Page 13 of Incurably Cupid (Moonhaven Cove #5)

Chapter 13

Indie

“Lasting love is built moment by moment, day by day, and year by year.”

Cupid Inc. New Recruit Training Manual

I awoke feeling center of the sun hot. Groggily, I flailed with the covers, trying to fling them off, but the covers unexpectedly grunted. My entire body froze.

Blinking my eyes open, I found Mesmer’s face inches from mine. We were both lying on our sides, facing each other, tangled together like a pair of overgrown ivy vines. One of my arms was wedged beneath his neck, the other draped over his ribcage, and somehow, our legs had intertwined.

“Not that I’m complaining,” he murmured in that deep, gravelly voice of his, “but I wasn’t expecting to wake up to someone cuddling me this morning.” A slow joyful, smile tugged at his lips. “I like it just as much as I thought I would.”

Most people would have been embarrassed to wake up in this situation, but I wasn’t most people, because I saw the humor in it.

I grinned sardonically. “You were cold, and I kept you warm. Good to know that my cuddling skills have improved since that last porcupine incident.”

He snorted. “You tried to cuddle a porcupine?”

“In my defense, I was eight, and he looked sad.” I gently disentangled myself and slid off the bed, using the button to call the nurse. “We’re getting sprung today.” I fixed a basilisk glare on him. “And then you will explain why you blinked in to the rescue without your wheelchair.”

He tried to sit up but struggled, so I moved to help him. “Because I couldn’t maneuver very well in a wheelchair if I needed to chase after someone.”

“I could have chased after them just fine,” Lance interjected, materializing via the ether with Mordecai in tow. “Certainly better than what you did, my man.”

I laughed. “Yeah, he kind of got here and passed out.”

Mordecai pulled me into a hug, which I grumbled about because, well, principle. Hugs couldn’t go without repercussions. "I'm glad to see you both up. Lance showed up at my house at five-thirty this morning, demanding I bring him to you, Mesmer. I hope you appreciate his devotion.”

Mesmer nodded, bro-style, to Lance. “Thanks, Lance. Sorry I took off without you.”

Lance maneuvered so he was right next to Mesmer’s bed. “Just don’t leave me behind again.”

Mordecai and I helped Mesmer into his wheelchair. “You have another week and a half in this thing. Your timeline for returning to work will get messed up if you keep trying to be a wheelchair rebel,” I warned him.

I almost shook my head at myself. That sounded suspiciously like nagging. But that couldn’t be right—I didn’t nag. I had never nagged anyone in my life.

I expressed strong displeasure and told them to fix it, but that wasn’t nagging.

Right?

Stars and hearts I was a nagger.

Someone slap some sense into me.

Mesmer laughed, apparently at whatever expression was on my face.

I scowled. “What?”

“You look mortified and disgusted.”

“I just realized I was nagging you and had a justifiable reaction to the horror of my actions.”

He shook his head at me with amusement before he and Lance rolled off, possibly in search of food or a restroom.

After I freshened up, the doctor cleared both Mesmer and me for release. Since Mordecai had only brought Lance, we needed to grab toiletries and clothes for a few days at the Rose. I figured I might as well help my parents with the four Phoenix strays while I was at it. Maybe Mesmer could tag along since I was supposed to be taking care of him.

As we browsed the aisles of a local store, I turned to Mesmer. “Will you be okay coming with me to help my mum and dad?”

He looked wary. “You mean to help the four who kidnapped you?”

I waved him off, searching for my brand of toothpaste in an aisle with approximately four billion brands of toothpaste.

“It was just a little bit of kidnapping,” I said dismissively.

Lance, with Mesmer’s direction, found his own brand of toothpaste, and I grabbed that for him as well.

“How does someone kidnap you a little bit?” Mesmer said, clearly still smarting over my being kidnapped.

“They said they were sorry.”

Leo started chortling in my bag, and I glared in the direction of the sound. After the toothpaste, we moved on to shampoo and conditioner because there was no way I was going to use the hotel brand. I didn’t care how fancy the hotel was; their shampoo and conditioner were always awful and made my hair feel like straw. Straw hair was not attractive. I knew why I wanted to appear attractive, but I wasn't going to think about it at the moment.

“Excuse me, can you tell me where the nasal spray is?” a blue-haired pixie asked, stopping right in front of me.

Baffled, I looked around, thinking she was talking to someone behind or beside me, but there was only Mesmer and me in this aisle. I pointed to myself. “I don’t work here. You’ll have to ask someone else.”

She frowned at me, as though she thought I was lying to avoid helping her.

I almost laughed at her increasingly skeptical expression.

“Lady, what about me says I work here?”

“You’re wearing a blue shirt.”

“I assure you I’m not. It’s red.”

She shook her head adamantly. “It’s clearly blue. What’s your name? I’m going to talk to your manager!”

A harried boy of eight or nine ran up the aisle. “Nana, she’s wearing red!” he cried, skidding to a stop. “Remember? You’re color blind.”

The woman paused, pondered her grandson’s statement, and then looked sheepishly at me. “I suppose that’s why yours has been the only blue shirt I’ve seen in the store. The rest of them looked red to me. I’m sorry, young lady.”

“No problem,” I said as her grandson guided her carefully away.

