It's all Cupid's fault (The Holidaze Book 2)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Mia smiled at the bride while her fury gushed around her. What bride left the rings in the hands of the most useless man involved in the ceremony?
“He’ll turn up, I’m sure, Allegra. Don’t you worry, the ceremony will run on time, just the way I promised,” Mia soothed as she considered strangling the drunken best man who’d run off with the rings.
“You’d better! That’s what I’m paying you a gad zillion dollars for,” Allegra screeched as she flipped her perfect hair over her shoulders.
Mia had to bite down on her cheek to keep from making a rude retort. This woman was not only a socialite but also had a lot of friends who were about to marry, so Mia couldn’t do anything to aggravate the situation.
“You stay in here and let my team transform you into your bridal beauty, while I find the rings,” Mia assured her before gesturing for her team to start perfecting the sour faced bride.
She tapped her head piece and  ordered anyone not busy to hunt for the best man. As she stormed past one of the columns, she thought she saw a man standing in the shadows. What caught her attention was the pristine white of the robes he wore. He watched her with a curiosity that edged with frustration.
Someone called her name and Mia turned away. She glanced quickly back to the spot only to see the man had disappeared.
“Mia, we found the best man. Do you know who he is?” her assistant Gala asked with raised brows.
“No, should I?” Mia frowned.
“I’m sorry but I think you need to sort this one out,” Gala stepped away and pointed to one of the rooms reserved for the men’s dressing rooms.
“Fine, but you need to keep the bride distracted and upbeat.”
“I’d rather that bitch of a bride than the good-looking psycho holding the rings hostage, Mia,” Gala admitted before scurrying away toward where the bride had started screeching.
Mia’s brow furrowed deeper until she caught herself. She had noticed a wrinkle appearing on her brow not that long ago and had to make a conscious effort not to encourage its growth.
How could this man be any worse than the bride? If there was ever a bridezilla it was the woman putting on her elaborate gown that Gala had walked towards.
Mia blew out a breath, straightened the lapels of her jacket and prepared herself. She needed those rings and she’d get them without a doubt.
With determined steps, she walked towards the room that apparently housed a good looking psycho. This would be just another escapade she could list in the many crazy things she’d seen in her life as a wedding planner.
Mia had deliberately left the grooms room simple. Suits hanging up labelled, two small couches if the groom needed to rethink the horrible woman he wanted to marry and that was all.
Walking in to see a man sprawled over one of the couches obviously trying to pose and failing didn't shock her, but his words did.
“Mia, baby doll, look at me now,” he said with a grin.
He waved a hand down over his body and she had to admit that he looked toned, tanned, and sculptured. The man’s shirt wasn't buttoned and he only wore underwear, so Mia could see all of him.
She stood in the doorway, brushed a hand over her hair to check its smoothness and pondered how to get the rings. This could turn out more troublesome than she had expected.
“Hello, I hear that you're in charge of the rings and I'm going to require them for the ceremony,” Mia kept her voice and face calm even as dread filled her heart.
All of the man’s confidence leaked out of him, “you don't remember me, do you?”
“Should I?
“I did this for you, all for you and you can't even remember who I am!”
Mia’s stomach plummeted even further. This man knew her, which meant that she had probably dated him before. Retrieving the rings may have turned into an impossible feat.
“It's very nice to see you, but we're going to require the rings for the ceremony,” Mia tried to sound competent and not at all desperate.
“You dumped me because of my weight and now you won't even look at me when I lost twenty kilograms for you, for us.”
His plaintive words niggled in the back of her mind. She had dated a guy who had such concerns over his weight that it had become an obsession. In the beginning she had liked him. There was a sweet innocence to him in the way he smiled. He had treated her like a queen.
She only found out about his insecurity with his weight on their second date. They had started out well until Mia ordered something delicious and fat laden. That's when the whining had started. The ‘are you trying to make me fat’ or ‘why would you order that when I'm on a diet’ had driven her crazy. The complaints were worse than any she’d ever made when on a diet.
