Counterfeit Cupid (Mt. Olympus Employment Agency: Cupid #2)(22)

I didn’t look up from my phone. “You know, I can hear you.”

She took several steps backward, gasping. “What? Why didn’t you say something? Why did you let me ramble on like that?”

I grinned at her. “You seemed to have a lot to say. I didn’t want to interrupt. Also, Josh is fine. I hate Joshua.”

Her face had lost all its color. “Can you see me, too?” She continued to step farther away from me as she spoke.

I reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Yes. And I can touch you, too.”

She tried to pull away. “Let me go. I’ll scream.”

I shrugged. “I’m the only one who can hear you.” I tugged her a few steps closer. “I’m not going to hurt you. But you can’t go running off. We have to talk. And we have to work together.”

She relaxed. “Okay.”

“Okay.” I let go of her wrist. “I can’t go inside to check without it being weird. Did you match anybody in the firehouse?”

She shook her head. “No. Almost, but I changed my mind.”

“Okay. Good. Will you trust me enough to get in my car with me? We really need to have a conversation, and we may need to go somewhere. Also, I look like an idiot standing out here talking to myself.”

She scrutinized my face for a long moment before nodding slowly. “Okay. I’ll go with you.” She bit her lower lip. “But I’m not giving you your stuff yet.”

I nodded. “That’s fine. We’ll talk about that, too.”

Without another word, she climbed into the passenger seat in my car. I cringed at all the glitter she scraped off inside. I’d have to vacuum before I returned the vehicle.

I started the car and pulled away into traffic. “So. Before we talk about the future, let’s talk about the past. Aside from what you did today on this street, why don’t you tell me about the matches you’ve made. And I’m going to need details, because I think someone may be in trouble.”





10. Annie


I nearly swallowed my tongue when Josh said he could hear me. How stupid I was! I’d been taunting him and—heaven help me—I’d said he was cute. What an idiot.

Still feeling incredibly foolish, I agreed to get into his car and go for a drive. Maybe he’d turn out to be a serial killer, but I doubted it. He wasn’t a great Cupid from what I could tell, but he was still a Cupid. I seriously doubted a Cupid could also be a killer. That would have pushed the weird meter to its limits.

I squeezed into his car with my wings still on, not knowing whether to take them off or not and afraid he’d swipe them from me if I did. I stuffed the blowgun down the front of my shirt and let my bra hold it in place. I was caught and in his custody, sure. But I wasn’t quite ready to give up his toys yet.

I folded my hands in my lap and stared at the road ahead. “So. You want to know about my matches from yesterday.”

He nodded. “It would be even better if we could go wherever you were and backtrack. It won’t take long.” He held up his arm, showing a black band on his wrist that resembled some sort of a fitness tracker. “I just need to take a reading to see if the match is good or not.”

“What is it?” I reached out to touch it with one finger, then changed my mind and pulled my hand back. “Does it count steps?”

“No. It monitors, I don’t know, love health? It’s called the Love-Meter Deluxe. I think of it as an ‘un-fit-bit.’” He flashed me a charming smile. “Because I think I’m funny.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure. Hilarious.”

He chuckled. “Tough room.” He signaled at the light and turned right. “So, I suppose I could drive around all day, but it would be really helpful if you told me where you were spreading the love yesterday.”

“So you can undo it all.” I folded my arms across my chest and sat back, crushing my wings and not caring.

“No, not at all.” He pulled into an open spot on the curb, put the car in park, and turned to me. “You made some good matches today. I’ll be honest. My boss actually told me you have better instincts than I do. But you’re also overly enthusiastic and made a few mistakes.”

I scowled. “True love is never a mistake.”

He groaned. “You think you’re making true love happen?” His eyes narrowed and his voice grew cold. “True love is a myth. People fall in love all the time, but they fall out of love just as fast. There’s no such thing as true love. What we do here is give people a chance at happiness for as long as they can hold on to it.”

Tears pricked the back of my eyes, but I refused to let him see me cry. “That’s a terrible, terrible thing to say.” Despite my best efforts, my eyes filled, and a few tears escaped. I wiped them away with the back of my hand. “You have to be the worst Cupid in your department. Shame on you.” I turned away, trying to gather myself together so I didn’t fall apart.

“Look. I’m not saying love isn’t real. Just…that whole true love and soulmate thing is a product of Hollywood and the greeting card industry.”

“I don’t like you.” It wasn’t true. I liked him very much. But what he was saying not only shook my core beliefs, it also meant he wasn’t thinking about me romantically. I hadn’t realized it until that moment, but I’d kind of hoped he was The One. That my long wait was over. Obviously, he wasn’t it and I wasn’t done waiting.