9. Josh
The first thing I noticed was the monstrous DIY she’d done to the wings. They were covered in glitter and bows and ribbons. I groaned when I saw them. That was definitely coming out of my paycheck.
“That’s great. I don’t even know how to explain that one.”
I’d been following that crazy woman around all afternoon. And I’d been undoing her mistakes behind her. The hardest part was doing it without her seeing me. But as long as she didn’t know I was there, it was easier to fix her mess. I didn’t want to argue with her.
Not all of her matches were bad. My Love-Meter Deluxe buzzed around the barista and the girl with the laptop. The buzzing stopped once Annie darted them, so I let the match stand.
I stepped inside and ordered a latte while I was there. Might as well fuel up while I tried to salvage my job. I strolled down the sidewalk with my cup in my hand, wondering where Annie had gone while I’d been distracted. She caught me off guard when she popped out of a hardware store across the street. Not wanting to spook her, I slipped into Glory Days Music, hoping she hadn’t spotted me yet. A moment later, she appeared in the window. I ducked behind a life-sized cardboard cutout display of the band KISS.
I watched her through an empty space made by the crook in Peter Criss’s elbow. She glanced around, frowned at the guy at the cash register, then turned and left.
The hardware store match was ridiculous. I could tell by then Annie was getting a little power mad. She’d matched two angry people in order to settle a customer service situation.
I shook my head. “Rookie.”
The woman was leaning on the counter with her can of paint next to her, smiling at the cashier and touching the front of his shirt. He was counting out cash for her refund and giggling at something she’d said.
Not wanting the argument to start all over again, I waited until she was on her way out the door.
She waved at him and blew him a kiss. “See you later, my darling. I just have to pick up my kids from soccer practice.”
My hand was about to vibrate off my wrist. Not a good match. Not by a long shot.
As she walked past me, I pretended to accidentally bump into her while I ran a hand down her arm. She shivered, glanced back at the cashier, then ducked her head and ran out the door.
The man behind the counter watched her go, his longing apparent on his face.
“How you doing today?” I asked.
“Fine. Fine.” He didn’t look at me.
I ran my hand down his arm. “Do you carry Christmas lights?”
He shook his head, as if to clear it. “Not at the moment. Sorry. Check back in October.”
I grinned. “Will do. Thanks.”
He nodded absently. “No problem.” He glanced at the can of paint on the counter. “Son of a bitch.”
I left him there staring at the paint can and scowling.
At the pet store, I was surprised by the perfect match she’d made. She’d had no cues other than two people attracted to the same bird, but apparently, it was enough. I let them be.
Back and forth, up and down the street, I undid her bad matches and left the good ones. She almost caught me the second time I went into the coffee house. I ordered another latte and watched Annie out the window while I waited for them to call my name. She squinted and shaded her eyes as if not certain of what she was seeing. When she bolted toward me, I turned and ran for the bathroom, snagging my latte on the way past.
I gave her a few minutes, then poked my head out in time to see her disappear across the street into the firehouse. I couldn’t follow her there. And I wouldn’t be able to go in and check if she’d made a bad match, let alone fix it if she had.
It was time to stop playing games.
I stood on the sidewalk, leaning against my car and sipping my latte while I waited for her to come out and walk toward me. Fortunately, I’d parked on the street not far from the firehouse. I was ready.
When she came out, I didn’t look at her right away. After all, she didn’t think I could see her. She’d been running around all day invisible to everyone.
“I knew it!” She stomped toward me, looking adorable even from the corner of my eye. “I knew I saw you earlier.” She marched up and waved her hands in front of my face. “How did you know I was down here? Can you feel the magic?” She frowned. “Is that it?” She sighed and folded her arms over her chest.
I took out my cellphone and checked my text messages, then skimmed through Facebook, pretending to look at cat memes.
“I’m better at this than you are, you know.” She waved her hands in front of my face again. “I’ve made some amazing matches. And I found out what’s wrong with my sister, I think.” Her expression softened. “You sure are cute. You’re an ass, but you’re cute as hell.” She snorted. “But you have no business being a Cupid. You can’t create true love matches if you don’t believe in true love.” She peered closely at me. “And you, Joshua Flynn, don’t believe. I can tell.”
I didn’t look up from my phone. “You know, I can hear you.”
She took several steps backward, gasping. “What? Why didn’t you say something? Why did you let me ramble on like that?”
I grinned at her. “You seemed to have a lot to say. I didn’t want to interrupt. Also, Josh is fine. I hate Joshua.”
Her face had lost all its color. “Can you see me, too?” She continued to step farther away from me as she spoke.
I reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Yes. And I can touch you, too.”
She tried to pull away. “Let me go. I’ll scream.”
I shrugged. “I’m the only one who can hear you.” I tugged her a few steps closer. “I’m not going to hurt you. But you can’t go running off. We have to talk. And we have to work together.”
She relaxed. “Okay.”
“Okay.” I let go of her wrist. “I can’t go inside to check without it being weird. Did you match anybody in the firehouse?”
She shook her head. “No. Almost, but I changed my mind.”
“Okay. Good. Will you trust me enough to get in my car with me? We really need to have a conversation, and we may need to go somewhere. Also, I look like an idiot standing out here talking to myself.”
She scrutinized my face for a long moment before nodding slowly. “Okay. I’ll go with you.” She bit her lower lip. “But I’m not giving you your stuff yet.”
I nodded. “That’s fine. We’ll talk about that, too.”
Without another word, she climbed into the passenger seat in my car. I cringed at all the glitter she scraped off inside. I’d have to vacuum before I returned the vehicle.
I started the car and pulled away into traffic. “So. Before we talk about the future, let’s talk about the past. Aside from what you did today on this street, why don’t you tell me about the matches you’ve made. And I’m going to need details, because I think someone may be in trouble.”