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

Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Months later
Mia found Bevan completely enchanting. He did everything she had ever wanted. Today he said he'd take her for a picnic and she couldn't wait.
She'd made it past the third date with him and now they'd been dating for more than a month. A giddy happiness had enveloped her when he came across as a normal man. Maybe this time Cupid had it right.
The moment she finished applying her makeup, the doorbell rang. She loved his punctuality and the fact that he was definitely single. Mia knew she was the only woman in his life and that left her ecstatic.
The more time she spent with Bevan the closer she grew to him. It took her a great deal of effort to push aside thoughts of him being the one. She had thought Sean was her elusive one and look how that had turned out.
Being with Bevan left her feeling free and full of joy, so she put aside those thoughts and enjoyed spending time with him. If he was the one then it would all work out.
Sure, she hadn't seen where he lived, but he had said that the ongoing renovations at his house made it almost unliveable. She had been to his office many times though and found the place welcoming. He had spent the night with her at her place, and normally he made breakfast for her in the morning.
“Bevan!” Mia tried to sound sultry but it came out more like a squeal as she flung the door open.
“Mia, my darling,” Bevan with his deep voice left her sighing and fluttering a hand to her face.
From his perfect golden hair, his gorgeous olive complexion, and those ever kissable lips, the man made Mia want to swoon. His muscular build meant that she loved his hugs when he held her, just like now.
“I have our picnic all prepared. Are you ready to go?” he asked and Mia nodded eagerly.
It was the perfect day for a picnic with the sun beaming down, the trees providing wonderful shade and the warm air enveloping them both.
Bevan made the best picnic she'd ever had. Not only did he remember a blanket, but the delicious food and wonderful company left Mia enchanted. It was only when he produced dessert and started to twitch that she suspected a problem.
Bevan had always shown her a light hearted kindness and warmth. When he went from loving and sweet to serious, as he offered her a delicately decorated cupcake, she began to worry. She took the cupcake as he cleared his throat.
“I thought we could have a chat,” Bevan said as he tapped a finger lightly against her hand.
“A chat about what, exactly?” Mia asked cautiously.
“About me.”
“What about you?”
“I didn't tell you that I live at home with my mother,” Bevan admitted in a rush.
Mia considered him carefully. She had dated mummies boys before, so it wasn't a big deal. Bevan was still the most mature of all of them, so she wanted to keep an open mind.
“Okay,” Mia replied.
“You're fine with that?” Bevan cleared his throat again.
“Yes, there's a hundred different reasons for why you live at home. If you explain it to me then I'm sure I'll understand,” she smiled in reassurance even as her heart started to sink with unease.
“It's not understanding that I need from you. You must allow yourself to succumb to mother’s whim. I wanted to take you to meet her today,” Bevan beamed a bright grin at her while Mia tried not to squirm where she sat.
The intensity of dread grew within Mia and she drew in a breath. How had she missed that this man had an odd infatuation with his mother? He had never really mentioned her before, so this slapped Mia hard in the face.
“What does succumb to your mother’s whim mean?” Mia dared to ask.
“Mother is and always will be the one in charge,” Bevan’s pride at such a statement made Meri shiver.
“Sorry, Bevan, but I'm in charge of my own life and I like it that way. If you want your mother to be in charge of your life then that's your choice.”
Bevan’s smile dimmed and he scratched at his nose. When his eyes met hers she could see confusion mixed with excited anticipation in his gaze.
“You cannot go against the mother. Nothing is more forbidden then to go against her wishes,” Bevan leaned in to whisper to Mia in a chiding voice.
“Great, another loony,” Mia said with a roll of her eyes as all of her hopes came crashing down.
“I'm not insane!” Bevan exclaimed.
“Sure, but you do live at home with your mother who thinks she's in charge of your life, correct?”
“Shush, she'll hear you, and I don't want her first impression of you to be a disappointment,” Bevan lowered his voice and waved his hand about frantically.
“We've been dating for a month and at no time have you mentioned this infatuation with your mother. Where is this coming from?” Mia asked but Bevan didn't reply. “Fine, why did you decide that you wanted to date me?” Mia’s voice only grew louder.
“Shush!”
“No, why did you decide to date me?”
