Moving past a display of ties and a rack of golf shirts she made her way back to the display window that catered to the loves and likes of kids. She stepped in and glanced around. It was cute but not her best work. She needed something brilliant in here. Correction, she needed something brilliant and romantic.
She kneeled down and stared at the model train on its track. She looked around and for some strange reason wished she had talked to Zane, even stranger this window reminded her of him. Not that he was childish, just unattainable. She was so stupid to ever get her hopes up. He was, no doubt, gone for the day and not thinking twice about her—only the loss of his trust fund. She covered her face in her hands as the pricks behind her eyes caused fat tears to well up in her eyes. She regretted the fact she had applied eyeliner and mascara and sniffled as a fat tear hit bounced off her lash and kissed her cheek.
A faint rustle echoed in her ears and she lifted her head slightly. In front of her eyes was a soft, white, cotton hankie, and she took it gratefully. She sniffled again and dabbed her eyes to avoid smudging her make up. When she looked back at the hankie, it had her make up on it. “I got make up on it,” she whispered and looked up to see a handsome man standing in front of her in the display window. He reminded her of Zane, only older.
"No worries, Charity, my wife wears make up, too. Only it's not my wife I came to talk to you about."
She sniffed, blinked and offered up the hankie. He took it and tucked it into the inside pocket of his expensive suit. “You know my name.” She couldn't recall knowing the man. “I'm sorry. Have we met?"
"Not officially.” He smiled and revealed two perfect dimples. They were accents to his flawless smile and bright white teeth. “I'm Lovell Cupid.” He extended his hand, and large white wings expanded behind him.
Startled by the sight, she fell back and felt the train pierce her in the ass through her fitted jeans. She winced and whimpered. “Ouch!"
"Oh! The wings aren't painful at all and tuck up quite nicely. Not even noticeable under the suit."
Reaching her hand under her, she pulled the model train from underneath her that for a moment thought it was an anal toy instead of a locomotive. “Toy,” she answered and tossed it to the side. She blinked at the wings. “I've lost my mind."
The man, Lovell was it? He laughed and lifted his brows. “You are perfectly sound of mind. In fact, you're a real smart lady from what I know about you."
She studied the wings. “Well yeah, being a rocket scientist does that.” She leaned forward to look closer at the snow white feathers. She longed to touch them. The feathers looked soft and fluffy. Like the feather she had at home. And the one Zane had taken out of her hand the other day. She stared up at the man and tried to get up off the floor.
He extended a hand. “Now that your initial shock has worn off, can I help you up?"
She glanced at the hand and shook her head. “Of course, forgive my manners.” She placed her hand in his and rose to her feet.
He released her hand and glanced around. “My son loves toys."
She glanced at the wings then met his eyes. “You were the one that bumped the shelf the night he kissed me. I have your feather at home.” She stepped closer and thought a moment. “The other night when I was shoved and fell into Zane's arms..."
"Again, I'm guilty. Did I lose another feather?"
"Yes, I think Zane has it."
He chuckled. “No worries, it's not like they reattach."
She looked to them again. They looked incredible, so full and fluffy white. She met his eyes. “Why do you have wings?"
"I'm a Cupid. Literally."
She stepped around him and circled him. She stood back in front of him. “They're real?"
"Yes very.” He frowned. “They aren't a problem are they? I can put them away."
She shook her head. “No, not at all, they're beautiful.” Her mind raced and thoughts formed. “Zane doesn't have wings does he?"
"No, he hasn't found love, and he hasn't found love for others.” Lovell frowned. “Would it matter if he did?"
That was a good question. Her top lip collided with her bottom lip into a small pout and her brows furrowed. “No.” She shook her head and banished the sexual possibilities they could hold. “It doesn't matter. Zane and I are not exactly talking. He told me about you revoking his trust fund and that's the only reason he was paying attention to me. Plus the guy he was going to set me up with is—"
"Zane told you about his mother and me revoking his trust fund?"
Okay his daddy isn't happy. “Yes, but it was best I knew. That way I didn't get my hopes up."
Lovell frowned. Nope, he wasn't happy at all. “You really like him?"
Her cheeks warmed. Undoubtedly they were pink. “I did and truthfully, I still do. Please don't take away his trust fund."
"What do you care if he gets his trust fund or not?"
Shrugging, she wasn't sure of the answer. She thought a moment. “I'm not sure. I guess I just don't want him unhappy."
"He's unhappy now. He isn't sleeping, he hasn't eaten, and all he does is mope."
"We sort of had an argument. I didn't believe you were real."
"I know.” Lovell folded his arms across his chest and spread his legs slightly. He studied her. “So you are both unhappy. You're a smart girl, Charity, what are you going to do about it?"
"I have no idea how to make things better.” She stared down at the railroad track on the display window floor.
"Well, unless you find love he gets no trust fund.” He groaned and she lifted her eyes to Lovell. “Well if you miss him and he misses you, don't you think you should try talking to him?"
"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?” Her heart tightened and her stomach knotted. “Is he really not eating or sleeping?"
"No. He pouts and is a pain in the ass."
