Last night was painful. I wanted to go find Lewis more than once. Even after the power came back on and I could have just started my article and busied my mind with work, I didn’t want to do it.
I wanted to feel Lewis’s body under mine and kiss him until he couldn’t even think about work, let alone get up and do it.
So I’d taken a shower and gone to bed, succumbing to dreams about him and his tight body.
As the morning light streamed through my window in my cozy suite, I still couldn’t think about anything but Lewis.
I sat up with a start and shoved a hand through my hair. Fuck. No, this couldn’t be happening. I didn’t fall for people like this. It was a rule—especially since Court. And I definitely didn’t get completely consumed by them.
Standing, I lingered in the middle of the room, debating on what to do. It would probably be best if I buried myself in work. But then I’d sit down and all I’d be able to think about was Lewis.
My head came up when it hit me. Maybe this town or this B&B really did have some sort of magic. I’d been with Court for over a year and I’d never felt like this. It was like…magic. That was all I could think.
No. No way. It was just Lewis’s words in my head. The cute room. The candlelight flickering off his face in the kitchen yesterday.
This place primed you for romance so you were already halfway gone with love by the time you got here.
It wasn’t real.
I snorted. Right? It couldn’t be real. Cupid was just a place. A geographical location on a map.
And it was getting under my skin.
I pulled on a pair of dark jeans and peered out the window. The snow had stopped completely and the sun made everything look shiny and bright. Almost welcoming.
There was no way I was going to be able to get anything done until I solved the mystery of this town. Maybe if I got out and saw real people in a real setting, I’d get over this feeling that wouldn’t go away. This feeling that something big was happening. Something I’d never experienced before.
A knock sounded on my door and I whipped around. Lewis. It had to be. I’d almost forgotten I’d given him an ultimatum last night. Part of me almost hoped he’d tell me he wasn’t interested. That would make the magic disappear right away and I wouldn’t have to wonder if I was completely wrong about this place.
But when I opened the door, I completely changed my mind. He stood there with a secretive kind of grin. Like he knew something I didn’t.
“I decided you’re right,” he said to me.
I smiled back, unable to help my response to seeing him. “I like the sound of that.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, I admit it. There’s always room to try something new. But that doesn’t make you entirely right—”
“Actually, that’s exactly what it does. It means I’m right and new things are exciting.”
“Exciting,” he said, angling his head in consideration. “I’ll let you know after today.”
“What’s happening today?”
“I’m…” He lowered his chin, and it was so adorable, I almost pulled him into my arms right there. When his eyes came up, they were wide. Vulnerable. “I want to spend time with you. I’m going to show you the town, give you more information for your article. And maybe even…give in to the adventure.”
“I promise you won’t regret it.”
I shouldn’t have said that, but it felt true. Like no matter what we did would be an adventure. Would be fun. And I wanted that with him.
“Get your jacket,” he suggested. “It’s cold.”
I turned back to the closet and pulled out my jacket, tugging it on and returning to the door.
“Hat? Gloves?” he asked.
I patted my pockets, just because it looked like he expected me to be prepared when I clearly wasn’t.
He laughed softly. “Yeah, I figured.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out gloves, which he passed to me. I put them on and then blinked when he stepped forward and tugged a hat onto my head.
His mouth was just inches from my own, and the joke I’d been about to make about the cold weather died on my tongue. His mouth was just inches from my own, breath tickling my cheek as he made sure the hat was tight on my head.
“Better,” he said with a nod.
I exhaled. “Okay.”
Not the most eloquent, but how was I supposed to say anything coherent when he was looking at me with those sapphire eyes that looked like they belonged in a fairytale? And there was that word again. Fairytale. Cupid was sort of magical, but Lewis was a huge part of that.
I’d never come here expecting to be interested in someone, and now I couldn’t think of anything else but him.
It was shaking me up. In a good way. I had the sudden urge to call my sister and tell her I was going to stay longer, like I had considered before.
If I could find someone interesting here, maybe I could find inspiration for my novel as well.
In fact, it felt like anything could happen in Cupid, Colorado.
