It's all Cupid's fault (The Holidaze Book 2)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6
“Wait a moment, don't leave,” Devinah raised a hand.
“How do you know my name?” Mia hissed as she took another step backwards.
“I didn't. It was a guess. The only person I can imagine who wants to see Cupid is the one human he can't find the right match for. Her name is Caramia Hayworth. All I did was  connect the dots,” Devinah quickly explained.
“How do you know any of that?” Mia exclaimed.
Devinah's perfectly shaped eyebrows drew together. She tilted her head to the side and then clicked her fingers. Mia leapt away at the sudden noise, but Devinah waved her closer.
“You sent your letters the old way and I really have to thank you for that. It got his lazy butt out of that recliner,” Devinah said with a grin.
“The old way? What does that mean?”
“You wrote your letters and then burnt them.”
“I burnt them so that nobody would ever see them,” Mia clutched a hand to her chest in shock.
“Which means they arrive here intact, but a little charred,” Devinah fished around on her desk and came up with a few sheets of singed paper. “Do these look familiar?”
Devinah handed over the sheets and a screech escaped Mia in the next breath. Mia's face turned a deep red and her feet twitched beneath her as she grasped the papers. These were the exact papers she had burned. Why did she do something so stupid?
“What's with all the noise, Devinah?” Cupid snapped as he poked his head into the room.
“We have a visitor,” Devinah smirked at the God of Love.
Mia didn't hear Devinah speak when all she could focus on was the deeply spoken words she'd heard. Turning her head, Mia saw male perfection framed within the doorway.
With a gaping mouth, Mia could only stare at this apparition. Golden hair flowed in waves as if a gentle breeze moved its every strand with loving affection. Lightly tanned skin covered a face that Mia could only describe as gorgeous. That perfect jawline, dimples in both cheeks and even a tiny cleft in the middle of his chin, left her enthralled.
Blue eyes as piercing as the ocean on a sunny day hadn't even noticed Mia's presence. Her eyes darted over his body and Mia stared in apt appreciation. Nobody could ever look as good as this man, he wiped the floor with the rest of the male population.
“You! How did you get to the Holidaze?” Cupid demanded when he finally saw that Devinah wasn't alone.
Those blue eyes now threatened to slice through her with their frostiness, but even that couldn't drag Mia from her sensual haze. All she saw was the dreamy face and body before her that left her mesmerised.
“Who are you, mysterious stranger?” Mia asked as she fluttered her eyelashes and winked at him.
“That's Cupid,” Devinah replied with a cheeky smirk.
Mia's breath gushed out of her in a choking exhalation. She clutched at her chest for a moment and stared at her nemesis. No wonder he looked so handsome, Cupid was a God, not a very good one, but still a God.
He'd not only stolen her breath but he'd also stolen her chance to aim her frosty ‘to hell with you’ look at him. In an instant Mia's fury flew to life. It only just managed to overcome the need to swoon at this man's feet.
“I should've known that Cupid would be as idiotic looking as you!” Mia's spite came from her mortification at how she had acted only moments before when she gushed over him. It didn't pack the punch she wanted and that grated on her.
“Answer my question, human, how did you get into the Holidaze?” Cupid demanded again as his handsome face screwed into an ugly expression, that was still too darn cute for Mia to even glimpse at and stay sane.
“Meri, from the joyful Christmas side of things, is my best friend. I come to visit her when I need cheering up about the horrible men who you keep throwing my way!” Mia said as she glowered at Cupid.
“Stop being so fussy!” Cupid growled as he narrowed his eyes on her.
“I'm not fussy. I take everyone as who they are. You just keep sending me guys who are insecure, cheaters, obsessed with their mother or just no good people!” Mia shouted.
“What about Dell? There wasn't anything wrong with him. He impressed you in the physical form but you ditched him.”
Mia's argument dropped away at such an unexpected statement. She stared at Cupid and something familiar tingled at the back of her mind. It took her a moment to recognise Cupid as the man who had been at the wedding in the robes. The one who had disappeared after trying to point out Dell’s best qualities.
With a frown, she realised that she had often noticed his white robed figure in the shadows watching her. He had been around every date she'd first gone on recently but somehow he had slipped her mind, until now.
She hadn't fully realised until the man stood in front of her that he had watched all of her date disasters. A wild breath huffed out of her and the earlier fury grew to an all encompassing rage that she wasn't sure she could control.
“You were there! You were there every single time! Did you get a good laugh out of the losers you set me up with? If I wasn't humiliated before, I am now. Damn it all to hell!” Mia screamed as her face flushed bright red.
“Your stupid letters made me have to go to you. Sending them the old way means I have to get involved. You called me, so don't try to put that blame on my head,” Cupid snapped in reply.
“This is my fault, mine? How could this be my fault?” Mia stared at him incredulously.
“Time to back away now,” Devinah stepped between Cupid and Mia while pressing a hand against each of their chests.
“I'm not done here!” Mia growled.
“Let's get back to you being Meri's friend,” Devinah insisted.
“What's that got to do with anything?”
