Cupid's Valentine: Parthenon Coffee Shop, #1

By Dani Gray

When Cupid Winslow lost his husband three years ago on Valentine's Day, he never thought it would ever be anything but a day of mourning for him. Working in his coffee shop/bakery The Pantheon, gives Cupid something to do with his days, but he goes home to his empty house and to the ghost of his deceased husband. Meeting a handsome stranger wasn't in his plans, not when he just wanted to be alone and cry out the pain that still lived in him.

Liam Foster was on his way home from work when he noticed the lights on at his favorite coffee shop, and the baked goods there were absolutely decadent. A chance meeting with a kindred lost soul, Liam offers him friendship, while he secretly longs for so much more.

Can two men find love and happiness, or would someone with a vendetta against Cupid destroy what could be a new beginning?

**NOTE: This was previously released as part of a box set, but has been revised and extensively added to.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dani Gray
• Release date: Apr 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393174257

Book preview

Copyright © Dani Gray, 2018

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Cover Design by Jess Buffet

First Edition July 2018

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Conventions.  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, Dani Gray.  [e-mail]

No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without permission from Dani Gray. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.  Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material.  Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.

Cupid’s Valentine is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

About the Author

Chapter One

Cupid Winslow was trying to get his latest batch of muffins done since he was in a hurry to get home. With tomorrow, technically later today, being Valentine’s Day, he didn’t want to be out in public. When he had his melt down, he wanted to be in the comfort of his home. To him, Valentine’s Day was a day of mourning, not a celebration of love like it was for everyone else.

He had good reason to mourn. Three years ago, Cupid’s husband was on the way home from work when he was hit by a drunk driver. He was rushing home to take Cupid out for a dinner date so he took a different way, hoping it would be quicker. Victor was trying to avoid an accident and was hit by a drunk in a truck trying to beat a light. When he answered the doorbell, expecting it to be Victor, Cupid was shocked to see police officers in the doorway. His only consolation was being told Victor died instantly. It would have been worse if he had been alone and in pain before passing away.

Cupid really didn’t remember the conversation he'd had with the police, other than being told that Victor was dead. He didn’t even remember them leaving. He just shut down. It took his sister coming over for the flood of emotions burst out of him.

One of the first things he did remember was suddenly fighting with Victor’s sister, Suzanne. She hated the fact that Victor was married to another man, and she tried to sue him for everything that Victor and Cupid had created. It had nearly cost him his home and business. The damage she tried to inflict with her smear campaign and phony tears just about ruined him. If it wasn’t for the fact that another reporter found out the truth of what Suzanne was up to, it could have financially destroyed him.

Since then, Cupid had cut himself off from everyone. He knew it wasn’t a healthy way to live, but he also knew enough about himself that he was still emotionally crippled.

Oh, he smiled and laughed while at work, but none of it was real. He was so grateful when his sister, Athena, decided to become the manager of his coffee house/bakery, The Pantheon. He was able to stay in his kitchen and create, while she was the face of the business. It was actually Victor who named the shop. He thought it was a cute word play because of the name of his sister and Cupid. Growing up named Cupid was hard, but his older sister had always protected him. Her name really suited her personality. She was fierce, especially when she was defending her loved ones.

Cupid wanted to make sure he had enough baked goods for later today, so he came in late the night before in order to make it all, then he was going home to spend the day with his memories. He still missed the feeling of being wrapped up in Victor’s arms, sleeping draped all over the love of his life. How did someone recover from that type of loss? He’d been asking himself that question every day since he lost Victor.

Everyone kept telling him it would get better. He wouldn’t always feel so alone in a crowd of people. He would meet someone new and find new love. Cupid wasn’t sure if he would ever recover from the hollow feeling in his chest, but he did admit, if only to himself, that the constant ache was pretty much gone.

After putting the last of the baking away for the day, Cupid quickly cleaned up, making sure to leave the kitchen sparkling. Going over to the door, he hit the button on the remote start for his car. Living this far north, the land was still in the grips of a damn cold winter. Not too much snow, but the constant days of bitter cold were tiring.

Giving the kitchen and the front of the store a quick look through to make sure it was ready for later that day, Cupid was satisfied all was in shape. He went over to the back door, dressed up in his jacket, hat and gloves, set the store alarm, then opened the door and screamed in fright.

Hey, the stranger said with his hand out, It’s ok. I was just going by and wanted to make sure everything was okay. I saw the lights on, so I came over to check that the store was locked up.

Hearing the alarm getting ready to set, Cupid quickly stepped out and made sure the door was locked behind him before turning to the man.

Sorry about that. You startled me when I found you standing there.

Noticing the stranger’s amazing