by CY Jones
From Cupid
A Valentine’s Day Romance
CY Jones
Copyright © 2020 CY Jones
Published by CY Jones
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced/transmitted/distributed in any form. No part of this publication shall be shared by any means including photocopying, recording, or any electronic/mechanical method, or the Internet, without prior written consent of the authors. Cases of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law are the exception. The unauthorized reproduction/transmitting of this work is illegal.
Published in the United States of America.
Cover By: EVE Graphic Design LLC
Edited By: Dani Black
Formatted By: Kassie Morse
Michael Stephens
14 November 2001- 20 January 2020
Your sweet smile and light will be missed.
Contents
1. The Wedding
2. Starting Over
3. Friends and Business
4. Tone Down the Crazy
5. New Me
6. Grumpy Asshole
7. Regret
8. Falling
9. Sabotage
10. It's a Date
11. Stupid Cupid
12. Hurricane Harrison
13. Stalker
14. Unwanted Reunion
15. I Love You
16. Heartbreak
17. River Blue
18. Addiction
19. Kidnapped
20. Fire
21. Road to Recovery
22. Homecoming
Epilogue
Books by CY Jones
About CY Jones
The Wedding
Paige - One Year Earlier
I try not to cry as I stand up front, watching my best friend in the whole wide world get married. I am so damn happy for my bestie, that even with my hardest attempts to stay composed, a tear still managed to slip through my defenses and roll down my cheek in its own solitary salty trail.
I swear Jodie and Brian were meant for each other. To be frank, I knew he was the one when she told me he jumped out of his mail truck to climb a tree onto her roof to help get her cat, Goldielocks, down when the mischievous little demon somehow managed to get herself stuck up there. He never even faltered when climbing down even though Goldie was less than thrilled about being saved. She scratched the poor man up, but he delivered her safe and sound to her owner and the rest was history.
Brian is the epitome of a hot mailman. Tall, blonde, and handsome. His skin is perfectly tan from being out in the hot California sun all day and he has the brightest honey eyes you have even seen. The two complemented each other nicely, making them a gorgeous couple. Jodie is also blonde, hers just a couple shades darker than his sandy blonde and her blue green eyes make me down right envious. Not to mention, she’s tall with long legs and a model’s figure. Oh, did I mention she’s originally from Australia, so she has the whole Aussie accent going for her? She’s also the sweetest and kindest woman in the whole wide world, and with Brian’s happy, layback attitude, they were destined for one another.
Stopping myself from making a mess of my makeup, I turn my head and look at my own husband sitting in the second row behind Jodie’s mom and frown. He’s not really paying attention to the ceremony and keeps glancing downward. A bit of annoyance comes over me. Knowing him, he’s probably looking through house listings. We both run a joint business in real estate. He’s an agent and I dabble in flipping homes. You know, find old homes, buy them for the low, fix them up, and sell them for a profit. Because real estate has gone down the last couple years, he’s been helping me more and more with finding homes to work on. Justin is a workaholic and I love his ambition, just not now at my bestie’s wedding.
Probably feeling my lazer gaze on him, our eyes clash and he gives me a charming smirk, before putting his phone away and facing forward once again. Satisfied, I turn back to the preacher and the happy couple before me.
“You may kiss the bride,” Reverend Danials pronounces and Brian takes Jodie in his arms, dipping her low and laying a hotter than Hell kiss on her lips. We all clap and l laugh at Jodie’s dazed look as she faces the crowd. Following the happy couple, I walk beside Brian’s best man, Harrison, as we file out of the church. Apparently, they’ve known each other since they were in diapers. I hardly know the man, having only met him twice before.
Outside the church, we throw flower petals and blow bubbles at the happy couple as they run into, get this, Brian’s mail truck. It’s decked out with flowers and a sign on the back with the words 'Just Married' printed in bold calligraphy. Also attached to the back is a trail of recycled plastic bottles transformed into these cool works of art. Fitting since Jodie is a marine biologist and an advocate for saving the environment. She’s all about saving the world.
Brian looks dashing in the driver's seat and Jodie is sitting beside him in her elegant wedding gown and it’s just so freaking cute as they drive off to the wine vineyard where the reception is being held as we all wave.
Going back inside, I search for my hubby. He wasn’t out with the rest of us seeing the couple off, which was weird. Inside, I find him chatting it up with some big boobed brunette and my hoe-dar goes off. More than once I’ve caught some chick trying to get all friendly with my hubby. I get it, he’s hot, but he’s also married and mine, and I don’t share. An annoying giggle leaves her mouth and I see red as she slides her hand down my husband’s chest. Stomping over to them, I paste a fake smile on my face as I slide my arm around him in a move that can only be taken as territorial. The brunette scowls as I give her a toothy smile.
“Hey, sweetie, this is Tonya,” Justin says, a bit uncomfortable which pricks me even more.
“Hi, how do you know my husband?” I ask, putting emphasis on my husband.
