Cupid's Treasure - Mystery of the Golden Arrow by Barbara Ivie Green Page B

when he stepped back into the room. Being in such tight quarters as the closet with him had been enough to make her palms sweat.
    Jonathan went to the door and turned around, but he almost wished he hadn’t. She was standing just outside the closet. The light from the small room outlining her form in the flannel nightgown gave a hint as to what was beneath.
    “See you in the morning.” Amber nudged her glasses up on her nose.
    “Hmm, hmm.” He cleared his throat which suddenly felt tight. The spinster librarian was hiding an incredible shape under all that covering. Jonathan had to force himself to look away. Holy hell! He was glad he wasn’t strapped to a heart monitor at the moment. She’s as old as your grandma, he reminded himself, but his body wasn’t listening.
    Amber didn’t know what had come over the man. He was not acting like his normal, laid back, overly confident self. It must be from the fumes of the old cat box he was carrying.
    “ Good night,” he practically choked out. He left the room, shutting the door behind himself and stood for a moment to gather his wits in the dark hallway.
    “Well, that was odd,” Amber said when Kisses came back into the room and sat looking up at her.
    Muff, muff.
    “No, it couldn’t be,” Amber said in response. “I mean look at me.” She turned off the light and crawled into bed. “There is no way.”
    Jonathan stood in the hallway and took a deep breath.
    “Everything is okay, oui? ” Jacques asked as he appeared.
    “Augh.” Jonathan gasped in surprise, somewhat startled by him. “Do you have to keep popping up like that?”
    Jacques smiled knowingly.
    “No!” Jonathan whispered, looking at the grin on the other man’s face. “It’s not what you think!”
    “I said nothing.” Jacques chuckled.
    ~*~
    Knock, knock, knock.
    Amber bolted upright in the bed at the sound of someone tapping on her door. She looked around, disoriented.
    “Rise and shine, sweetheart.” She heard Charlene say as she slowly padded across the floor to open the door. Amber hesitated as her hand touched the knob.
    “I just came over to check on you like I said I would, sugar,” Charlene said. “And I thought I’d bring you up a cup of coffee while I was at it.”
    Not wanting to leave the woman waiting out in the hall with a cup of coffee, Amber opened the door.
    “Good mornin', sleepyhead.” Charlene grinned at her.
    Having left her glasses on the nightstand, Amber stared at her blearily. “Did I oversleep?”
    “No, sugar, it’s only seven a.m.” