Cupid Country Crush
Cupid Country Book Three
Grumpy meets sunshine in this small-town age-gap romance.
Out now!
Eden Jones has loved fellow showjumper Humphrey Taylor-Martin since she was sixteen years old. Except Humphrey is convinced their age gap is a bigger problem than any romantic feelings he might be hiding and refuses to be anything more than friends.
That doesn’t stop Eden from trying to change his mind. But when yet another emphatic rejection sends her reeling, Eden vows it’s time to move on. She’ll go on dating app Cupid Country and schedule a date a week for the whole of the showjumping season, until her Humphrey crush is cured.
Humphrey should be relieved when he learns of Eden’s plan. He might crave her as much as she craves him, but bright, funny Eden deserves someone her own age, not a grizzled, grumpy old man. But as the showjumping season edges on, and Eden keeps dating, Humphrey’s feelings only deepen and threaten to expose his true heart.
Can he keep his distance until the end of the season, or will one precious night change their lives forever?
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Excerpt
Humphrey was contemplating the second half of his toastie when a loud neigh ruptured the night. Eden’s horses stood at the corner of their yard, their focus intent on the gate. A few seconds later she appeared, coming at pace.
Humphrey’s stomach lurched. He dumped his plate and rose, ready to run to her, only for Eden to wave and switch direction for his truck.
‘What are you doing out in the cold? It’s freezing.’ She demonstrated with a shudder and a stamp of her feet, arms wrapped around herself. ‘I had to jog the whole way so I didn’t turn into a popsicle.’
Humphrey assessed her face in the light of the truck’s open door. Other than a pair of cold-pinked cheeks, she looked fine. He’d been worried about nothing.
‘Keeping an eye on the horses.’ He glanced at the sky. ‘Wind’s making them restless.’ A big fat lie, but Eden wouldn’t know that.
She gave a chuckle. ‘There I was thinking you were waiting up for me.’
Or maybe she did.
He bent for his toastie and took a bite. The congealed cheese was like rubber in his mouth, but he forced himself to chew.
‘How did it go?’
She shrugged and regarded Ruffian and Admiral, who were still staring at her like a pair of lovesick puppies. She blew them a kiss. ‘Not great.’
Which had Humphrey’s stomach lurching again. He threw the toastie down and narrowed his gaze towards the main streetlights.
Eden bumped his shoulder with her own. ‘Nothing like that. I don’t think so, anyway, but it’s hard to tell.’ She lowered her head and toed something in the dirt. ‘He was pretty bitter about his ex.’
Humphrey grunted. He’d known men like that. Men who blamed everyone but themselves for whatever went wrong in a relationship.
‘For a dud date you were out a while.’
Eden looked up. ‘Oh, yeah. Nell and her friend turned up, so I used them as an excuse to escape and joined them for a drink and a dance. There was a band playing. Pretty good one too. I would have stayed for a bit only …’ She indicated Ruffian and Admiral, but Humphrey could hear a note of despondency in her voice. It took all his willpower not to fold his arms around her.
Just for comfort—a friend there for a friend—but Eden would likely misinterpret it.
Humphrey offered her the next best thing, jerking his thumb at the kitchenette. ‘Got some of Mum’s fruitcake if you’re interested.’
‘No,’ she said, shaking her head and surprising him. Eden usually jumped at the chance of a cuppa and fruitcake in the truck. ‘But thanks. I need to give my boys a cuddle and get some sleep.’
‘Right,’ said Humphrey, thinking he wouldn’t mind a goodnight cuddle too. ‘Night, then.’
She smiled, a genuine one. ‘Good night to you, Humphrey.’ Then she winked. A pure sunny Eden that made the blustery evening suddenly warm. ‘Thanks for staying up.’
Humphrey watched her go, rubbing at his chest where a weird feeling had lodged. He busied himself with his horses, glancing her way now and then to see if she’d change her mind. Only when she headed to the amenities block, toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, did he wearily climb the steps into the kitchenette.
He opened the fruitcake container, stared at the contents, then closed the lid.
What was the point of fruitcake if he didn’t have someone to share it with?
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