“Tonya and I were just discussing real estate,” Justin answers for her. “She’s thinking about purchasing a home and recognized my face from an ad.”
“Oh,” I say, feeling a bit silly. Did I read this all wrong? Maybe the whole encounter was innocent.
“How do you know the happy couple?” I ask a bit nicer now that I know she’s not over here trying to hit on my man.
“Brian is my cousin,” she answers dryly, like I’m supposed to know that.
“Okay well, I guess we’ll see you at the reception,” I tell her. “Come on, honey, I need to make sure everything is perfect at the venue, maid of honor remember.”
“Yeah, sure. Just give me a sec and I’ll meet you at the car,” he replies.
Reluctantly, I go. Maybe he wants to give her his business card. He always keeps a couple on him no matter where he goes, or maybe he’s scheduling a time for her to come into the office. Putting any nefarious thoughts aside, I go outside and wait in the car. Justin comes out five minutes later and we’re on our way.
Like the wedding, everything at the reception was perfect. As the maid of honor, I made sure of it. Running back and forth, I settled any problem that thought to make a mess of this perfect day. Like the flowers that wilted from the afternoon sun because the staff set them out too early, or the seating chart that somehow got misplaced. Lucky for me, I had that thing down to a tee from the numerous times I had to move someone to another table because of one situation or another. It’s crazy the kind of things people hold grudges for. It was a lot of work, but so worth it everytime I spied the happy smile on my bestie's face. She was having the time of her life and she so deserved it. Because I was so busy, I hardly had time to chat and I lost track of Justin as I filtered back and forth
between guests.
Since the event was catered by a professional catering company, I didn’t have to worry about the food. When the guests RSVP’d, they had to check off if they wanted the steak, fish, or vegetarian main course. I didn’t think there would be many vegetarians and I was surprised by the response, but apparently, Jodie was friendly with a lot of them. Showcased on the tables as centerpieces were more of the recycled bottles, these formed in more of a colorful sculptured art.
When it was time to make the toast, I stood up front with the happy couple, tapping my butter knife against my wine glass, the loud chime gathering everyone’s attention.
“If everyone would take a seat, I'd like to make a speech,” I call out in a loud clear voice. As soon as everyone is settled, I begin.
“I’ve known Jodie since the first day of high school when she first moved here from Australia. From day one, we became best friends and I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’s been my rock, always so caring, and the first one to help out any animal with a cause.”
I share two hilarious stories of Jodie’s animal rescue attempts, including how she ended up with the demon known as Goldielocks when she jumped into the bed of someone’s truck because she spied the cat sleeping on top of a couple old rags and ended up in the car wash with the cat, getting scratched all to Hell while getting an unplanned bath. The owner of the vehicle had no clue the cat was in there or who it even belonged to, so they didn’t protest when Jodie adopted the horrid thing, saying they were meant to be because they were baptized together.
As the audience laughs, my eyes drift to one of the tables toward the front. Justin is sitting there with Tonya, looking quite cozy and I know for a fact she wasn’t assigned to sit there. Ignoring them, I finish my speech and take a seat up front with the bride and groom while Harrison stands to deliver his speech. I hardly hear anything he says as my eyes refuse to leave my husband and Tonya. I don’t care how much you love your job, talking about real estate shouldn’t make you that fucking happy. I want to go up to them and ask what’s so funny, but I know it’ll be rude, nor am I trying to be the center of attention right now.
Justin and I are the purple unicorn of high school sweethearts. Like Brian and Harrison, we’ve known each other since we were in diapers as he lived on the same street as me and our moms are best friends. It was inevitable we got together and, lucky for us, it worked out. He was the star lacrosse player and I was the soccer team captain.
I think my jealousy over other girls hitting on him started once we hit high school. Like all of us, Justin went through that awkward phase when we all started growing into our bodies through puberty, but by the time we hit high school, all that awkwardness was long gone and he had grown into quite a sight to see. With dark hair, green eyes, and a toned sports body, the man was gorgeous. Because of lacrosse, he’s always been active on the field and in the gym where he built his body full of lean muscles. He’s also very charming and I swear he was born with the gift of gab.
With the way I’m talking, you’d think I was a schmuck, but I’m okay, well more than okay. Justin wouldn’t be with me if I wasn’t. I have sun kissed blonde hair and light blue eyes. Because of all the years I played soccer, my body is firm and toned. I’m not stick thin, but I’m also not overweight either, with a flat stomach and curves in all the right places.
I don’t have the gift of gab like Justin, but I’ve always liked fixing things. When we weren’t making out on the weekends, we both loved to lounge around on his parent’s sofa while watching HGTV and the DIY channel. I think that is where we first developed our passion for our careers. In college, we were not grouped in the undecided category. We both knew exactly what we were going to do and once we graduated, we went into business with each other, developing our own real estate company, Justin and Paige Realities. One year later, we were married and have been for three years now.
