Chapter 16
ELOISE
I was more nervous entering the Jinx Valentine's Day party than I should be. I'd been invited to it even before I'd started seeing Cupid, but now that I was, it was even worse. While he was my boss, there were several people above him at Jinx who would also be at the party, and I had no one to distract me from the fact that we couldn't get found out.
My heart skipped a beat as I entered the room and immediately found myself in front of the man I was supposed to be avoiding. Instead, all I could think about was the various positions we'd found ourselves in throughout the day. It wasn't just the sex either, it was the way he'd run his fingers through my hair while we'd talked about all kinds of inconsequential things.
I forced my mind away from that and back on the present, which wasn't much better. I raked my gaze over Cupid, enjoying the sight of him in his perfectly tailored tux. His dark curls were styled in a way I hadn't seen them before, but just reminded me of what it felt like to have my fingers threaded through them.
"Good evening, Eloise," he said, his gaze boring into me in a way that made me certain that I wasn't the only one having the thoughts I was.
"Evening, Cupid." My voice came out raspy, and I cleared my throat, gaining a knowing smile from him.
He checked around us and leaned in. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you." I reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "You look good yourself."
"I do, don't I?" he joked.
"If you need me to do anything tonight..."
He shook his head. "You're here to have a good time, not to work."
I wanted to say something about the fact I'd have more fun if I was able to spend time with him, but this wasn't the right place, and it wasn't a possibility when we were supposed to be keeping whatever was between us a secret. I knew that was the right choice when it was still so early in our relationship, but there was a part of me that didn't want to care.
Another guest appeared behind me and Cupid and I exchanged disappointed looks in response. I'd love nothing more than to be able to talk to him for longer, but I knew I had to move along.
"I'll see you in a bit," I said.
"You will," he promised with a smile.
My heart fluttered even though I knew I should keep it far more under control, especially with the amount of love gods in the room. I had no doubt they'd be able to sense whatever it was I was feeling. Or be able to tell in some other ways. I wasn't entirely sure how their magic as gods worked.
I made my way over to the bar and ordered myself a drink while surveying the room, trying not to let my gaze stray back to Cupid too many times. It was always interesting to be able to observe people interacting, and there were several instances where I could tell there was an attraction between two parties and not all of them were outwardly in relationships.
Surprise shot through me as my attention landed on Thor and the woman with him. After hearing Laila talk about how convinced she was that Thor and Daisy Chains had been hooking up behind the scenes, it was impossible to miss the way he leaned in to talk to her and the arm around her shoulders. They'd had good chemistry on the show, but I'd wondered if some of that was just the way the footage had been cut together rather than anything else. But here was the evidence that it was real and I should trust my instincts more.
I pulled out my phone and sent a message to my best friends about it, wishing they could be here if I wasn't allowed to spend my time with Cupid. On the other hand, they'd probably realise that he was who I was talking about the other day within seconds and I wasn't ready for anyone to know about what was going on, especially while Cupid was my boss.
"Eloise!"
I looked up to find Sasha heading towards me, already looking like she'd had a couple of drinks. "Hey," I responded, nursing my glass of champagne but not actually drinking it.
"Can you believe we're here?" she asked, leaning against the bar and gesturing for the guy behind it to get her a drink.
"Barely," I admitted. It was surreal enough that I worked for Jinx, but the fact I was now at one of the parties run by the dating agency went far beyond that.
"I've been trying to work out which gods I recognise," she mused. "Other than Cupid, but obviously, he's off-limits."
I almost choked on my champagne. "Why would he be off-limits?"
She gave me a look that said I was being dumb, and I had to wonder if it was because she knew Cupid and I had matched on the system at work. "He's our boss and he's got a match, so I suppose he's not off-limits for you." She waggled her eyebrows at me. "But the other gods? They're up for grabs."
"I suppose. Though some of them also work for Jinx."
"Ah, yes. But our boss' boss is taken," she reminded me.
I looked over to where the Celtic goddess, and CEO of Jinx, was talking with a handsome man with dark hair who I also vaguely recognised. I suspected he was Min, her partner and one of the other gods working at Jinx. "She's not my type anyway."
"What is your type?" Sasha asked.
"You're too drunk to be matchmaking me," I responded. "Maybe I should try for you. Hera's over there, you could try to go for your match."
"Nope, never. So, spill. What is Eloise looking for?"
I shrugged. "It's mostly about the connection for me," I responded, trying not to think back to laughing with Cupid, or the way it felt whenever he touched me.
"Please. You must have some physical things you like. What do your exes have in common?"
I paused for a moment and considered. "Not much, really. I only have two."
"Ah, you're boring. How do I know which god or goddess to set you up with?"
"I don't think we're supposed to be matchmaking today," I murmured. Though the temptation was there for me as much as it apparently was for her.
"No? How about Artemis?" she asked, looking over at the dark-haired Greek goddess of the hunt.
"Not my type."
"Interesting. Is it the flowery dress or the fact she could snap you in two?" Sasha asked as she picked up her new drink.
"Neither."
"Hmm, all right. What about her brother? Apollo has that kind of beautiful look going for him."
The golden-haired man was chatting with someone else. He looked nothing like his sister, and I had to wonder if they were actually related or if they were only said to be siblings.
I shook my head.
"Aha, Loki. You get the best of everything with him."
It was easy to spot the Norse trickster god, especially because several of the interdepartmental memos I'd seen over the course of my time at Jinx suggested that he should be watched at parties like this in case he started to call for karaoke.
"I'm not really looking for anyone right now," I said, avoiding looking over to wear Cupid was.
"All right, all right, I get the idea," Sasha said. "I know it's not sensible, but there's a part of me that really wants to hook up with a god tonight. Just so I can know what they say about them in the bedroom. Can they really be better than mortals?"
"Yes," I said without thinking. "I mean, how can they not be? They've had much longer to practice." My cheeks were flaming red, but she didn't seem to notice. I was lucky she'd had as much to drink as she had.
"Mmm, good point. Oh look, the boss is looking this way." She nodded towards where Cupid was talking to Thor but clearly looking at me.
I swallowed hard and raised my glass, trying not to think too much about how long it would be until we were alone together.