“Let me guess, and F-me heels.”
“You know that term?” He cleared his throat. “As I said, it was good for about five minutes until she opened her mouth. First, all she talked about was my Porsche. I like my car too— but, come on. Then she wanted to know what country clubs I had memberships in and where I played golf. I tried world topics, news, books— nothing. Back to how much she thought I made and what I owned. She ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and – ate only one bite, saying she was watching her weight. I could see her ribs through her dress.” He stopped. “Can I have some of that popcorn? French food never fills me up.”
“So… what exactly do you need my help for again?”
“I need to change something on the webpage but can’t figure out how. This is what I want to add.” He handed her a hand-written slip of paper.
“Looking for a liberal minded, college educated, financially independent woman who can carry on a conversation?” Cecilia shot him a look as she read out loud.
“Yes. I want that added. No more dim bulbs. She had a body by Fisher, but brains by Mattel, and was an experiment in artificial stupidity.”
“She was one taco short of a combination plate. Her intellect is rivaled only by garden tools and was proof that evolution can go in reverse.”
“Something like that.” He laughed as he gave her the login which she had to pretend she didn’t already know. He continued, “Did you hear the FBI just updated their definition of rape to include men?”
Cecilia looked up at him hovering over her. “I read that today on BBC news. They updated an eighty-three- year- old law. Good for them. Victims can be men or women; they are still victims of a sexual crime.”
“You would make a good lawyer.”
“No thanks, that’s your gig. Hope this addition brings you only perfect dates for the nights ahead.”
Chapter 4
Unfortunately, three nights later, date two wasn’t a whole lot better. Stella had a lot more brains, but not a better attitude. She was blond and beautiful. It should have been enough, but when she told him she’d blown off her mother’s seventieth birthday party for their date, he was shocked.
“My sisters will take care of her. Do I look like someone who wants to watch an old lady eat a chain-baked, Crisco-frosted cake? Puleeze.”
Under the table, before they’d even finished the main course, Stella ran her bare foot up his leg and wedged it against his crotch. He’d nearly choked on his Manicotti.
She batted long fake lashes and purred, “I want to have sex with you. Right now. In the bathroom.”
Talk about being man handled. Now that it was on the books, he should file charges. Weren’t BOTH parties supposed to be up for the game? A minute ago they were talking about bridge tolls, then bam, foot on junk. Where did that come from?
When he said ‘no’ to her offer, she told him no one ever turned her down for sex, and left him sitting at the table.
Thank God!
Lee paid the bill and was leaving the restaurant when he got the text from his sister. He went back in the restaurant to place an order to-go and knew what he would be doing for the rest of the evening
#
Lee stood outside CC’s house and dialed her cell phone. It rang three times until a muffled voice answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Lee.”
“I’m sick, Lee.”
“I know. I got a text from Tami.”
“Got that flu going around.”
“I am actually standing on your front porch. I wanted to know if you still have that spare key under the frog in the planter box. I’m warning you I’m coming in so you won’t clock me with the bat.”
“I don’t want you to get sick.”
“I got a flu shot and I have the antibodies of a Roman Army.”
“It’s under the frog.”
He set the shopping bag down and fished out the key. When he opened the door, the room was dark. “Are you in this dungeon, somewhere?”
“Here, on the couch,” she croaked out.
He turned on a lamp. CC was huddled under a blanket with her knees pulled up. Her nose was red and her eyes were puffy. Lee sat down next to her and placed a hand on her forehead. “You have a fever.”
“Fever, then chills, then things I am so not going to discuss with you.” She frowned. “Here to tell me about another date with a beautiful blond? Could I look any worse?”
“You look… great.” That was the truth. She was always beautiful and didn’t need makeup slopped on to achieve it. Even with a cold, her dark eyes mesmerized him. He reached into the bag and pulled out a carton.
“A-1 Teriyaki?” she asked.
“Not for a cold, silly woman. Soup.” He opened the lid and stuck in the plastic spoon. Lee lifted it to her mouth. She opened and took the offered bite.
“You brought this for me?”
“Don’t see anyone else here in need of soup therapy.”
After a few more bites she asked, “So what was wrong with this one?”
Lee left out the roving toes and said a vague, “She wasn’t my type.”
“Want me to change the profile again?”
“Yeah. This time I’m adding, My family and friends are incredibly important to me, as is a woman who can make me feel a part of her life and join in theirs.”
She grinned. “That’s good. Did you think that up on your own?”
