by Hart, Allysa
And I was there with Kimmy.
Fabulous. Now I feel like an even bigger loser.
“Kimmy,” I hissed, as the host led us to our seats. “This was a bad idea. Let’s just go.”
“Nonsense. We’re not going anywhere. You were going to have to leave the house sometime, and today is as good a day as any. Sit your ass down.”
She had her serious “mom” face on, and after two weeks hiding out in her house, I knew that that look meant you did not want to mess with her.
I sat.
But I’m not happy about it.
“It’s going to take forever to get our food,” I complained, still holding out hope that I could convince her to leave.
She pointedly ignored me. I picked up a menu, and sat in silence, reading each option as slowly as possible, even though I had been here a thousand times and probably knew every dish on the menu by heart.
The sappy love music stopped abruptly, and it was quickly replaced with an old alternative rock song from the 90’s, at a much louder volume.
Confused, I looked up. Nobody else had even flinched. They continued reading their menus or staring at their table companions with googly-eyes.
Weird.
When the singing began, I watched as slowly one by one, couples began to stand.
Oh, god.
My semi-peaceful lunch was about to turn into some weird over-the top flash-mob scene, to be recorded for posterity and blasted all over social media for months to come. It would probably end in some sappy proposal.
Get me out of here.
I looked over my menu at Kimmy, and she shrugged. Apparently she was not in on the happenings.
She was the only one.
One by one, every single couple in the restaurant stood. Some sang along, and some just mouthed the words. It was like a train wreck that I couldn’t stop watching.
The song was a weird one. It had always been a favorite of mine, but it wasn’t inherently a love song, and it certainly wasn’t the type of song you would expect to hear in a Valentine's Day flash mob.
I slowly looked around the room to see who wasn’t participating. That would usually tell you who the recipient would be. Everyone was standing.
Everyone except us.
Maybe one of the workers was the one getting serenaded? I looked around at the waitstaff. I knew them all and everyone over the age of eighteen was married.
What in the hell was going on?
I couldn’t make sense of it.
The couple at the furthest table from us picked up a rose from the vase in the middle of the table and started dancing around the restaurant. They stopped when they got to us, and held out the rose in front of me.
What the hell?
I barely had time to question when it happened five more times, and in seconds I was holding a half a dozen roses, with a dozen more couples still dancing toward me.
My heart was beating fast, and tears were welling in the corner of my eyes. They weren’t the happy emotional tears you usually see in these kinds of videos, though. I was confused and pissed as hell.
Eighteen more couples. Eighteen more roses.
The weirdest romantic song ever, and I still had no idea what was going on.
And then I saw him.
Walking toward me. Looking HOT.
“Shit! Kimmy! It’s Eros! He’s here! You promised me we wouldn’t see him.”
“I lied.” Kimmy smiled.
I panicked and ducked under the table, roses and all.
Eros
Most men would have given up when the recipient of their big romantic gesture ducked under a table to hide from them.
I was not most men. Hell, up until two hours ago, I had been a god.
The mortal thing was still sinking in.
When she hid, the shift in the energy was tangible. The dancers faltered, and the wait staff gasped. Some people froze, like they weren’t sure what to do.
I kept dancing, right up to her table. When I got there, I plucked the rose from the vase in the center of the table, bent at the waist, and held out my hand.
“Rebekah.”
I stared at her and waited. She looked stunningly beautiful, and I could cry just looking at her. Two weeks had been far too long to go without here in my life, and it was something I never intended to do again.
I just need her to take my hand.
Emotions flickered on her face while I waited. Confusion, and fear, embarrassment, and anger.
I stood there so long, waiting that I feared the song would end, and I’d still be standing there, empty-handed and alone.
Just when I was seriously contemplating giving up, she took my hand. I pulled her out from under the table, grabbed her purse, and ran with her out of the cafe, our dancing friends following behind us.
The sappy dance continued down main street, the music blasting on a boombox somebody was carrying.
As we got closer to the spot where her shop had been, my breath hitched in my throat. My chest hurt, and I felt sick to my stomach, like I was going to throw up.
Nerves.
Well, I am fully human now. And all that goes with that is mine to enjoy.
We turned the corner, and I smiled through the nausea.
The song was coming to a close. I grabbed her and turned her, pulling her close, and making sure she was fully turned away from her building and facing mine.