Lewis put on his own hat and gloves and led us down the stairs. When we stepped outside, my breath plumed in the chilly air. It hardly even felt like the sun was out because it was so cold.
“See?” he said. “This is why you need a hat and gloves. It’s freezing at night and in the morning. But this afternoon, you’ll be taking off your jacket and enjoying the sun.”
I rubbed my gloved hands together. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
He reached out and took one of my hands in his own. “I promise.”
My heartbeat picked up but I told myself to relax. If Lewis could let go and experience this, so could I.
His hand felt nice in mine, a perfect fit. Like we’d done this before.
We walked like that down the street instead of heading toward the parking lot.
“We’re not driving?” I asked.
“No. You can see everything you need to see on foot. And when we get cold, we’ll stop into Sweet Treats to get coffee or cocoa or eat something for breakfast.”
I smiled at him. “For the sake of research, of course.”
He laughed. “Absolutely. How much of the town are you planning on including in your article?”
“As much as it takes,” I said with a shrug.
He looked like he wanted to ask questions. I was prepared to tell him things looked good for the B&B so far, but then he grabbed my arm.
“Careful,” he warned, stopping me before I could step into the street.
I glanced up in surprise and saw a horse and sleigh, pulling a happy family down Main Street.
They waved at us and we both waved back.
“This a common thing around here?” I asked.
He took my hand again. “Yep. The tourists love it—the locals, too. Every Valentine’s Day everyone gets a sleigh ride through town to see all the lights—”
“All the lights? On Valentine’s Day?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. I mean, come on, our town is called Cupid. Valentine’s Day is like our town’s Christmas. See?” Lewis gestured to a row of trees lining the road. “All decorated. And the store windows are full of hearts and lights, too. At Sweet Treats, they make cupcakes that look like candy hearts.”
Yesterday, this might have made me groan, but today I was getting swept up. Everyone we passed smiled and waved, and there were couples everywhere—even this early in the morning.
Lewis had been right—this was definitely a place to find romance. I was already formulating how to describe this in my article.
“Sorry, continue what you were saying about Valentine’s Day,” I asked him.
“Right.” He took my hand and pulled me down the sidewalk again. “Everyone gets a sleigh ride through town, stopping at all the sites before ending at the B&B for cocoa and sweets. It’s…” He shrugged. “One of those traditions we started and got caught up in.”
Valentine’s Day was in less than two weeks. I wouldn’t be here then to see it. I glanced over at Lewis and saw a thoughtful look on his face. Maybe he was thinking the same thing.
Actually, I’d purposefully planned this trip so I’d be off during Valentine’s Day. The last thing I needed was a reminder of how happy and in love everyone else was.
“Here. The Fountain of Love,” Lewis said, stopping at a fountain in the middle of the town. It was a giant statue of a cupid, with a bow and arrow and stone hearts scattered around the edge. The water was frozen right now, but I could imagine how popular it was during warmer times.
“Let me guess,” I said, grinning at him. “Throw in a penny and make a wish to find your true love.”
“Pretty much. I’ve heard it works, too.”
“Yeah? You haven’t tried it?”
He shrugged. “I might have thrown a nickel in there when I was a kid.”
I considered this, not wanting to trample on his traditions. “Maybe it’s one of those delayed gratification kinds of wishes. Your wish comes true with the time is right.”
His eyes locked on mine. “Meaning the best is yet to come.”
God, I could drown in those eyes. I was halfway to throwing my own handful of change in there and wishing that things could stay like this for a while longer, that I could spend another week with Lewis and pretend that love really was magic.
His gaze lingered on mine as we stood in front of the fountain like the world around us didn’t exist, our hands linked like we were an actual couple, rather than two people who didn’t seem so lucky in love.
Then he blinked and gestured. “The post office. You might want to put that in your article. People from all over the world send letters to our post office to get the official Cupid stamp that means their true love will get their letter and reciprocate their love.”
He pulled me away from the fountain, the moment broken. But back in my mind, I was thinking that it was a good thing I didn’t live in this town. It had only taken a short morning to halfway fall in love with the idea of love. If I was here all the time, I’d be completely head over heels.