for
the millionth time, and the Christmas tree positively glowed from
the number of lights Keisha and Samson had strung on it. “I think
so.”
    Adam squeezed my hand, and suddenly, I had
no problem believing in the Witches Anonymous second step to
freedom. Luc’s last words rang in my ears. Be happy.
    A higher power had caused me a lot of
problems, but