Mia took a quick glance at him and noticed his brilliant green eyes. They were what had first attracted her to him. Mia patted her hair again and wondered what to say to this image obsessed man.
“Dell?” Mia spoke his name and the man’s face lit up.
“You do remember me! Do you like all the effort I've put in to impress you?” Dell waved a hand over his toned physique.
Mia sighed and patted her hair once more, “Dell, I never had a problem with your weight, you did.”
“What?” Dell’s casual posture grew taut and his eyes narrowed on her.
“I dated you because I thought you were a happy, carefree guy who I could enjoy life with. You're the one who changed it all around when you started squealing over garlic bread.”
“I did no such thing!” Dell snapped, affronted by her words.
“Yeah, you did. It wasn't your weight that cost you a chance at a relationship with me, it was your ridiculous attitude.”
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing,” Dell clutched a wounded hand to his chest.
Mia sighed and knew that she would have to throw a few insults to get the rings. This guy had too much drama whether he looked fit or flabby.
She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. A snicker echoed from behind her and that drew Mia’s attention. She spun on her heels and saw the man dressed in the robes again. The smirk on his face aimed right at her. Mia gritted her teeth and went to storm over to give him a piece of her mind.
“Caramia, why won't you have me?” Dell screeched and dropped to the ground.
Mia breathed out and realised that she'd have to deal with one idiot at a time, “Dell, I can't handle this stupidity, so hand over the rings now. I've got a wedding to organise and I'm not letting your self absorbed attitude get in the way.”
“I'm not self absorbed!” Dell declared.
“Then you wouldn't want the bride and groom to miss out on their wedding.”
“Come and get them, Caramia. If you want them, they're on my body somewhere.”
Dell started teasing as he thrust his groin in her direction.
Mia sent up a prayer that she wouldn't have to do what he hinted at. He walked towards her thrusting his pelvis in a weird jerking, disturbing dance.
“Don't make me yank those undies of yours down,” Mia grouched.
“You can do whatever you want to me, Caramia,” Dell continued his awkward dance.
“Don't say I didn't warn you.”
The moment she'd spoken the words, Mia took a step towards him. The silly man took that as encouragement. In one quick manoeuvre, she wrenched his underwear down and with a clatter, two rings fell to the ground.
“I knew you couldn't resist my new body,” Dell chortled as he continued his grotesque movements.
“Thanks for giving me the rings. Perhaps your, ah, enhancement didn't go far enough,” Mia deliberately stared down at his crotch.
“Don't look at me!” Dell squealed as he tugged his underwear back on and ran from the room as all his confidence vanished in a rush.
“There wasn't anything wrong with his body, you know,” an intoxicatingly deep voice said from behind her.
“I agree, it was his attitude that killed it for me. He had a pretty spectacular body. That kind of guy will never like himself enough to be in a proper relationship. He's always going to see fault,” Mia replied as she turned around.
Nobody stood behind her. The room had nobody in it. She frowned and wondered if this was as far as her sanity would take her. She picked up the rings with a handkerchief and left the room with only the tapping of her heels sounding.
Cupid let himself reappear. How had he allowed himself to talk to one of the humans? He'd come down here to fulfil the requirements of the burnt letter and found himself caught up in the moment.
No human had ever amused him as much as this one had and he hadn't even seen her on a date yet. If men were willing to change everything about themselves for her, then she had something to build on, didn't she?
Was she a fussy woman? It didn't seem so when he considered that she hadn't minded that Dell guy when he was a bigger set man.
For the first time, Cupid looked at the Match-a-Matic. He would find the answer to his problems here. This gadget had the instant capabilities that he had never bothered to obtain.
He was a God and this technology would bow to his whims. He would find this Caramia the soul mate she wanted so deeply. He would rely on this infallible gadget.