Loud clapping breaks me out of my reverie and I snap my attention back to the reception. Clapping too late, I watch Harrison move back to his seat and he gives me a frown, like he knows I wasn’t paying attention. Feeling bad, I concentrate on the other two speakers, two more bridesmaids, friends from Jodie’s job. When all the speeches are over we eat, but I can barely touch my food. My eyes kept straying over to Justin and Brian’s bimbo cousin, who was taking good advantage of the venue’s vineyard and the free wine.
I’m so absorbed in them, I didn’t even notice Jodie switching seats with Harrison until she speaks. “Okay, what’s with you?”
Turning my head, my cheeks flush at getting caught. “Nothing,” I lie and she gives me her ‘don’t bullshit me' look she’s perfected so well. I should have known I can’t keep anything from her. She’s my bestie and knows all of my tells, but I don’t want to burden her on her wedding day.
“It’s Justin, okay?” I huff relenting. “He’s been awfully cozy with that brunette sitting at his table.” Her blue-green gaze moves toward their table and she hums thoughtfully.
“Oh God, that’s Tonya. Brian didn’t even want to invite her, but his mom insisted. Apparently, she just got out of a really bad break up.”
“What happened?” I asked curious. Maybe I can calm down if I knew for sure she’s not going after my man.
“I believe her boyfriend left her after he caught her cheating on him with one of his business partners.” Well hell, that didn’t make me feel better at all. If anything I feel worse. Shit, I knew I should have forgone the wedding traditions and sat Justin next to me.
Laying a comforting hand on my shoulder, Jodie says, “don’t worry about it. I doubt she’ll make a move on my maid of honor’s husband at my wedding, for Christ's sake.” I smile, agreeing, but unlike Jodie, I wasn’t so sure. It’s ingrained in her to see the best in people when I only see the worst.
Stepping up to us, Brian takes his bride away and whisks her across the dance floor for the traditional bride and groom dance. I watch them both sway together as they gaze back at each other with so much love in their eyes. Were Justin and I like that? I can’t really remember. I think when we finally tied the knot it was expected because we'd been with each other for so long. He was my person and, besides Jodie, my best friend.
“Do you want to dance?” A deep voice to my right asks and my blue gaze clashes with
Harrison’s gorgeous hazel green. I open my mouth about to turn him down when I hear Tonya’s annoying giggles from here as she leans into my husband.
“Sure, why not?” I mutter through clenched teeth as I stand.
Harrison takes my hand in his and leads me out to the dance floor. Gently, he pulls me to his hard body and we sway gracefully around the dance floor. I had to give it to the man, he sure knew how to dance, and, for such a big guy, he moved elegantly on his feet. Like a gentlemen, he keeps his hands on my hips and I loop my arms around his neck, my soft body melding against the hardness of his packed with muscles, making me wonder what he did for a living.
“So what’s with you and the dude you keep looking at over at the front table?” His voice is deep and smooth at the same time and I almost fall into it until my brain processes what he just asked.
“What do you mean by what’s with us? He’s my husband,” I answer incredulously.
“He sure doesn’t act like it,” he mutters making me bristle. So it isn’t just me who noticed.
Changing the subject, I ask, “what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a contractor,” he replies and I hum thoughtfully. Small world. Contractors and flipping go hand in hand. I wonder why I never ran into him before?
He must know what I do for a living because when he sees the look on my face, he adds, “I mostly work in the Newport Beach area and Orange County.”
Ahh he deals with elite clientele which explains why we never ran into each other. It’s not like we’re small time or anything, but it’s easier to get houses at a low price, away from the higher end areas. I know Justin does do business out that way, so maybe he’s
ran into Harrison before. Thinking of him, my eyes drift to his table and I see he’s missing. So is Tonya. What the hell? Where did they go?
“Excuse me.” I stop dancing and head over to the table before turning toward the restrooms inside the venue.
I follow the hallway and when I turn the corner, I hear a moaning sound coming out of one of the rooms that is supposed to be vacant. Turning the handle, I open the door and gasp at the sight before me, wishing I can unsee what I’m looking at. Justin is holding Brian’s bimbo cousin tightly against him as they are engaged in a passionate kiss. They both turn at the noise from the doorway and when he sees me standing there, he pushes her away and runs his hand through his hair with a guilty look on his face.
“Baby, I was..”
“You were what? I didn’t think we needed business so bad for you to offer up your body like some whore,” I spit out hatefully.
“I swear it's not what it looks like,” he insists in a panicked voice and I laugh.
Besides me seeing what’s really going on with my own two eyes as I’ve already caught them in the act, his lips currently have a deep red tint to them from her lipstick, his suit jacket messy and undone, and she’s sporting one hell of a nip slip right now. There’s enough evidence here to prove they're up to exactly what I’m thinking.
“Fuck you, Justin. You two deserve each other.” I turn to storm out and he rushes forward, grabbing my arm. “Let me go,” I growl and he does.
“Baby, please, it was nothing. Just one little slip up.” Did he really just say that?