When we arrive back at the Cupids Matchmaking Service, Crystal is waiting for us in the reception area sat on the white stone desk. She jumps down as the bell hanging by the door tinkles– her sharp blue eyes sliding from me and Cal, onto the laptop tucked under Cupid's Arm.

"You interpreted the code yet?" says Cal abruptly before she can speak.

She frowns; a slight crease forming in her forehead. Her shoulders stiffen.

"Give me chance..." she says.

He breathes sharply out of his nose. Crystal closes her eyes for a moment as though mentally counting to ten. When she opens them again I can see the weariness behind them. She brushes a strand of blonde hair out of her face.

"I have someone working on it," she says to him evenly as though speaking to a small child.

Cal nods brusquely then strides toward the glass panel door to the office.

"I'll be in the combat training room if I'm needed," he says without looking at anyone.

Crystal watches him, a sad look in her eyes. Cupid's lip tugs upward.

"That's one grumpy guy..." he says as Cal disappears from view.

"Oh, give him a break," says Crystal – her blue eyes sharpening as they fix on Cupid's face. "Valentine has his life thread."

As Cupid's eyes remain on her face, amusement blazing behind them, Crystal's cheeks flush a rose pink and she looks away - suddenly finding the white button on the cuff of her suit jacket incredibly interesting.

"Just let him deal how he wants to deal," she says as Cupid's eyes remain on her, a smirk on his face. "That's all I'm saying..." She exhales heavily then fixes her gaze on Cupid. "Look, just give me the laptop. I should get someone to examine it."

His grin widens but he passes it over her. She gives him a look then snatches it from his hands.

"Yes, boss," he says.

She narrows her eyes.

"I'm not your boss, you don't work here," she says.

He shrugs.

There's an award silence a moment, then Crystal meets Cupid's gaze.

"Have you thought anymore about what we were talking about before. We need to find out where she..."

"No," says Cupid – his expression darkening.

I look between the two curiously.

"What?" I say.

Crystal sighs and shakes her head.

"Nothing. Just someone...something from the past."

I narrow my eyes. Both have closed expressions on their faces. I can see I'll get nothing out of them now, but I vow to question Cupid as soon as we're alone.

"Is Charlie around?" I ask, changing the subject.

Crystal shakes her head.

"I sent her home. She's been helping look into why Valentine's taking people's hearts, and why...well..."

"Why he wants mine," I say.

She sighs then nods. Cupid tenses beside me.

"Find anything?" he says.

She shakes her head.

"Not yet. We thought taking the hearts of the zombie cupids could be a way to help anchor them to this world – a way to control them. You own someone's heart, their desire, well – you own them, don't you?" she says. "But why he wants Lila's..." she shrugs then pulls a face at me. "I don't know. Sorry..."

"Cupids trying to kill me, zombies, serial killers wanting my heart..." I wave my hand dismissively, "Meh. Old news!" I say.

She gives me a sympathetic smile and Cupid looks down at me.

"That's the spirit!" he says.

He's grinning, but I see a darkness flicker in his eyes. As he holds my gaze, his smile disappears, and the darkness seems to penetrate through me; it makes my stomach clench and my pulse quicken.

"I should get you home," he says.

I nod.

The thought of being alone with him gives me a burst of nervous energy. I need to talk to him – like Charlie said. About the match, and Valentine, and why he's seemed so weird with me since we spoke to Morta.

A part of me is worried about what he's going to say. A part of me is worried about what I'm going to say.

Everything has just felt so messed up lately. And not just because of Valentine. Because of us.

Cupid looks at Crystal, then at Charon's laptop held under her arm.

"You'll let me know as soon as you've found anything?"

"Yes. We should have something soon," she says.

Cupid nods.

Then the two of us head out of the Cupids Matchmaking Service.

***

Cupid parks the car down my street, slightly away from my house so we're out of sight of my dad. We've barely spoken for the duration of the journey – I've been thinking about how to phrase everything I want to say, and Cupid – well, as usual, I have no idea what he's thinking.

The air between us hangs heavily as he turns off the ignition and turns to look at me.

His eyes burn in the darkness – dark ocean blue with flickers of green; there's a storm behind them, a whirlwind of emotion that I can't interpret. He looks like he's trying to read me, like he's trying to search for something inside my body. I hold his gaze, feeling the familiar energy pulsing through my body.

I bite my lip, take a breath. I need to say what's on my mind.

But there's a hunger in his expression, a longing, that twists my thoughts around and makes my heart beat fast. There's pain there too. It's the same pain, and sadness I remember seeing on his face when we first met – when he knew what would happen if the match was made.

"Lila..." he says – his voice a low whisper.

My name seems to get caught in his throat.

I want to reach out and touch him – but something stops me, pride I think. Pride because I feel sure that what Morta said has bothered him more than it should have.

She said the match was made.

That means we're matched.

Why is that not enough for him? Why am I not enough for him?

Charlie asked me if I choose Cupid. And I do. I am so certain of it now, as I hold his gaze with mine. I chose him from the moment I stepped out onto that balcony at his first party back in the fall. I chose him when I kissed him and it nearly ended the world.

And I choose him now.

But does he choose me?

"What's going on, Cupid?" my voice is quiet, cooler than I meant it to be. I look at him closely. I take a breath – afraid of the answer to what I'm about to say. "You don't think I'm your match, do you?"

My heartbeat pounds in my ears the moment I say it.

I move back slightly in my seat, putting a little distance between us, and watch his face for his reaction.

It's not what I expected.

His eyes widen, surprised.

"What? Lila, of course I think you're my match," he leans closer to me, his face deathly serious. "Do you know how long I've been searching for you?"

My pulse quickens.