“Mother saw you at Jen’s wedding and she thought you'd make a perfect addition to our family, so she got your number from Jen,” Bevan answered as he twisted his hands together. “I do think I've failed and that I've upset mother,” Bevan sighed.
Mia went back through her mind to any Jen’s she might have met at any weddings. Nothing came to mind until she pictured tiny Jennifer Carlington. Even as she had organised the wedding, Mia had known that the bride didn't want to marry the man. Jennifer had continued to agree with everything, so Mia had little control.
“Do you mean Jennifer Carlington?” Mia asked, unable to control the way her voice shook.
“Yes, exactly! She married my best friend. Mum saw you there and thought you were perfect to join us as Jen had joined her new family. You were so humble to everyone with such polite and caring words.”
Mia released a breath, “Bevan, I was the wedding planner. Jennifer paid me to be there and to organise everything. That's my job,” Mia emphasised her last words by flicking her business card at him.
“Are you saying that you weren't a guest?” Bevan sounded horrified at the thought.
“I wasn't a guest. Like I said, I organised the wedding.”
Bevan paled, his eyes went wide and his mouth flopped open. Mia would've found it comical, if her heart hadn't started to shatter and her anger hadn't blazed to life. She had begun to hope. She had seen a future and now she knew it wasn't meant to be. The man she had thought Bevan was had no similarities to who he actually was.
“You don't know my ways,” Bevan declared as he shifted away from her.
“Now I'm sure I don't want to know either,” Mia said with a huff.
“Mother, this won't work! She's not one of us,” Bevan called out to the surrounding trees.
Before Mia could respond, another woman with short grey hair and a severe face darted over to where she sat with Bevan. The woman towered over Bevan, and Mia saw him flinch back. With a glance to Mia and then back to Bevan, the woman began to shake her finger and make tutting noises beneath her breath.
“Why not?” the woman demanded.
“She wasn't a guest at the wedding, she's the one paid to organise it,” Bevan quickly explained and the older woman paused to stare at Mia.
“You know what? I think I'm done here. You can have your, whatever the hell this is,” Mia insisted.
Mia swished a hand between mother and son before standing up and walking away from the weirdness she had just witnessed. Neither mother or son tried to call her back and Mia never turned around to see them.
Once as she marched along, she swore she glimpsed the man in the robes again. The sun had shone so brightly around him as to create a halo. She found him staring at her as if she was a problem he needed to fix. When she shook her head he vanished and she returned to the devastation of another break up.
With a shudder at what she had almost joined, Mia stormed into her house. It looked like Cupid was about to receive another one of her letters.
For the last month, Cupid had patted himself on the back and knew he'd solved fussy Caramia Hayworth’s issues. Occasionally, he'd check in on her and things continued along swimmingly. This morning had to be the time where she blew it and let her fussy behaviour overrule his good choice.
What was he going to do now? Should he choose to ignore that anything had happened or quickly find another match for her? He hated the indecision that this woman always presented to him.
Devinah stormed into Cupid's office expecting to find him in one of his lazy lump, video game playing moods. She swayed to a halt and had to temper her yelling voice when she saw him scanning over papers strewn across his desk.
“You have a letter,” Devinah said as she tossed the note amongst the mess on his desk.
“Not surprising,” Cupid grunted.
“What happened this time? She thinks you tried to put her into a cult,” Devinah chided but couldn't hide her amusement.
“It wasn't far off,” Cupid replied with a shrug. “She had a high rating with him, so that's why I chose him.”
“The higher Gods are going to get involved soon, Cupid.”
“I am very aware of such an occurrence,” he growled.
“You have to use the bow and arrows, it's the only way.”
Cupid didn't reply. With gritted teeth he combed through all of the information he had on the woman. There had to be a solution! Every human had a match, every single one of them. What was wrong with this woman?
He had watched the pair date from a discreet distance. Everything had run along smoothly and he had started to leave them to it.
The dreaded picnic had brought the truth to life that Cupid hadn't bothered to see. He had somehow missed the obsessive relationship between mother and son. Looking at the notations he had, Bevan’s perfect partner was actually a woman fifteen years older than him who could control him the way he wanted. How had he not noticed sooner
Cupid puffed out a breath and conceded that maybe Devinah had it right. Maybe he did need to take his bow and arrows next time. If he wanted to get Caramia Hayworth off his case then it needed a far more personal approach.