“If I can write it on paper, I can wax poetic. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
“You didn’t write that, Shakespeare did.”
“He was the lucky chap. He wrote all day on paper instead of screens.”
“Well, it’s good you are looking with your mind and not your eyes. I look like crap.”
He fed her another spoonful of soup. “You cannot make an objective assessment of your appearance. You do not see yourself as I do. By the way, I came up with that.”
###
Cecilia knew she was in trouble after the third bite of soup. She was losing her objective of finding - another woman for Lee. -She wanted - to keep him for herself. Why was he adding all this charming talk? Shakespeare, her favorite none-the-less. What happened to getting him out of her life once and for all?
But, it was so nice. And she was sick. And he was taking care of her. “What else do you have in that bag?”
“Your favorite movie, The Fisher King.”
“No way.”
Lee put the DVD in the player. He stretched out his arm for her to snuggle against him and kicked off his shoes.
“You’re shivering,” he said, concerned. “Can I get you anything? Water? Aspirin?”
You? She almost blurted out. Self- conscious, she touched her face.
“See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek.”
“Stop.”.
Couldn’t he quote something from a Shakespeare death scene instead of love soliloquies? Didn’t he know with that honey silk deep voice he was melting her into the cushions? Cecilia laid her head on his chest. He was warm like a big blanket and smelled spicy and male. When he wrapped his arms around her, she could feel his heart beating.
She was in so much trouble.
Chapter 5
Lee lay awake most of the night. When a garbage truck clattered by, he dragged himself out of bed and made a pot of coffee. He tried to read the paper, but his mind was elsewhere. He folded it and threw it in the wastebasket on the floor.
He sat up and briskly rubbed his face. It was the day before Valentine’s Day and truth be told, even guys were drawn in by the idea of having someone special to spend the day with. That had to be why he couldn’t sto
p thinking about Cecilia. She had been a part of his life for years, so what had changed to make him feel like this?
What would she say if he asked her on a real date? She was one of his best friends, could she ever think of him in a different light? A man who struggled with feelings surfacing of her as his lover?
But, Cecilia wasn’t his type. She wasn’t blond and petite … and ditsy … and only interested in his money … or his body … and she could carry on a conversation about … everything.
When he logged in to the website last night there were twenty-five blinking hearts. All blonds. Why suddenly, did none of them seem appealing? He wanted a woman with brown hair and dark eyes. Eyes that danced and laughed without words.
Things were going too fast. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, and he would give Cupid’s Okay one last try.
##
When the phone rang, Cecilia knew it was Lee without even checking Caller ID.
“Thought you were going on another date?” She tried to make her voice light, but every time, with every date, it grew more complicated. Good or bad dates, she didn’t want him seeing other women and hated this possessiveness she felt.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Must have been a short term bug or the miracle soup you brought over. I feel great. I’ve been out for a jog already this morning.”
“I have my truck packed with hiking and snow gear. I know you are recuperating from being sick, but I thought maybe we could go up to Paradise Lodge for a short hike and a late lunch.”
“It’s Valentine’s Day. Aren’t you supposed to be with your one true love?”
“I’ll be at your place in an hour. Bundle up. I don’t want you to get sick again.”
Cecilia stared at the phone when he hung up. She hadn’t said yes, had she?
Lee was on her doorstep in exactly one hour. He wore a black ski jacket and his head was covered in a hand knit, two-tone hat with ear flaps that his mother made for him.
She crossed her arms. “You had another date today. What happened this time?”
“Didn’t work out. I told her we were going mountain hiking. When I showed up dressed like this, she was in some sexy black get-up. How did mountain hiking end up being - misconstrued as sexual innuendo?” He blew out a breath. “Why do women think just because I have money all I want to do is hang out at clubs, golf, and have sex?”
“You don’t?”
He stopped and grinned, a wicked grin. “Well, one out of three. Come on. By the time we get up there we’ll have only a few hours of light. We have to make it fast.”
Cecilia licked her lips and batted her eyes. “But, I like it slow…”
“Knock it off.” He chuckled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. “Come on.”
For February, it was unseasonably warm. When Cecilia and Lee reached the end of the trail, the view took her breath away. The evergreens were far below with the dusted mountain peaks poking through in the distance.
Cecilia wiggled off her white tasseled hat and striped multi-color knit gloves. “Wow, what a day. It’s perfect. You, Tami, and I have been here before, but not when there’s snow. It’s amazing.”