She frowned, rolling her eyes at me. “That’s a really weird song for a flash mob, Eros.”
“I know.”
“I’m not really sure what you're trying to say.”
“Maybe this will help you figure it out.”
I turned her towards Cupid’s Matchmaking Service, or rather, the building where it had once been.
She gasped when she saw the empty building.
“Eros! Where is your shop? What is going on? You matched everybody didn’t you? There’s no business left for either of us. Are you leaving?”
Her face fell, and that gave me the glimmer of hope I needed to continue with my plan.
Without a word, I turned her to face the opposite direction.
Her shop, the one she had closed down two weeks ago, boasted a fresh coat of paint, and a brand new name.
Cupid Daddy and Little Lover’s Matchmaking.
“Cupid Daddy!” she sputtered, laughing angrily, and turning to face me. “Cupid Daddy? Don’t you think that’s taking things a little too far? Geez Eros, can your head get any bigger? And really? You did all this just to bring me down here to show me your new business? In my spot? What is wrong with you?”
Well, shit. This isn’t going as planned.
“Take a deep breath, and read the sign again.”
She read it again, out loud, mumbling under her breath, faltering a little when it sank in.
She turned to me, with her eyes full of questions.
“What’s going on, Eros?”
The nerves returned, as I dropped to one knee in the middle of the crowd of people.
“Two weeks ago I told you I loved you, and you said you felt the same. Then you disappeared without a word. When I found out why, I couldn’t breathe. I hated not seeing you every day. I hated knowing that I had taken away something that meant so much to you.Bekah, I never wanted this to happen. I never dreamed that it would. I love making matches, don’t get me wrong, it’s literally all I have ever known, but this shop, and running it, and being here...it was always about you. It was always for you. All for you,” I finished, naming the title of the song that was playing in the background.
“Running me out of business? You did that for me? Oh geez. How romantic. You’re just a regular casanova, aren’t you?”
Sarcasm was her favorite defense mechanism. I ignored it, and continued.
“Be my partner, Bekah, my partner in business, and my partner in life. I bought the shop, and I want to run it with you, but it’s your name on the deed, and if you don’t feel the same way, you can keep the building and walk a
way, knowing you’ll never lose it again. We are both good matchmakers, Bekah, great actually, and together we would be unstoppable. What do you say, will you be my business partner?” I pulled some folded papers out of my jacket pocket and handed them to her. “All you have to do is sign this partnership agreement and we are business partners, 51/49 and you are the managing partner. What do you say?”
Still on my knees, I held out a pen to her, praying she took it.
She frowned. I could see the emotions at war inside her, plain as day on her face.
“Say the word, and I will get up and walk away, and it will all be yours,” I reminded her.
“Oh, give me the pen!”
Kimmy ran forward with a clipboard, and Bekah used it behind the stapled packet as she signed.
Her face was solemn as she handed the signed forms back to me. “Yes, Eros. I will be your business partner. Although, we might have to have a little talk about the new name.”
“Noted.”
I tucked the papers back where they had come from and grabbed a second object from the same pocket, staying in position on one knee.
Drawing a deep and steadying breath, I held the ring out in front of me. It looked exactly like the one she had once thrown at me, but this one was real.
“And in life? Bekah, will you be my partner in life?”
The crowd around us went silent as they waited for her answer. Everyone was on pins and needles, but no one as much as me.
Bekah gasped, a sharp intake of breath. Her hands flew to her mouth, and tears sprang to her eyes.
“Oooh boy.” She blew out her breath in a short shaky huff. My stomach sank.
Did I jump the gun? Is it too soon?
Just when I was thinking about getting up, and walking away with my proverbial tail between my legs, she smiled, and nodded. She squealed and bounced, jumping up and down.
“Yes, Eros. Yes. I will marry you. I can’t wait to be your partner in business, and in life.”
I stood on shaky legs, slipped the ring onto her finger, and pulled her into my arms.
“At least we know it will always be interesting,” I whispered right before I kissed her.
Someone pushed a button, and “All for You” started to play again.
The crowd danced around us, but the only thing I was interested in was Bekah’s lips on mine, the smile on her face, and the ring on her finger.
As the crowd began to dissipate, and we finally came up for air, I searched out and found the two smiling gods huddled together on the outskirts of the group of dancers.
“See!” I shouted over the din. “I told you I wouldn’t need a year!”
