Guardian Angels - If It's Fated… (12)

Thank goodness. Standing at the door to the library—invisible to any humans—Dom smiled at the look on Tim's face when his charge watched Richard and Cherie leave. So help me if Richard stands him up I'll… do something drastic.

"You won't have to."

Dom swung around when he heard the voice in his mind, then shook his head in disbelief. "Deidre? What are you…? Don't tell me you're watching over Richard for some reason."

"Yes and no. He's my charge but…."

"Damn. Is he in danger?"

"Not the way you mean it," Deidre replied, twisting her long, auburn braid then tossing it back over her shoulder. "Despite what it might seem like, he's desperately lonely. Cherie sees it as her mission in life to find someone for him."

"But Richard's gay."

Deidre smiled. "Cherie knows that. He's made no secret of the fact to her. However he seems determined to spend the rest of his days alone, taking care of her. He's afraid of the repercussions to their life if he brought another man into it, so he hasn't been looking."

"I don't see why… I mean, why is it so important that he does?"

"Because Cherie is special but she'll need two loving parents to help her realize her potential."

"And here I thought my mission was just to keep Tim from drowning in depression to the point that he ended up killing himself."

"It is! If he did that then the circle wouldn't be complete—or that's my understanding. Richard and Tim are who Cherie needs to help her become what she has to be." Deidre smiled wryly. "Don't bother to ask me what that is. Samuel neglected to fill me in on that part. He just told me I'd know when the right man came into Richard's life and I was to push, nudge, whatever it took to make him realize it. Of course, you were sent to make certain that man didn't do something desperate before it happened."

"You're certain it's Tim?"

Deidre nodded. "Samuel said I'd recognize who it was the moment I saw him. I did, when all of you were at the museum. That wasn't planned on my part. I was just along for the ride, so to speak."

"Why didn't you let me know you were there?" Dom asked tightly. Now that he'd gotten past what was going on with Tim—and Richard and Cherie—he was furious. He didn't know whether his anger was at Samuel for what he'd done—sending Deidre to watch over Richard—or at Deidre for allowing him to, if she knew Dom was part of the plan.

"Dom," she replied quietly, "seeing you there was as much of a shock to me as you're seeing me here is to you. I swear, I don't know what Samuel was thinking when he set this up."

"Playing with our lives," Dom spat out. "So let's finish this and we can go our separate ways again."

Deidre smiled sadly. "Yes, I suppose that would be for the best. I'll make certain Richard shows up at the restaurant tomorrow. After that, well… I guess we both hope for the best." With that said, she vanished.

"If it's fated they have to be together for Cherie's sake, then I think we've already done our jobs," Dom muttered. He might have laughed if he was in the mood when a man walking past him toward the library's exit jumped and looked around. "Forget you heard that," Dom told him, nudging him to do just that. Then, as quickly as Deidre had, Dom vanished, landing in his apartment seconds later.

* * * *

Tim was practically bouncing with excitement when he got home that evening—excitement mixed with trepidation. What if he doesn't show up? What if he doesn't like me if he does? What if… if I don't like him once I get to know him?

He knew one person he could talk to about his fears. Rather than wait for the elevator, Tim took the stairs up, two at a time, to try to release some of his pent-up energy. When he knocked on Dom's door, there was no answer for so long he thought the man wasn't home. Then he heard the lock snick and the door opened.

It only took one look for Tim to realize something was definitely bothering his friend. "If this is a bad time…"

"No, no, come on in." Dom waited until Tim was inside then locked the door, pointing to the sofa. "Have a seat. You want coffee or something?"

Tim shook his head. "If I have coffee I'll be more wound up than I am already."

"About?"

"I think I have a date with Richard. Just for lunch, but…"

When Dom only nodded, seeming to be somewhere else as far as his thoughts were concerned, Tim said, "Something's wrong. Do you want to talk about it? God only knows I've bent your ear about my problems."

"There's really nothing to talk about. I ran into someone from my past and"—Dom grimaced—"I wish I hadn't."

"An old friend, or enemy or… whatever?"