Lee shrugged off his backpack and dropped it to the ground. He fished out a bottle of champagne, popped the cork, and poured it into two paper cups.
“Only the finest china. Let’s toast to Valentine’s Day.” He bumped his cup with hers. After they drank, he took their cups and set them on a rock.
“I hate Valentine’s Day,” she muttered.
“I have something for you.” He pulled out a palm-sized Styrofoam red heart and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
There were two pieces of paper safety-pinned to the top of the heart.
“This is what I’m changing my profile to”. He took the piece of paper and read. “What I am looking for in a woman: You are independent and smart. I can be myself around you without feeling judged. I work long hours--but so do you. We can always find time to be together. I only have eyes for you; you only have eyes for me. We communicate this verbally, physically and -sensually. Warm and comforting cuddling can be just as good between us as making love. Fights are rare and when we do, we don’t stop talking until we’ve reached some sort of peace. I hope, unparalleled friendship will grant us the foundation for a lasting long-term relationship. We’re already best friends, and I would never want to jeopardize that, so we can take it easy if you want. If you are willing to take a chance this Valentine’s Day, take it with me.”
Cecilia stared at him and knew her mouth gaped open.
He took a step until he was close and tipped her mouth closed with his finger. “I don’t know what I thought all these years. I was looking for something— someone, who was right in front of me.” Lee touched her cheek, letting his fingers stroke through her hair and bent his forehead to hers. “Say something CC. Say yes, no, or go to Hell. What are you thinking?”
Her heart thundered in her chest as she looked up into his crystal blue eyes. “I’m thinking I want you to kiss me.”
He smiled. “Funny— I was thinking the exact same thing.”
His gaze moved over her face as if was seeing her for the first time, and then drifted to her mouth. Something sparked between them. He pulled her close and kissed her.
Cecilia felt touched, held and embraced by nothing more than his lips. His mouth was warm and intoxicating. The kiss took everything she would allow, and then a little more.
“CC…” he whispered the nickname he’d always called her. Now it sounded sexy, heated, and desperate. She loved it.
She wound her hands around the back of his neck and kissed him again. She softened it, shaping the contours of her mouth to his. His fingers tightened on her waist as he fitted her flush against his hard body. When they finally broke apart, she saw his breath was as unsteady as hers.
“I had no idea you liked me. Why didn’t you say something?” she asked.
“What about you? Before I kissed you, had you ever thought of me…romantically?”
“For longer than I care to admit.”
“Really? Then why did you fill out the profile for me on the dating service?” He paused, looking confused. “You did do it didn’t you? I wasn’t hacked?”
“I thought if you found someone else, I could forget about you.”
“Do you want to forget about me?” he asked. “Because, I want you as mine, and I’m not sure I can ever forget you.”
At that moment Lee was so impossibly handsome her words stuck in her throat. He radiated masculine energy that made her body hum. She couldn’t believe that with a few words, after all this time, he was offering to be hers.
“I want you as mine,” she confessed.
He held her like the most precious thing on earth and pressed his mouth against hers again. Slow and sweet, he deepened the kiss until her knees threatened to buckle.
“Sometimes, I set goals right in front of my nose that make me not see the obvious.”
“Were those goals blond and five-foot two?”
“I have a new goal. Five-nine brunette-. Know anyone who might be available?”
“I think I might.”
“ I’m only interested in one. The other note pinned on the heart is my withdrawal from the dating service. I filled it out myself— online— without your help.” He chuckled softly.
Cecilia kissed him lightly as they lifted their champagne-filled paper cups. “I guess Cupid is okay after all. This has been quite a Valentine surprise. But I can live with years of surprises!”
Cupcakes and Cupids
Jennifer Conner
Cupcakes and Cupids
Copyright 2011
By Books to Go Now
For information on the cove
r illustration and design, contact [email protected]
First eBook Edition –February 2011
Printed in the United States of America
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without momentary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
If you are interested in purchasing more works of this nature, please stop by
www.bookstogonow.com
Shot in the Dark
The Mobile Mistletoe Series
Love Comes for Halloween Love Comes for Saint Patrick’s Day & Love Comes for Valentine’s Day & Love comes for the 4th of July
Book 1:The Duke and the Lost Night Book 2:The Reluctant Heir Book 3 The Wounded Nobleman
Book 4: Redemption for a Rogue
Please look for Jennifer’s other short stories
Brewing up Some Love
Valentine Surprise
Cupcakes and Cupids
The Light of Christmas
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Valentine Collection (Valentine Anthology) Page 2