Page 15 of Cupid's Arrow

Fuck. She was never supposed to know. I can see why he’d want to come clean, but the idea was to protect her image of him. I never wanted her to see us both as thieves, even if we did it as a means of providing for her.

“And when we found the cash in the car,” he continues, “I kept it to use for the shop. We needed it.”

“So… there really was money hidden inside?” Her mouth falls open. “And that’s why you didn’t want to press charges. Because he was telling the truth about the money.”

He rubs the back of his neck, grimacing. “Yeah. I didn’t want to press our luck.”

“And this is what you didn’t want me to know?” She gives me a shove. “That you’re noble enough to take the fall for my brother?”

“Don’t call me noble,” I grunt. “There was nothing noble about it. You needed your brother more than you needed me.”

“I will always need you,” she whispers, ducking under my arm, wrapping both of hers around my waist. “Both of you. So don’t do anything like that again.”

“You’re… not mad?” Ben ventures.

“I’m furious—but I’ll get over it. No more secrets, okay?” He nods, grinning, and I do the same. No more secrets. Nothing keeping us apart.

“I do love you,” I whisper once Ben leaves the room, and we have a little privacy. She snuggles against me once I’ve engulfed her in my arms. “I won’t do anything stupid again, I promise—but I can’t promise I won’t beat the shit out of anybody who puts their hands on you. Don’t ask me to say it.”

She sighs sweetly while love radiates from her smile. “I wouldn’t waste my breath.”

EPILOGUE

CORINNE

One year later

“It looks like Arrow’s booked solid the next three weeks.” Scrolling through the calendar on the laptop, I offer, “Can you come in on the morning of the eighteenth? That’s his first open slot.”

This is how it’s been pretty much since Arrow started taking on work a year ago. Ben was already popular, but adding Arrow to the shop full-time made the business explode. As I take this call, a couple is going over designs in Ben’s portfolio while Arrow is in the back, working on a custom design with a new client.

Ben’s next appointment walks in, and I invite him to help himself to a drink or a snack at the station I set up in front of the desk before heading back to give my brother the heads up. I figured since people so often have to wait to be seen, they might as well be comfortable.

“You should go home,” Ben decides when I press my hands to my lower back. “You’re working too hard.”

“I answer phones and schedule appointments,” I remind him, rubbing my swollen belly with one hand. “You know Arrow doesn’t let me do more than that. But you need the help.”

“Maybe if you’d stop turning down every girl who applies for the job,” he retorts.

“Can I help it if none of them were good enough?” Not to mention how all of them tried to flirt with him.

It wasn’t only the job they weren’t good enough for. It’s him. I’ll need to get over my protectiveness and fast since the baby’s due in four weeks, and I do need to get somebody trained. But Ben has a big heart, and like most men, he can sort of forget to think when there’s a hot girl around. I don’t want somebody taking advantage of my successful, generous brother while I’m home caring for a newborn.

Ben welcomes his customer and leads him back to his room, and I head back to the desk to answer another call. I’ll miss the atmosphere when I’m home, but as soon as the baby’s old enough, I’ll have him in here with me. This is a family business, and I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather raise my child than with his daddy and his uncle.

It’s another hour before Arrow’s finished with his latest work, the final piece of an intricate sleeve for a longtime friend. “You’re coming to the shower this weekend?” I ask her before she leaves, and she promises to be here for it.

Arrow steps up behind me, winding his arms around my thick waist. Except for Ben’s customer, the shop is quiet; only half an hour left until we officially close for the day. “Most girls let other people plan their baby shower for them,” he murmurs while nuzzling my neck.

“I don’t want anything big, and I was afraid it would be too over-the-top if I left it to anybody else.” The back of my head touches his chest, and I smile in complete contentment.

“How’s my boy doing in there?” He rests his hand on top of my belly, which has become a shelf I could balance drinks on, and we still have a month to go.

“Running out of room. He’s going to be as big as his daddy.”

“Is that true, little man?” He pats my bump, which is more like a beachball at this point. As if he hears, our son delivers a kick that makes us both laugh.

“He knows your voice,” I whisper, smiling. My heart is so full I’m afraid it will burst. The past year has been a rollercoaster—growing the business and learning to live together as a couple. Then came the day I decided to pee on a stick.

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