Just as they turned the corner into the next aisle, I heard him say, “Nan, I’m good at finding stuff. Don’t ask other people; that lady looked scary.”

“I needed some nasal spray.”

“This way, Nan.”

I turned to Mesmer, oddly touched and stung at the same time. “Am I really that frightening to small children?” My conscience twinged. It was irritating that the lady hadn’t believed me when I told her I didn’t work here, but I thought I had handled it okay.

Mesmer looked at me warmly. “You don’t scare me at all.”

Leo snorted. “You’re like six-six and roughly two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. Of course she wouldn’t scare you.”

“I don’t think you’re scary,” Lance chimed in.

Leo snorted again. “She’s scary. You just haven’t been around her long enough yet.”

I smiled at Leo and said sweetly, “I’m sorry, did you want to be homeless?”

Leo sputtered unintelligibly, while Lance said, “Oh, yeah, that must be what he meant."

Mesmer laughed, but even from our short shopping trip he looked worn out. Lance, the devoted and amazing fae wheelchair that he was, noticed and reclined Mesmer a little so Mesmer wouldn't have to use as much energy to sit up.

“Alright, moving on, everyone. What’s next?”

We arrived at the Rose a little after noon. I checked us in, then we made our way to our room. The décor was a mix of Swiss and German styles. The main lobby had Beauty and the Beast vibes, with plush red carpets, and a white and gold color scheme. They even had a lounge area that had a fireplace and lots of books packed onto tall bookshelves.

Despite sprawling over an entire city block, the rest of the hotel was only three stories tall. The walkways between room clusters were each themed after different fairy tales— Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White —transforming the entire space into something out of a storybook.

Our rooms were just past the Alice in Wonderland section.

“I wonder which section Mum and Dad are staying in?"

“Look, they painted the roses red,” Mesmer said, as we passed a small display of red roses, life-sized playing cards, and a gardener shaped from a bush with a paint can and brush.

I shook my head. “This place is surreal.”

We found Mesmer’s room—right next to mine. I opened the door for him. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Mesmer looked like he had mixed feelings about having his own room. To be honest, I did too, but I was ignoring them. Letting myself into my own room, I put my things away, then sank onto the bed. I was so exhausted that the white noise of the air conditioner instantly soothed me to sleep.

A few hours later, there was a soft knock at my door. I’d managed to nap and shower, and I felt a million times better. When I opened the door, Mesmer stood there, looking slightly refreshed but still pale.

“I come bearing an appetite,” he said with a small smile.

I let him in, and we ordered food delivery—wet burritos smothered in red sauce, a heaping family-sized portion of Spanish rice, and creamy refried beans. The scent of warm tortillas, spicy tomato sauce, and melted cheese filled the room, making my stomach grumble. We hadn’t eaten much today, and I was starving.

We dug in, eating until I was stuffed, and then we picked a movie to wind down.

I propped Mesmer up on the bed with extra pillows since he was still weak and then lounged next to him, using Lance as a makeshift chair. The soft glow from the screen flickered across Mesmer’s face as he relaxed against the headboard.

Mesmer wasn’t... traditionally handsome. While most attractive faces are symmetrical, Mesmer’s looked like it had been chiseled from craggy stone. His jawline was too prominent, and his brow was too broad. But it held appeal for me, perhaps more so because his face was uniquely his own.

Not to say that he was ugly.

Most paranormals had a certain type of beauty. That beauty might resemble the grip of a gun when you were surrounded by cutthroats, but it was a beauty nonetheless.

A rugged, dangerous beauty.

I sighed without meaning to.

Mesmer turned his head. His face was soft and open. I thought that meant he trusted me, that he... cared for me. I wasn’t sure, but that’s what I learned at the U a long time ago, and I had many, many years of field experience to back that up.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I rubbed my hand across my velour sweatpants nervously. “I came here because Leo said he’d calculated a small chance that one of your possible soulmates would be here, living in this town.”

His jaw tensed, but his face remained unreadable. “Did you find her?”

I shook my head. “No. I looked, but of course, I couldn’t search everywhere. I’ll keep coming back and checking, okay?” I patted the leg closest to me. I knew how badly he wanted this—how much he wanted someone to love, the right person to love. “I won’t give up.”

“Thank you, Indie,” he murmured.

There was something in his voice—an almost imperceptible sadness. Did he think I wouldn’t find her? Or maybe… he didn’t believe she was out there at all.

When the credits rolled, I grabbed a deck of cards I’d just purchased to help us get through the next few days without going crazy, tore off the packaging, and started shuffling.

“Up for a game?”

Mesmer raised a brow. “Depends. Are you a sore loser?”

I smirked. “Wouldn’t know. I don’t lose.”

We played a few rounds of hearts before Mesmer started to look like he was going to faceplant onto the table, despite Lance adjusting him every so often. I nudged his arm. “Alright, lightweight. Time for you to head back to your room and get some sleep.”

He groaned but didn’t argue as Lance wheeled him toward our connecting door. “Fine. But tomorrow, your winning streak ends.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, sure.”

He gave me a lazy smile before opening the door. Just before he rolled through, he turned back. “Goodnight, Indie.”

I hesitated, then murmured, “Goodnight, Mesmer.”

The door clicked shut behind him, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

The room felt quieter without him.