Her lavender wings moved as she shrugged. “The same as everyone else, I guess.”

“How did you two meet?” asked Nicole, leaning forward. Her eyes had circles under them. She looked approvingly at Willow’s angel wings. “Did the angels bring you together?”

“Um...” Willow swallowed and glanced up at Seb, her gaze searching his. “Yes, sort of.”

Her hands were tense on her lap; he took one of them, and she gripped his fingers tightly. “It’s a long story,” he said. “But I’ll tell it if you like. It’s very romantic.” He was already planning how he could spin it out; make it so boring that they’d completely lose interest in Willow.

“Wait, wait, I know the actress!” burst in Céline, bouncing slightly in her seat. “It’s that girl with long blonde hair – what is her name? She’s been in so many things!”

Seb froze. Long blonde hair. Madre mía, in another moment she’d have it.

“No, people usually say Keira Knightley,” said Willow quickly. “Or...or Katie Holmes.”

“Keira Knightley?” Céline frowned in surprise. “No...well, maybe a tiny bit...”

To Seb’s immense relief the service started then with a rippling of harp music, and conversation stopped. The three French girls faced forward, eyes shining as the preacher made his way up the small spiral staircase to the angel-winged pulpit. Willow let out a breath. Seb stroked his thumb across her fingers, aware that he wasn’t at all sorry to be posing as her boyfriend.

The preacher looked younger than Seb had imagined, with dark hair and a wide smile. He raised his hands to the sky, smiling out at the congregation as he spoke into a microphone. “Bienvenido a la Catedral de los Ángeles.”

An interminable sermon about the angels’ love; how lucky Mexico was to now have its own personal angel; lots of standing and singing hymns and then sitting down again. Céline and the other girls knew the hymns by heart, though the lyrics were in Spanish. Willow pressed close to Seb as they shared a hymnal, her head down – obviously trying to keep her face away from their notice now.

Finally the moment came when the preacher asked if anyone wished to be blessed on behalf of the angels. He came down from the pulpit to the balustrade, his questioning tone echoing through the speakers. Thankfully, the angels they’d seen when they first entered the cathedral were gone now, apparently sated. When Seb checked, he could sense they’d joined the others in the office area for the time being.

A few people started going hesitantly towards the front, footsteps echoing on the shining marble. Willow gave Seb’s fingers a meaningful squeeze as she released them. He nodded. “Excuse us,” he whispered to Mike. The American’s eyebrows shot up; Seb could practically hear him thinking, What – really? But he didn’t comment as Seb and Willow edged past.