Her mind raced, and she thought for a moment, then smiled at Cupid Sr. “I think I have an idea, but I need your help."
His brows lifted and a small smile curved across his lips. “I knew I liked you. Cupids love ideas."
Zane sat in the open space of the toy department. He had opened another box of building blocks and was determined to keep building until he stopped being miserable. He glanced down the aisle and wondered if there were enough sets of blocks. It might take a while. He scrunched his face. Maybe he had officially gone mad. He shook off that thought and grabbed a blue block and snapped it into a red and yellow one. This was supposed to be relaxing. It wasn't helping. He should march his ass downstairs and make Charity listen to him. He missed her. He missed her giggle, her smile, the way she made everything seem good. The way she made people feel good about themselves. Her parting words the other day to Dora were sweet, reminding her that pretty was the inside and not the out.
A whizzing sound whirled into his ears and he looked up from his project. A remote controlled dump truck zoomed toward him. Maybe he had slipped a notch on the sanity scale. The dump truck stopped by his knee. It had a coffee and a bag from a fast food place down the street next to it. “What the hell?” he whispered and glanced around.
"Actually it's not hell. It's food. You should try eating."
His eyes fell to the owner of the voice. She stood by a rack of boy's track suits across the way. He couldn't fight the smile moving across his lips. He reached for the coffee and the bag as she slowly walked over to him. “Thank you, this is sweet.” He started at her very expensive shoes and allowed his gaze to work up over her fitted jeans and the light pink sweater that curved over her like the hug of a lover. Her perky breasts were more than apparent as was her slender waist and his eyes lifted to her face. She smiled and sat down cross legged across from him.
"I had it on good authority you weren't eating.” She sat the remote for the dump truck next to her and reached for a colored block. She snapped the block onto the tower and broadened her smile.
"Was it my mom or my dad?"
She giggled and shook her head,
which caused her hair to swing. “Your dad.” She grabbed another block and snapped it on. “Neat man. He loves you.” She looked up at him again. “You should enjoy it while it's hot.” She motioned to the bag.
"Shouldn't you be working on a display?"
She paused. “I highly doubt the owner will fire me. Besides, his parents adore me,” she replied and looked back down to the blocks. She lifted a long yellow one and studied it. “Why work on a window when I have blocks to play with?"
"So the lady likes toys?"
She scrunched her nose and her dark eyes sparkled beneath her long lashes as she tossed a playful look to him. “I have a set of these blocks at home. Now eat.” She looked back down as Zane reached for the food. His mood had already improved and the food and coffee smelled good.
He took a sip of the coffee. She took great care and put thought into every block she picked up. “So you and my dad talked?"
"Yep."
She never looked up, and he reached into the bag and pulled out the burger. She was incredible. He started eating, and she lifted her gaze to him. He swallowed. “Want to talk about it?"
"Sure.” She sighed and nodded. “His wings threw me off. They are really nice. Fluffier than I would have imagined. Then again, he wasn't short, bald or in a diaper either."
"Armani, he would have been in Armani.” Zane took another bite of his burger.
"Right, should have known, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.” She blinked at him. “I hate not talking to you, and I believe now that your father really is Cupid. He also told me that Nick Clause is a great guy."
Zane grinned and ran his tongue over his teeth. “Told you so.” He crumpled up the wrapper from the burger, shoved it in the empty bag and reached for his coffee. He sipped his coffee and studied her some more as she continued to add onto his building. None of the women he had ever dated would have sat on floor. Come to think of it, none of them would have played with multi colored blocks either.
He thought for a second and sipped his coffee again. “You were okay with wings?"
She looked up and frowned. Her lower lip stuck out slightly in a pout and his heart raced remembering how she tasted. “Why wouldn't I be?” She rolled her eyes and giggled. His heart picked up more speed, and the sound soothed his soul. “Okay, once the initial shock wore off, and I got off the toy train I landed on."
He closed his eyes and bit back the laugh. “A graceful moment?"
"It was up there, but not nearly as great as landing against you.” Her tone was sultry and heat flickered in her eyes.
Desire coursed through his veins and they sat there staring at each other a second. He set his coffee down and stood. “Come here, I want to show you something.” He walked over and offered a hand to help her up. She glanced at his hand and took it. She rose and looked up at him through her thick lashes.
He purposely didn't let go of her hand. The warmth of it healed the ache and coldness that not having her around had left on him. “What do you want to show me?” She didn't remove her hand and he grinned. “Let me show you. I think of you every time I see them.” He started to lead her over to the display. “Lately that's been a lot. I come to toys when I'm stressed."
Charity loved the fact he was still holding her hand. It heated her body and flamed her skin. She wasn't as sad anymore. She was glad she had talked to Lovell and tried to imagine what Zane would look like with wings. Sexy, sexy and yes, definitely sexy were what came to her mind. So, he wasn't the boy next door type or even the uptight suit variety. She'd had her share of those men. Zane led her over to a huge display of rocket ships. She laughed and looked at him. “You're kidding. You think of me every time you go past them?"
"I do.” He shook his head. “What do you think of them?” He released her hand, and she missed his touch instantly but was filled with curiosity when he took one down from the display.
"I think they look fun."
