Valentine's Day : CUPID'S MATCH BOOK 2

Chapter 18

I sit beside Cupid in the passenger seat. Though I was alone with him yesterday, something seems to have shifted between us since then – whether it's the memory of the kiss, the mortal peril we again find ourselves in, or the anticipation of being alone, I don't know. But there's an energy in the air, mixed with the old scent of burger coming from a wrapper crumpled at my feet.

And behind the crackle in the air, a bad thought lingers – provoked by the revelations about Valentine. There's still so much about Cupid that I don't know: history, secrets, hidden brothers...

I glance up at him as he drives, tracing the hard line of his jaw with my eyes. He catches me looking and flashes me a devilish grin.

"Bet it was pretty weird," he says. "Finding out I'm not actually the bad boy of the family..."

The corner of my lip tugs upwards.

"Yeah...you could say that...why didn't you ever tell me about him?"

He shrugs – nonchalant as ever – as though it's not important. Even though we're talking about a guy who seems intent on hunting me down; a guy that he trapped in a catacomb for the best part of a century.

I think about what he said last night.

I've been alone for so long, dealt with things by myself for so long... it's hard sometimes, to let people in.

An almost inaudible sigh escapes from my lips, mixing with the sound of the low thrum of the engine. If Cupid hears me he pretends he doesn't.

Will he ever let his guard down around me?

I glance at him again – noting the shadows under his eyes, and the light, day old stubble that has appeared on his usually clean-shaven face. He can pretend that everything's OK, but I'm not fooled. I can see the worry taking claim of his body.

Cal puts barriers up too, I find myself thinking, but it's in a different way; Cal is more honest about it. Cupid just throws in a joke every time things start to get even slightly serious.

My mind flickers back to the rest of our conversation last night.

I'm not used to this, Lila. This. Us. Me and you.

Will he ever get used to it?

He seems to notice I've fallen quiet.

"What is it?" he says.

I shake my head.

"Nothing."

He looks at me suspiciously and I force a smile.

"It's just a lot to take in," I say.

He nods – his face becoming serious. His eyes burn into me as the streetlamps outside flick shadows across his face.

"We'll get through it. Together," he says.

I nod, my pulse racing at the intensity of his gaze. He drags his eyes back to the road and I compose myself – turning to look out of the passenger window of the car.

I can't believe he is about to spend the night at my house. Why does that make me so nervous?

"So...anything interesting happen since I was gone?" he says – breaking through my thoughts.

"I...uh...no...not really... just school and..." I stop, suddenly remembering the note I'd found in my locker at lunch time.

Cupid raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

I frown.

"There was a girl I'd never seen before, at school," I say. "And she left me a note."

I shift in the cream leather seat and pull it out of my pocket, uncrumpling it and flashing it toward him. A crease forms in his forehead as he reads the words.

Valentine's Day is coming. Stay away from your match.

He looks back at the road, the corners of his lips downturned.

"A girl left that?" he says. "What did she look like?"

"I didn't see her clearly," I say. "Erm, long black hair, lightly tanned, dark eyes. Oh, there was something else too..."

A thought suddenly occurs to me.

"Cal – I overheard Cal talking to a girl outside my house last night. He was standing guard. He was really shifty about it."

Could it be the same girl?

Cupid shrugs but I can see the alertness in his eyes, flashing amid the flecks of green.

"My brother's shifty about a lot of things. What did you hear?"

The gone are not gone. The dead...the girl...

I tell him. "I asked him about her afterwards and he said something about her being part of an IT service for the Matchmaking Service or something."

Cupid's eyes narrow, and I note the shadows beneath them. There's suddenly a tension in the car.

"You know her," I say.

He pauses for a moment, navigating the car down my street.

"If they're getting involved...this isn't good," he says darkly, almost to himself. That's what Cal said too... "I wonder if it's to do with Valentine, or something else..."

"Who are they?"

He looks at me, his eyes brightening again. He shakes his head.

"Like my brother said, they do some work for us. Help us with our matchmaking systems. They're just a bit..." he shrugs, "intense, that's all. I don't like them much. Give me the heeby jeebies."

He grins and makes a shuddering action with his body – his hands still on the steering wheel. I roll my eyes but the corner of my lip quirks involuntarily upwards.

He parks the car just down the road from my house – out of sight of my dad should he look out of the window - then turns and grins at me.

"Well," he says. "Are you going to invite me in?"