Christmas Cupid

by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Is it too much to ask for a bit of news, some culture? Real Housewives is preferable to this dumb blather.

It’s absurd. I may not have a multi-million-dollar contract, but I have a stable job. I take my vitamins. I own a cool condo downtown. I have a good life.

I just don’t know if I can ever get that girl back—that wide-eyed, joyful, un-jaded girl who loved Christmas more than anyone. I grew up, and growing up sometimes means pain.

A welcome note is taped to the top of the island: Enjoy your stay! -Ed and Riana, owners of Cupid’s Cabin.

So I do the only natural thing. I throw my headless gingerbread man at him and scream.

A dog the size of an oversized rat bolted into the bathroom and started yipping like hell at me, scratching at the ankle that wasn’t in the tub as if he thought he could take me on. I’ve legit seen bigger cats around my house.

“Don’t have any clothes.” Her lips puff out a breath of air, filled with disgust. “What? Are you like some kind of feral creature who just wandered in from your cave?”

“It’s as simple as that.” “As what?” She points at me with her index finger. “You have to go.”

“Come on, sweetheart. I’m too pretty to throw out like dirty dish water.” She hoots. She actually hoots. “Hockey boys and their egos. You are pathetic.” “Like water off a duck. And you are a bratty princess. Tell me, did those boots slide in the snow? Did you bring any real shoes?” “I can shove this boot up your ass.” I smile widely. Damn, I do like her spirit. She’s a firecracker, but just as I’m thinking how cute she is again, her face hardens, and I blanch. She’s seriously going to throw me out on my ass.

“I’m not staying here with some strange guy who could be a serial killer…or worse.” “I’m not a stranger, and I’m not a serial killer. I’m a hockey player.” “That’s worse.”

For some reason though, Rob paws at the door, whimpering. Why did you do that, Mom? It’s going to be tough driving in this. “Oh, shush,” I scold. “You didn’t like him either.”

Which isn’t true. Rob likes everyone. Even people who call him a rat. Fatal flaw.

Hockey players. They can have everything wrong with them and still be so addictively gorgeous you can’t tear your eyes away.

Nope, not gonna go there. Do not get sucked in by his pretty irises. I manage to tear my glance away as he climbs the steps to the house.

“I don’t drink hard liquor.” It makes me way too chatty. And horny. Or I want to fight someone. Really, I’m sort of unpredictable.

Sure, I love my fashion, but I’m also smart and savvy.

“Why? You didn’t think I could do it?” “I imagine you can do just about anything you want.”

He’s the kind of man you’d want around in case of the zombie apocalypse or any end-of-the-world event. Sure, he’s prone to running around naked, but he knows how to make fire and chop down trees.

Being warm and cozy against his chest felt so right. It was delicious and perfect, and ugh, I have to stop.

That’s dog behavior.” At her feet, Puck whines. “Sorry, Rob. That’s worse than dog behavior.”

“What I mean is, you’re wickedly talented, maybe not in sports but in other things, funny, sweet, cute—no, gorgeous…I mean, you’re the total package. Who would want to leave you?”

The map might say we’re on a mountain in Tennessee, but for the first time in my life, I could swear I’m in heaven.

She closes her eyes. “Keep them open, Iris.” My voice is hoarse as if it’s been dragged over gravel.

He’s everything I’ve sworn to avoid: my brother’s best friend, a hockey player, and definitely not my type. Yet there’s something about him that makes me feel like I’m having fun for the first time in ages.

“You know, this is Cupid’s Cabin. Maybe there’s something about it that makes you feel drawn to someone.”

You asked me what I’d want on my Christmas list, and it would be you and me…seeing if this is real.”

I realize while nothing in life is perfect, some things, some moments, are infinitely better, more beautiful, more precious. They are the moments that make life worth living, the times that bring light to the darkness, and I’m grateful, so incredibly grateful, to have found this moment with him.