He smiled at her and blinked. He clutched a box and lifted his brows. “I took a Business degree at Harvard. Science wasn't really my thing."
"So the toy fiend wanted to call in an expert?"
His laugh set a warm caress over her body. Her nipples hardened at the sound, and desire pooled between her legs. “It's a rocket, and you are a rocket scientist."
Giggling, she couldn't believe she was debating this. “Let's open the box and see what we have."
He knelt down on the ground and she joined him. They went through things. He was flipping through the instructions as she reached for pieces and snapped them together. “This is a toy?” She continued building while he was reading. She was amazed he was actually reading the instructions. Most men put things together, discovered they had done something wrong and only read the directions when the task at hand got the better of them. She put the last part together. “It has a fuse."
He glanced at the rocket and looked up at her. “It had instructions."
"This wasn't rocket science.” She giggled. Taking in the excited look on his face, he reminded her further of a little boy. It was sexy and endearing.
His smile broadened and he looked through the box. “I'll be right back. I have to run over to the hardware department.” He laughed. “Meet me at the escalator and bring the rocket."
She slowly stood and looked over to where he had left this coffee on the floor next to the truck. She adored him and was more than relieved that things were better between them. Maybe, she should tell him that she was crazy about him. She walked over to the escalator and waited for him. She was falling in love with him. Not that she could tell him or his father that. If Lovell was Cupid though, wouldn't he know? It was an interesting question.
Zane quickly returned from the floor above and smiled. He lifted a barbecue lighter. “I have wanted to do this for almost a week."
Her eyes widened. “You want to launch this."
"Oh yeah."
"Are we going outside?"
"No, it's open enough in the store and high enough ceilings. We can do it in here."
Laughing, she glanced to the lighter then back to his sparkling eyes. Her breath caught, and he truly was the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen. He wasn't in a suit. Just jeans and a button down shirt, and she wondered if he would've sat on the floor in his Armani. Something whispered inside her that he would've. “You're serious."
She grinned and handed him the rocket. “Zane, be careful, it could cause a fire."
He winked. The action slammed her heart to a stop. He was too sexy for sanity. “I've got it under control.” He eyed the rocket. He was having too much fun and literally was acting like a kid in a toy store.
He lit the fuse and released the rocket as it launched from his hand. It went zipping up and stopped before the ceiling. It teetered slightly, then took off in another direction and dipped and swerved before heading into the open area by the escalators. The rocket puttered then swerved and dropped to the main level of the store. “Uh oh!” Zane called and took off down the escalator.
Laughing, Charity had no choice but to follow as they chased the rocket, now spinning and flying completely out of control, to the main floor. Zane came to a stop by the bear pyramid as the rocket startled her and caused her to jump as it whizzed past. The heel of her trendy shoe caught in the metal grid of the escalator. The force from her trying to pull it free propelled her forward just as Zane turned. She went body first into him. His arms came out to balance her, but the momentum caused him to stumble. He tripped on something and fell backward taking her with him. He hit the floor, knocking over the bear display, and she landed hard against his solid chest. It then started to rain white, fluffy bears holding hearts.
She couldn't stop the laugh. Zane laughed as she removed traces of the collapsed bear pyramid off of him. He looked up at her and blinked. His arms were around her and her breasts crushed against his strong defined chest and firm body. Her breath caught. “Are you okay? I didn't mean to...” Her words were lost on her tongue as his eyes to
ok in her face.
"I'm fine.” His voice was quiet and huskily seductive. Her pussy twitched and breathing was futile. “I have a gorgeous woman on top of me and I'm lying on a bed of really soft plush bears.” His gaze dropped to her lips and resistance was futile. She lowered her head to his and met his mouth with her own. His lips were soft and one of his hands moved from her waist to gently cup her head. Her body relaxed as his tongue teased her lips. She opened her mouth for him and felt the bulge rise in his pants as he deepened the kiss.
Her nipples hardened and her body wanted more of him. The sound of a bang, and then a crash snapped her lips off his as they both looked to the sound. The rocket had hit the floor, and the old security guard was spraying it with a fire extinguisher.
She glanced back at him, and he pulled her closer to him as they both erupted into laughter. Tonight was one of the best nights of her life. Charity wasn't sure how she could keep him, without him losing everything.
Chapter Eight
"Did you see that?” Lusty squealed as she hugged his arm and snuggled up closer to Lovell on the sofa where they sat staring into the glass coffee table. They had been watching it more intently than a movie as Zane and Charity's interaction played out before them.
Lovell had seen all right. “Our son let a rocket lose in the department store. It could have set something on fire."
Lusty laughed. “Please, you worry too much. Charity is a trained professional."
"She's a scientist, not a firefighter,” he told as his wife as he stared at Zane in the table surface. His son stood then helped Charity up.
"Still they look happy, and at the rate they are going, they're going to end up together."
Turning to his wife, he smiled. “They aren't together yet. Trust me, things can still go wrong."
His wife's eyes darkened over. “No, I don't believe that, Lovell. You saw them. They are meant to be together, and Charity is meant to be a Cupid.” She stood and started to pace.
Cupid's Target Page 6
