Page 23 of Incurably Cupid (Moonhaven Cove #5)

INDIE

“Love Perseveres.”

Cupid Inc. New Recruit Training Manual

“ H orror—I mean Celia, will be handing back your final exams.” Celia smiled shyly at me, and I continued. “Ninety-eight percent of you passed. Seventy-nine percent passed with nearly perfect scores.” I got a little emotional here. I blamed my mate—he’s the one who poisoned my brain with all this emotional intelligence. I cleared my throat. “Congratulations, everyone.”

Shallow, a.k.a. Cris, raised his hand. “Yes?”

“Since we did the coursework for Love 102 as well, does that mean we can take Love 103 next semester?”

I grinned at him, and he straightened his shoulders, sitting up a little taller in his seat. To my surprise, Cris was currently the top student in my class. At first, he’d been resistant, but after working with him, he’d developed a genuine interest in everything Love 101 and 102. “Yes, Cris. And I really hope you continue. You have a passion for this. I can see you teaching this class one day.”

His face glowed with happiness and pride—a far cry from the grumpy, belligerent cupid he’d been at the beginning. I heard he’d started dating a girl in Mordecai’s class. They were seen all over campus, looking as adorable and in love as two cupids could be. I was ecstatic for him.

One of the students who didn’t pass the final stood. “You mean we’ve been doing two classes this whole time!” he complained, his round cheeks turning red with anger. “No wonder I didn’t pass!”

I eyed him. “You didn’t pass because you thought this would be an easy A class, and you barely put in any effort.”

He shoved his things into his bag and stormed out.

Cris scoffed. “I can’t believe he didn’t know, Professor Valentine. You only told us about a million times that you were teaching the two classes together.”

I smiled and nodded but refrained from commenting. “Jasper, Austin, and Annika, please see me after class. To the rest of you, what are you still doing here?”

I laughed as everyone charged out of their seats, scrambling for their bags. Most of them stopped by to tell me how much they enjoyed my class or to give me a hug.

“Thank you, Professor,” Celia said, hugging me.

“Thank you for your help this semester, Celia.”

She smiled shyly. “It’s Horror, Professor.”

I grinned at her.

Cris was next. I squeaked when he pulled me into a tight hug. “Breath, Cris. Need. Breath.”

He laughed his booming laugh and released me. “Sorry, Professor. Thank you for not giving up on me.”

I swear, my students were going to make me sob before 10 a.m. It felt like a conspiracy.

“You’ll have one of you to deal with when you become a professor. You’ll be able to repay it then,” I assured him.

His shoulders slumped a little. “Do you really think I can teach, Professor?” He shook his head. “I’ve always thought of myself as a dumb jock.”

I raised an eyebrow. “This class has shown you how completely untrue that is. What you do with that knowledge is up to you.” He nodded but kept his eyes averted. “But, Cris?” He glanced up at me. “I believe in you.”

His eyes lit up. “Thanks, Professor!” He gave me one more rib-cracking hug and left.

The three students who didn’t pass the final, and who hadn’t already stormed out of my class, remained. I smiled gently at them. “Hey, guys. Tough class, huh?”

I was relieved the other student had stormed out. Now I didn’t feel bad about offering extra credit to these three. These were the ones who had really tried, but for various reasons—health issues, broken relationships, family troubles—had been unable to pass.

“Yeah, Professor,” one of them said, her lip trembling. She was the one who had taken a month off during the semester because she’d been in the hospital. She still walked with a cane and was too weak to fly.

Of the other two, one had a difficult family life. He lived with his parents, and they were constantly fighting and screaming at each other. I had an offer for him after the other two left that I hoped he would accept. I nodded for him to take the seat behind me, and he sat, slumping in his seat. He looked exhausted. My heart ached for him.

I turned back to Annika and Jasper and smiled gently at them. “You guys know I’m tough.”

They nodded.

“But I’m also fair. You both tried really hard despite personal setbacks, so I’m offering extra credit. If you complete it, you pass the class.”

They both looked shocked but grateful. I handed them the extra credit I’d devised for each of them—one week of helping the cupids assigned to the Moonhaven hospital for Annika, and one week of volunteering at a free pet clinic for Jasper—I’d noticed his love of animals. They read through their assignments, blinking in surprise and what I hoped was delight. “Thank you, Professor.”

I nodded and tilted my head toward the door. “Now get outta here, would you?” I teased.

I turned to my last student—Austin. He looked so defeated. I really wanted to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay, but I didn’t. Instead, I sat on the edge of the desk and folded my hands in my lap.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” he said, his voice cracking as he fought back tears. “I really tried.”

“I know you did, Austin,” I said gently.

He looked up at me, his eyes haunted. “Do you have extra credit for me?” he asked hopefully.

I nodded. “I do. This is your last class for the day, right?”

“Yes.”

I picked up my bag and keys. “Follow me.” He followed quietly as we left the university and walked down the street to my old house. When we arrived, I placed my palm on the door and asked him to place his next to mine. He looked confused but did as I asked. The area around his palm turned red for a moment, then flashed green, and the locked door opened.

“Go check it out,” I encouraged.

Hope—fragile hope—shone in his eyes as he entered my old home, almost reverently. I’d cleared all my stuff out, but I’d left enough for him to get by: furniture, dishes, pots and pans, etc. He explored the kitchen and living room, then the bedrooms and bathrooms. Finally, he returned to where I was still standing at the open door.