"But...why have you been so...weird. Since Morta?"

His jaw hardens and he chews on his bottom lip momentarily – a more nervous action than I've ever seen from Cupid before.

I frown.

"What is it?"

He exhales heavily, rubs a hand across his mouth, then brings his gaze back to mine.

"Valentine," he says. "I just...I don't like that Valentine was the one that made this happen."

I nod, feeling a slight release of tension inside me.

"I think I get that..." I say. "You don't like that he was, like, in control of it. Because he's evil."

The corner of his lip quirks upward slightly, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. He pauses. Takes a breath. It's like he's figuring out whether he can tell me something.

"It's more than that, lovebug," he says. He turns to face the windscreen again, taking his gaze away from me.

I furrow my brows.

"Tell me," I lean forward slightly, and reach for his arm.

His skin is burning hot. He turns to look at me again.

"Do you remember outside the Love Shack? I told you I'd never been in love before?"

I frown, taking away my hand.

"Yes?"

He exhales heavily.

"That was only half true. There was someone...once. Someone from a long time ago..."

Something clicks into place.

"The someone you and Crystal were talking about?"

He nods.

"And you loved her?"

He says nothing for a moment – his eyes fixed ahead.

"I thought I did...for a while. I was young. Only...well...it wasn't real. None of it."

I frown.

"What do you mean? Why wasn't it real?"

He clenches his jaw.

"Valentine," he says quietly.

"What do you mean?"

He looks away from me.

"Valentine orchestrated it all. He wanted to mess with me, cause trouble – get our mother to favor him over me. He was an asshole even back then."

I don't say anything – letting him fill the silence. He sighs.

"He knew she was my type," he says. "He shot her repeatedly with Capax arrows, pointed her in my direction, and told me Venus had decided she should be matched with someone...someone who I knew was not suitable for her. And – though nothing ever happened between us - we got closer. She said she loved me. And I was young, naïve - I thought it was real. I thought I loved her too."

I feel an unbidden clench of jealousy but I push it away.

"What happened?"

He turns to look at me.

"Venus wasn't happy, as you can probably imagine. She put the girl pretty much through hell. And when it seemed like it was all over, the power of Valentine's arrows had worn off. And he told me what he had done."

He shakes his head – looking down at his legs, then bringing his gaze back to mine.

"It wasn't real," he says. "None of it was real. I realized as soon as he told me. I was so infatuated by the idea of love that I'd let myself get drawn into thinking I was in love. And her love was fake too – brought on by the arrows. And so – when I think that he manipulated me again...when I think that he could have orchestrated everything that has happened between me and you..." his eyes blaze. "I don't question my feelings for you, Lila. I never have. It's different than what I felt before, back then. We are matched. We couldn't have resurrected Venus if we weren't. It's just...after what happened before...well...I hate that he's playing with our hearts. I hate him. And..." he takes a deep breath. "I worry that you might question your feelings for me."

I look up at him, hold his gaze. Despite his broad frame, and the outline of his arm muscles through his short sleeves, he looks so vulnerable, so lost. His jaw is clenched hard, and his chest moves up and down as he breathes deep, ragged breaths.

"I don't," I say quietly.

The air between us crackles with energy, with tension.

"I don't question my feelings for you," I say.

For a moment we just stare at each other, my skin burning beneath his gaze. The car feels hot. I feel hot.

And then suddenly his mouth is on mine, his big hand is cupping my face – pulling me to him. His fingers are gentle against my skin in stark contrast to the hard, desperate movement of his mouth. I breathe in sharply, and kiss him back – my hands moving to brush through his ruffled hair.

A groan escapes his lips. And he unbuckles his seatbelt with his free hand – twisting his body to lean closer to me. His tongue slips into my mouth, hot and intense, as he puts his other hand on my leg – gripping tight. His breathing is fast, hard. His warm scent engulfs me – aftershave and soap and Cupid.

"God, I want you so bad, Lila," he groans against my lips.

His voice is throaty – his breathing ragged. His words cause my stomach to clench. And inside I ache, I ache for him. I'm breathing heavily, too. My fingers grip onto his hair, pulling his mouth closer to me and a groan escapes his mouth against mine again.

And then a loud ringtone blares into the car. It makes me jump. I pull back slightly, my heart thumping.

Cupid looks at me, blinks a few times, as though regaining focus. Even in the shadowy light from the streetlamps I can see his face looks slightly flushed, his lips a little swollen, his dark golden hair more ruffled than usual.

Then a grin spreads across his face – bringing heat to my face. He says nothing, just looks at me.

The phone continues to ring.

He sighs.

"How much do you want to bet that's my dear brother calling to ruin the moment?!" he shakes his head. "It can wait."

The ringing stops and we're plunged back into silence. And though I want to be kissing him again, I don't. Not with everything that's been going on. Not when Charon is missing, and Valentine has Cal's life thread.

"What if it was important?" I ask – my voice coming out a little croaky.

There's a buzzing sound signaling a text message, and Cupid sighs. He pulls his cell out of his pocket. He looks at the screen and frowns.

"Crystal," he says. "She says she's interpreted the Morse code, and that I should head back." He gives me a pained look. "I should go. You want to come?"

I look out of the car window and sigh.

"I should probably go home," I say. "My dad is expecting me back. School tomorrow."

He nods – then he leans close to me, cupping my face. He plants a soft kiss on my lips.

"I'll let you know what Crystal says," he says.

"Thank you."

We hold each other's gaze for a moment, then I pull away, unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the car door. I step out onto the sidewalk.

"Lila?" calls Cupid.

I turn back and peer through the open door.

"Yeah?"

His gaze intensifies, but a soft smirk plays about his lips.

"You're my girlfriend, right?"