Cupid's Incorporated {Completed}

Cupid's Incorporated - Chapter Six

By the time my mother came home that night, I was half-asleep.

The only thing that woke me and alerted me to her presence was the sound of her heels clicking on the ground as she moved about the house.

I bolted upright so fast I almost fell of the couch and my head swum dizzyingly. After I had gained back my equilibrium, I glanced at the clock. 10:30.

Four hours. She had been gone for four hours.

I walked out of the living area and into the kitchen, where I could hear her moving around. She looked up from where she was pouring herself a glass of water and gave me a warm smile. “Hey, sweetie.”

“How was the date?” I asked, skipping the pretense. I was dying to know.

She sighed dreamily and slid into the breakfast stool. “Absolutely amazing. Henry is just gorgeous! He was such a gentleman. He took me to this expensive French restaurant and ordered the most expensive champagne there. Then we had dinner and we talked about everything from work to hobbies. He is so funny! Then we just went for a walk around town, talking. He brought me an ice-cream. It was almost like we were kids again, Mia! He made me feel young again. I’m so happy!”

I tried to be happy for her, I really did, but with every word she uttered, my stomach dropped a little more. I wished I could be excited for her, wished that I wasn’t faking the smile that I offered her, but I just couldn’t.

As she prattled on and on and on about his jokes and how amazing he was, and all the things they talked about, all I could think about was making sure he never hurt her.

I felt like a terrible daughter for plotting to do this. But I knew that either I let her go on this way—let her slowly but surely fall in love with Henry Williams—with the knowledge that he would only hurt her and break her heart.

Or I could be the one to hurt her, by plotting with Ashton to destroy their blossoming relationship. It would stop her heart from breaking, and I couldn’t let him walk all over her as Ashton claimed he would.

Surely I was doing the right thing for her! I only wanted the best for her.

This was the best thing to do… right?

~       *       ~

That night, after I had said goodnight to my mother and she had retired to her bedroom, I went back to mine. I brushed my teeth and dressed into a pair of comfy pajamas, preparing for bed. I was about to turn all of the lights off when a familiar ringtone began to sound and my phone began to ring.

I hurried over to it, praying it wouldn’t wake or disturb my mother, and checked the Caller ID. It was from Ashton.

Today after we had talked on the beach, we had decided to exchange phone numbers so that if we needed to talk to each other, we could.

I sighed and pressed the START CALL button, before bringing it to my ear.“Hello?”

“What did your mom say?” he asked breathlessly, skipping the pleasantries.

I sat down on the end of the bed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “She loved it. She had an amazing time and she wants to go out again. What about you? What did your dad say?”

I kept my fingers crossed as I hoped and prayed he had hated it. That my mother had said or done something that turned Mr. Williams completely off her. But my mother was an elegant woman, and I should’ve known better.

His voice sounded beyond disappointed as he said, “My dad thinks he’s falling in love with her. He thinks she’s ‘The One.’ He’s planning on calling her tomorrow to plan a date for Friday night.”