“A lot, actually. We don't invite human beings into the Holidaze, it's not done.”
“Talk to the Elf Time Visions people then, because they're the ones who brought everyone in for the stupid show that almost destroyed Meri's life,” Mia quickly defended her friend.
“Whose idea was that?” Devinah mused.
“Santa wanted to find Sander a wife,” Mia answered with a shrug.
“They mentioned none of this at the last meeting,” Cupid added.
“How can you not know? I've been coming here ever since Meri and Sander did that key to your heart ceremony thing. Meri's parents come here too,” Mia chose to ignore Cupid and answer only Devinah.
“That complicates matters,” Cupid said with a frown.
“Nothing's as complicated as you could ever think. I just want a man to spend my life with and you keep stuffing it up. I needed to come here to get through to you that I'm over the crappy men you keep sending my way. Find me the right guy, it can't be that hard. There's so many other couples who are perfectly happy together, so find the right one for me,” Mia demanded.
Cupid sighed and stared at the woman in front of him. Why was this woman becoming the most difficult human he'd ever dealt with? Why did she, of all humans, have access to his world?
“You have too many choices, and that's why I've picked the wrong ones for you,” Cupid admitted before clamping his jaw closed.
“Shouldn't there be only one choice?” Mia asked.
“Not for you. Apparently you're so unique that you have a ninety five percent compatibility to ninety five percent of the male humans. It's ridiculous! How do you expect me to pick just one out of the multitude of matches in your world?” Cupid replied with a snarl.
“How about you pick a sane one with not too many issues,” Mia answered dryly.
“I think I understand why none of them want to be anywhere near you, because you're damn irritating.”
“I'm irritating? Have you ever once looked in the mirror? You're supposed to be the God of Love and you can't even find love for a specific person, me,” Mia started to shout again.
“I cannot deal with such an ungrateful human when I've given you plenty of opportunities to find this elusive man who you want to spend your life and love with. You just haven't taken advantage of any of these valuable opportunities,” Cupid replied with a snarl.
“I've tried with every horrible man you've sent my way. It's not my fault that you're incapable of doing a good job,” Mia argued.
“I've had enough of this nonsense!” Cupid declared as Mia pushed into his space with her attitude and far too appealing aroma.
“Then fix it already,” Mia snapped.
“That's exactly what I'm going to do.”
Cupid smiled and Mia's fighting words dropped away from her. This man could stun with one tiny look and that annoyed her as much as it enamoured her to him. He pressed his finger against her forehead, muttered something and before Mia could flick him away, she vanished in a sudden gust of wind.
“What did you do?” Devinah demanded into the silence between her and Cupid.
“She shouldn't have been here, so I just sent her home,” Cupid replied with a smug smile.
“Did you send her home with a magical suction? What about her friend Meri in Santa's Village? They're going to miss her returning,” Devinah argued.
“I'm heading there now to deal with the matter.”
Cupid took a step and a booming reverberated around him. A giant hand reached in and lifted Cupid into the air. Cupid made not a peep, but his heart thundered with dread. He knew exactly who this was. One of the Higher Gods were the last people he wanted to deal with right now.
“Cupid, God of Love and desire,” the righteous voice spoke and Cupid gulped.
“Yes, Lord, it is I,” Cupid tried to sound confident.
“You have done much wrong. We are most upset with you.”
“Is this to do with Caramia Hayworth?” Cupid tried to say her name without too much spite.
“Why have you not aided her? She has even come here to your realm and yet you still refuse to aid her. Why?”
Cupid couldn't answer. He tried to look away to gather his wits and courage but with no success. There was no way he could remove his gaze from the wise, ancient face when his features froze into position. Sometimes the Higher God’s insistence overwhelmed him.
“I can now see through to the very heart of this issue. It is not as we expected. Hmmm…” the God trailed off thoughtfully and Cupid still said nothing. “You must take your trusty tools with you and you must approach her.”
“The Match-a-Matic?” Cupid dared to stammer the words.
“No! You must take the tools that we the Gods supplied you with,” the voice resounded through Cupid's skull and his head throbbed.
“My bow and arrows,” Cupid sighed.
“Yes. You will find the right man for this woman, but I must warn you that you will find many moments quite frustrating. Even though you have sent her away, she shall recall you, so show your face to her with no fear.”
“She's been here in the Holidaze and that's not allowed,” Cupid stated.
The God grinned so brightly that it unsettled Cupid to see such an unusual sight. Never in his existence had he seen one of the Gods smile and that could only mean trouble for him.
“There is a lot allowed that you know nothing of,” the God said as he patted Cupid's cheek. “Now go and do what is required of you.”
The Higher God disappeared leaving a confused and annoyed Cupid behind. What did the Higher God mean? Knowing he had to face this Caramia woman bothered him greatly, but Cupid decided to ignore her stupid pleas for a while.
Caramia Hayworth could learn the meaning of single life for a time. Cupid wanted to finish the tricky level of one of his many video games. That was far more important than the constant whining of that woman. It would serve her right that she had to wait.