Operation: Winter Cupid Read online

  Reason tried to tell her she shouldn’t— She pushed it aside. She was sick of being reasonable. This was what she wanted to be doing. “No.”

  “I—what?”

  Giddiness flooded her. “I won’t meet you somewhere. You owe me a real date. You can pick me up. At my apartment, not in an office-building parking lot.”

  “I’d like nothing better.”

  She gave him her address, told him to give her an hour to get ready, and disconnected. Flutters filled her heart and chest. This entire situation was absolutely ridiculous, but nothing had ever felt more right in her life. It was true she didn’t know Josh well enough to start planning for a future, but for the first time in ages, she was interested in giving things a shot.

  It didn’t hurt that the entire thing came with just a hint of magic attached to it. She was going to enjoy the hell out of falling for this guy.

  Epilogue

  Ella blew at the loose strand of hair on her forehead, and then again when it refused to budge. Just inside the apartment door, she dropped the box she was carrying. Frustrated, she reached up, and rebound her ponytail. The June sun was making her T-shirt stick to her skin, but the final result would be worth it.

  A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and Josh kissed along the back of her neck. “You’re sexy with your hair up.”

  She smiled at the now-familiar contact, and leaned back into him. “I’m hot, sweaty, and need a shower.”

  His fingertips traced over her stomach, the light contact both tickling and comforting her. “The last of the boxes can wait until the sun goes down, right? There are only a few left in your car.”

  For the first few weeks after he’d quit his job as a cupid, he’d grumbled about having to take a normal job, but she knew he loved his call center work and talking to people on the phone all day.

  And they’d seen more and more of each other over the past six months, until they finally relented and realized neither one of them liked it when she had to go home at night. They were just finishing up moving her stuff into his apartment.

  She intertwined her fingers with his. “I suppose it can wait. Why?”

  The sound of the door latching shut echoed through the room, and he tugged her shirt over her head. “Let’s solve the shower problem.”

  She laughed, as he tugged her toward the bathroom. He pressed her against the door frame, and kissed her hard before breaking away again.

  He pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you so very much, Ella.”

  She sighed, and leaned her weight against him. “I love you too.” She still wasn’t sure if she believed in things like fate, but she knew without a doubt that she’d always be grateful for second chances at love and life.

  ~*~*~ THE END ~*~*~

  If you enjoyed the Winter Cupid stories, and would like to read about Devin and Kaylee, check out:

  Operation: Cupid

  Everyone deserves a chance to love again! She wants the love of her life back. He’s sent to show her how to move on. When the past and present collide, neither is prepared for the results.

  Kaylee lost her true love on Valentine’s Day, so to say she’s not a fan of the holiday is the understatement of the decade. When being bombarded by hearts and flowers pushes her to the brink of tears, she wishes for her lost love back. A stranger, who reminds her of the past in every way, offers her comfort—but he summons painful memories, leaving her torn.

  Devin enjoys his job as a cupid, helping lonely souls move on from lost loves and heartbreak and seeing their joy return. His life was taken too soon and being a cupid allows him a second chance. When he’s assigned to Kaylee, he’s inexplicably drawn to her, but she triggers unfamiliar memories and emotions. He finds himself breaking all the rules of his job to make her happy, but he still can’t offer her the one thing she wants: her lost love.

  As Kaylee and Devin grow closer, the demons of their past still haunt them. If they can’t reconcile what could’ve been, they’ll both lose out on their second chance at happily ever after. Can true love survive all obstacles?

  More by Allyson Lindt

  The #5Star Affair

  Jaycie Wharry is one of gaming’s most infamous reviewers—under the intentionally vague pseudonym J-Dub. Most of her friends didn’t even know what she really did for a living. Then again, one in particular was missing a few solder points in his neural circuits, and she traded that life in as fast as she could when his infatuation with her translated into a threat to her safety. Her new roommate, Ethan, is just supposed to be a firewall against the past, but they’re heating up the wires faster than an X-box on a summer’s day.

  Ethan's goals in life are simple—pay off his student loans before he's thirty, start his own gaming company, and keep the emotional attachments to a minimum so he can stay on task. Though, he's willing to make an exception on the last one for his new roommate. She holds her own in a first person shooter as well as she does in a debate, but still yields in the most delicious way behind closed doors. So what if she reviews the same kind of video games he writes? A little planning and there won't be any conflict of interest.

  When one of Ethan’s friends leaks Jaycie’s reviewing identity to the entire internet, accusing her of sleeping with developers in exchange for her 5-star approval, both of their careers are threatened. Since slapping a gag-order on the internet to protect their jobs, privacy, and safety isn’t an option, Jaycie and Ethan will need to archive all their preconceived notions, or watch their future—with each other and in general—crash in an unrecoverable way.

  Roll Against Trust (3d20 Book 1)

  Tasha’s not looking for love, but she doesn’t mind just looking… and maybe a little fantasizing. Her two best friends and weekend AD& D buddies, Seth and Ryan, are the perfect guest stars in her fantasies. When a late night gaming session with the three goes from silly to verbally scorching in an instant, Tasha wonders if her imagination is enough to keep her satisfied long term.

  Then her ex’s money mismanagement catches up to her in the form of draining her bank account, her job is threatened by a mistake that points to Ryan, and Seth takes his side. If Tasha can’t move past her trust issues long enough to uncover the truth—both with herself and the men she’s falling for—she’ll wind up broken-hearted and just plain broke.

  Breaching His Defenses (Love Hack Book 1)

  What happens in Vegas… Can break hearts and destroy careers.

  Years ago, heartbreak corrupted Jared Tippins’s outlook on love. He spun the betrayal into a rapid climb up the corporate ladder, and swore off any relationship with a morning after. Luckily, the playful siren who rescues him from singing a duet alone in a karaoke bar doesn’t want anything long term. If only he could stop fantasizing about ways to make her moan. Sure, she could’ve mentioned he works for the competition. At least she’s not behind the security concerns that have plagued his company for almost six months.

  If she were, he’d be screwed on a whole new level.

  Mikki Elford is determined to have the fun she missed out on when she fast-tracked her way through college. But school had its upside, too. She’s qualified to legally hack corporate networks. Best job ever. She also gained an appreciation for the legends in computing — Gates, Jobs, and Tippins. When she meets Jared Tippins and realizes he’s sexy and fluent in programming languages older than she is, no consequence will dissuade her from an impromptu fling. Fortunately, he doesn’t mind that six months ago she compromised his network to land her job.

  Oh, crap! He doesn't know.

  About Allyson Lindt

  Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She prefers that her geeky heroes come with the alpha expansion pack and adores a heroine who can hold her own in a boardroom. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together.

  Table of Contents

  Operation Santa’s Elf

  Chapter One

  Chapter T
wo

  Chapter Three

  Operation: New Year’s Kiss

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Epilogue

  More by Allyson Lindt

  About Allyson Lindt