“What is this, Professor?”

I smiled. “This is your project and your new home. It will take a little longer than the other projects I gave out today.” Leo sent him the deed to the house, and I heard his pad receive it with a muffled beep. I nodded at his bag. “Leo just sent you the deed to this house. It’s yours, free and clear. I only have two requests.”

Tears streamed down his face. His expression crumpled, and he hid it behind his shaking hands. His shoulders trembled. I wrapped an arm around him for support, and he leaned into me, unsteady on his feet. “Don’t ever let your parents into this house—it’s your haven, and if you meet someone this next semester, or during your time as a student, who needs a safe space, there’s another bedroom for them. Your extra credit is taking ownership of the house and keeping an ear out for anyone who might need what you needed this semester—somewhere safe.”

He pulled away, wiping his red eyes. His chuckle was a bit watery. “I thought you were the worst teacher at the beginning of the semester.”

I nodded. “I’m used to that,” I said with a rueful smile. “It’s maybe even a little deserved.”

He shook his head adamantly. “It’s not. Even before this, most of us in your class knew…”

My brow furrowed. “Knew what?”

“You practice what you teach,” he said, as if that explained everything, and for the second time in my life, I blushed.

He laughed. “Thank you so much, Professor. I won’t let you down!” He gave me another hug, and I left him to settle into his new house, blinking home to Mesmer, who had a rare day off. We were planning to use it for a couples’ game night up at the villa with a group of other couples I’d gotten to know over the last few months.

I blinked just outside our house on the villa grounds and palmed the door to let myself in. I dropped Leo and my bag on the table and let Leo adjust to being in the house again. It always took him a moment or two to connect to the smart features. When he did, his voice came from a wall in Mesmer’s huge chef’s kitchen.

“Mesmer messaged to tell you he’s running late.”

I laughed and went to change, unsurprised. He was punctual to a fault for everything else, except when it came to breaking away from his job. I didn’t blame him; after all, his job involved two of his best friends.

“I thought he had the day off?” I changed in the bedroom, but according to the privacy protocols that Mesmer, Leo, and I had established for our new dynamic and home, Leo stayed out of bedrooms unless we palmed our wall and asked for his help in an emergency. Leo’s favorite space was the living room anyway; he loved watching television. He’d even enlisted some of Mesmer’s underlings for a short skit he’d written, produced, and directed. It had actually been really good. He had a lot of talent.

I returned to the living room once I’d changed into more comfy clothes, and grabbed some ice water. Emotions, I’d learned the hard way, always made me thirsty.

“He had to go up to the house for something, but he’s on his way back now.”

I nodded, chugging my water, then left the glass in the sink.

Mesmer came in then, saw me, and made a beeline for me, pulling me into his arms. “Welcome home,” he said, kissing me. He kissed me for quite a long time until I pulled away with a grin.

“You missed me.”

“Always,” he said fervently, kissing me again, then showering sweet little kisses all over my face until I squirmed away from him, laughing.

He chuckled and took my hand. “You ready for Draven to annihilate everyone again?”

I groaned as we locked the door behind us and started up the path to the main house. “No! We need to all gang up on him this time!” I turned, eyeing my very handsome gargoyle mate. “What are we playing tonight?”

“TV Clue.”

I threw my head back and groaned again. “We’re doomed. Maybe Dice will beat him this time. She almost had him last week.”

Mesmer smirked and shook his head. “My money is on Roarke. I think he’s just been toying with Draven, letting him feel secure before he takes him out viciously.”

I bit my lip, pondering that. “Yeah, I could see that. They keep exchanging looks across the table. I haven’t been able to figure out what those looks are about.”

“Do you want me to narrate them for you? Because I have a good guess,” Mesmer said, laughter dancing in his gray eyes.

My wings fluttered with happiness, nearly lifting me off the ground. I loved it when Mesmer narrated his boss’s thoughts. Draven didn’t appreciate it as much, but Mia and I died laughing every time. “Yes!”

Mesmer cleared his throat.

“This look should make it very clear, even to your feeble little brain, that I’m humoring you, little vampire.”

“I see. Is that what you’ve been doing these last ten games—humoring me?”

“Your fragile self-esteem needed the wins. I was just trying to keep you from crying like a wee bairn.”

“Bring it, Lizard.”

I laughed. “That sounds exactly like them.” He’d done their voices perfectly. We were quiet until we rounded a bend, passed the sunken pool on our left, and made our way to the front courtyard.

“We need a telepath.”

Mesmer shook his head. “It won’t work. He’s an ancient vampire. It’s hard to breach their minds.”

I growled. “I hate losing!” I suddenly had a brilliant idea. “We need to give him a negative handicap.”

King Draven opened the villa door himself, letting us in with a smile, and said, “I’d be willing, but Roarke will want one as well.”

“I’ll want what, you pasty vampire bat!” Roarke growled loudly from the living room, clearly also eavesdropping on our conversation.

I turned to Mesmer and couldn’t help but laugh because he’d captured their personalities so perfectly. He smiled mischievously and waited until we were alone in the entryway again before he pulled me into his arms and kissed me, and I melted into him—just like I did every single time.