Afterword
Did you enjoy Cupid Daddy? Don’t miss the first four books in the Fantastical Daddy Dom series!
Check out Genie Daddy!
Genie Daddy (Fantastical Daddy Doms Book 1)
I lost everything, was shipped off to live with an aunt I barely knew, and was put to work cleaning her dilapidated antique shop.
And then, I met Callum.
Or should I say I released him?
I was a socialite with a strong sense of entitlement and a lot of anger.
He was a Dominant genie with a hard body and an even harder hand.
It could never work.
Could it?
Check out Ogre Daddy!
Ogre Daddy (Fantastical Daddy Doms Book 2)
The princess was destined to be mine. She just didn't know it yet.
Sparks fly, skirts go up and panties come down. My stubborn princess will learn that her Ogre Daddy is determined to turn our nightmare into the ultimate happily ever after.
Check out Santa Daddy!
Santa Daddy (Fantastical Daddy Doms Book 3)
My most important job as Santa is to rid the world of non-believers of all ages. But first, I have to make one of them my wife.
Crystal spent her entire life avoiding Christmas, and I have only two weeks to convince her otherwise. She is stubborn, but I am determined.
She will learn the magic of Christmas either on Santa’s lap, or over it.
The fate of Christmas depends on it.
Check out Robot Daddy!
Robot Daddy (Fantastical Daddy Doms Book 4)
Robo-Rob. The perfect boyfriend. Guaranteed to wow judgmental parents, spoiled little sisters, and pesky ex-boyfriends.
What do you do when your little sister is marrying your ex and you need a date for the engagement party? Well, I don't know what you'd do, but I got wine drunk and built a boyfriend in the robotics lab where I work. Enter a six foot hunk of metal and silicone who randomly quotes obscure movies, turns me to mush with his smile and has a maaaajor daddy complex...
What could possibly go wrong?
Meet Rayanna Jamison
Writing has been a passion of mine since I was 9 years old, and I always dreamed of becoming an author, but life happens and sometimes that first step seems like a giant leap. I credit a life changing move from Oregon to Utah in the fall of 2013 as the catalyst that began my writing career.
I now reside in Southern Utah with my husband, my two children, two dogs, my mother, my 92 year old grandfather and a lizard named Leo.
I write what I love to read, which is fun romantic stories about submission in its many forms, and often joke that my stories get slightly dirtier with each one I write. When I am not writing, I enjoy my passions, which include cooking, drinking good coffee and good wine, shopping for crazy knee socks, celebrating with sushi for every occasion, and most of all spending time with my friends and family.
Stalk Me Links
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Also By Rayanna Jamison
Love Multiplied Series
Green Valley Brides
Luke’s First Bride
Luke’s Rogue Bride
Corbins Bend
A Perfect Partnership- Corbin’s Bend Season 2
Ginger Up- Corbins’s Bend Season 3
A Holiday Ruse- Corbin’s Bend Season 4
Vegas Nights Series
Collared
Claimed
Second Chance Ranch Series
Winterland Daddies
Spring Fever Daddies
Fantastical Daddy Doms
Ogre Daddy
Santa Daddy
Robot Daddy
Other Books by Rayanna Jamison
Catching Her Cowboy Daddy
Cole for Christmas
Santa Sir
Collections
Sweet Town Love (with various authors)
12 Naughty Days of Christmas (with various authors)
12 Naughty Days: A Holiday Collection (with various authors)
A Spanking Good New Year (with various authors)
Masters of The Castle: Witness Protection Program (with various authors)
Other Uses for a Wooden Spoon: A Corbin’s Bend Cookbook
Meet Allysa Hart and AllyCat’s Creations!
I am a full-time mom to two sassy, strong-willed, loveable little girls. What can I say? They take after their mama. I’m on the wrong side of thirty, I have been married to my best friend for over ten years and I can’t imagine doing life with anyone else by my side. We are Southern California transplants, currently residing in a very rural part of the East Coast. I have two crazy dogs that I adore, even though they drive me out of my ever-loving mind most days.
Writing and graphic design consume all of my spare time, and I could not be happier. This journey I am on is a crazy one, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
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Also by Allysa Hart
A Rose in Bloom
Santa’s Little Helpers
Adopting Katie
Katie’s New Daddy
Genie Daddy
Ogre Daddy
Santa Daddy
Robot Daddy
Masters of the Castle: Witness Protection Program
Paris Heat