Thwarting Cupid. Lori Crawford
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THWARTING CUPID
LORI CRAWFORD
LYRICAL PRESS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/
Dedication
For Daddy. You may be gone, but it’s still all your fault. And I love you for it.
Chapter 1
Quincy tried very hard to keep his expression neutral while Miss C. gave him yet another lecture. How many times was he going to have to sit through this? Duty, blah, blah. Rules, blah, blah. Reassigned, bl–Wait. That was new. She couldn't be serious. Reassigned? Him? No way.
“I'm serious, Quincy. If you cannot complete this assignment, I will have no choice but put another case worker on it.” She leaned forward and clasped her tiny hands on the desk. Large wings quivered on her back, but remained close to her body. Her expression conveyed no anger. Just concern for whatever problem he appeared to have with his assignment. “I would expect some of my other cupids to miss from time to time, but you? My goodness. You've been on this case for fifteen years. She should be married with babies by now. I don't understand.”
Feathers on Quincy's wings rippled a bit at the mention of marriage and babies. He knew good and well Miss C. spoke the truth. Carissa should have a family with the love of her life. However, he just couldn't bring himself to shoot her with an arrow. He hadn't found anyone suitable enough to be with a woman as marvelous as Carissa Langston. In fact, he was beginning to think the man who would be good enough hadn't been born yet. It seemed like he always managed to see the one flaw in her possible mate in the nick of time. Still, Carissa's thirty-fifth birthday was coming up. He could tell she was getting restless. Perhaps beginning to wonder why she'd never been in love.
“Quincy?”
Miss C.'s gentle prod broke him out of his thoughts. She still awaited his answer.
“I couldn't agree more. It's just that finding her a match has proved to be more difficult than I first thought.”
Miss C. frowned. She shuffled through some notes on her desk. “Hmm. It says here that Ms. Langston is a perfectly lovely woman. Thoughtful and considerate. Has a wonderful sense of humor. Not high maintenance. Likes to laugh. How is it you're having a difficult time finding her match?”
She stared at him over the top rim of her reading glasses in the way he hated. Quincy always had the feeling she could see right through to his inner thoughts when she did that. He tried not to fidget under her scrutiny, but his traitorous wings unfurled a bit before settling back into their resting state.
“It's not that she's difficult. It's precisely because she is so wonderful that I can't find a suitable match for her. Have you been to Earth lately? The majority of the men down there are absolute dogs. I’m sure you don't want me to set her up with just any old Joe off the street.”
Miss C. stared at him for a long moment. Slid her glasses off and let them dangle from the delicate chain around her neck. “Valentine's Day is three weeks away. Her birthday, I believe?”
Quincy nodded his affirmative while trying to ignore the bad feeling making an appearance in his gut.
“You have until then to find and introduce Ms. Langston to her soul mate.”
“Three weeks? That's not enough time. I need–”
“It's more than enough time, unless you have some other reason why you prefer her to be single?”
If he had lungs, the wind would've whooshed right out of him. “Of course not. I mean, why would I want her to remain single? That's ludicrous. I can't believe you'd think such a thing.” Quincy couldn't get his tongue to stop moving. “I'm a cupid. Couples are my specialty.”
“I'm glad you feel that way. If Ms. Langston is not happily in a relationship with her soul mate by Valentine's Day, I'm afraid you'll leave me no choice. I will reassign you to the eighty and over sector.”
Quincy's eyes went wide. “The eighty and over sector? You wouldn't... I'm–I’m your best cupid!”
“You were my best cupid. You seem to have lost your touch. I can't have you screwing up people's lives when they have so many years left to live with your mistakes hanging over them.” Miss C. stood, signaling that it was time for him to go. Still in shock, he stumbled to his feet.
“If I could have a little more time, I'm sure I could find the perfect man for her.”
“Excellent! I'll expect a good result. In three weeks.” She came around the desk to open the door for him. “Don't mess this up, Quincy.”
In stunned silence, Quincy shuffled from his superior's office. His wings curled protectively around his body. Three weeks. Three lousy weeks before the woman he loved would have to be in love with another man or he'd lose his cushy job.
Life really sucked sometimes.
* * * *
Life really sucked sometimes, Carissa thought when she checked out what remained of her car’s back bumper. The left side dragged along the ground while the right hung by a plastic and aluminum thread. The license plate frame from her alma mater was pretty much shattered to bits. Pieces littered the street around her feet where she stood to examine the damage.
The license itself was kinda folded in half like it had been no more substantial than a sheet of paper. Carissa’s gaze went to the front of the Hummer that had attacked her just moments ago. No surprise that it had managed to escape with a few minor scratches.
She turned her attention to the driver who was on what must have been his third non-accident related phone call since the two of them had stepped out of their vehicles. To say she was irritated with the man was a severe understatement. Oh sure, she'd asked if he was okay when they’d first pulled over. He'd brushed her off with a raised manicured finger and clicked over to answer another call. Seriously? Who acted that way?
“So? Are we about done here?”
It took Carissa a moment, but she realized he was talking to her at last. “I'm sorry, what?”
The man made an impatient gesture toward her banged up vehicle. “With this? Are we done?”
Carissa bit the insides of her cheeks then clenched her fists at her sides. It was all she could do to keep herself from shoving the man out into the traffic that was whizzing by them. “No, we are not done! I need your name and insurance information.”
“For what? It's not all that bad.”
Her eyebrows shot up. Not all that bad? What kind of idiot was this guy? Not all that bad? On his car, maybe. “Just the same. I'd like to take down your info.”
The man grumbled then went back to his car. Presumably to get the items she requested. She blew out a breath of frustration at his attitude before snapping shots of his vehicle. She'd heard horror stories of people getting rear ended and then the at-fault driver claiming the other person backed up. She didn't want to chance that happening and all of a sudden have his SUV come up totaled.
Finished taking photos of his front bumper, she turned to take a few snapshots of hers. That’s when she heard his engine roar. He mowed his way back into traffic, leaving her standing there gaping after him.
Seriously? Seriously? This could not be happening to her. What the heck? Carissa looked at her poor, pathetic bumper. If her car wasn't in pieces at the moment, she'd totally chase him down. Not like she