Page 18 of Matchmaking With Cupid

"Tonight is good," she said softly. "Is it like a date?"

"Not like a date, it is a date," I said. "If you want that."

She nodded. "A date sounds nice. Where?"

"The Cedar at eight?" I suggested.

Surprise crossed her face. "That's an upscale choice."

"We can go somewhere different if you want?"

"No, I've always wanted to try it there," she said.

"Then I'll see you at eight." I smiled at her, pleased to get one back.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I should get back to work. My boss said that I need to be ready to talk through options for one of our clients tomorrow." Her eyes sparkled with something that suggested she was teasing.

"Mmm, I hear he's a strict one."

"He's all right," she joked.

One of the others looked over to us, and I cleared my throat, reminding myself that we have an audience and we can't really talk about it more here. "Until later."

"I'll see you then," she said softly. "And thank you for the coffee." She reached out for the mug.

"You're welcome."

She met my gaze and lifted the mug to her lips, making me think she was doing it on purpose. I stood for a moment, transfixed and wishing we were alone and I didn't have to wait until tonight to see her again. But my meeting wasn't going to wait for me, and I needed to get going.

I pulled myself away, heading towards the door and thinking only of what tonight was going to bring.

Chapter 10

ELOISE

I should be nervous about walking into a date with Cupid, but I'm not. It wasn't even because we'd been matched by the system, I was reasonably sure that it was mostly because of the kiss. I reached up to touch my lips without thinking. I hadn't gone into his officeplanningon kissing him, it had just happened.

The Cedar appeared in front of me, along with the dark-haired god waiting for me at the front. He turned, his whole face lighting up as he saw me. He looked good. Different from at work with his sharp suit and the open-necked shirt.

"Hi," I said, barely resisting the urge to reach out and touch him in greeting. We might have kissed earlier, but that didn't mean we should be rushing into things now.

"Hello," he responded. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." I looked down at my deep pink dress. It had been between this and one that revealed a lot more of my chest, but I thought this was better, especially when we were going somewhere this fancy.

"Shall we head inside?" he asked.

"Yes." I smiled and turned toward the door. Cupid reached out and put a hand on my back. I leaned into his touch, enjoying how it felt to have it there.

I'd never been here before and certainly not on a date. The low lighting was intimate, and the tables were spaced far enough away from one another that there was very little risk of anyone overhearing anything.

"Good evening, sir," the greeter said as we approached the podium. "We have your table waiting for you if you'd like to come with us." He gestured for us to follow him.

"Just how often do you come here that they know you?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I come here for dinner every now and again."

"With dates?"

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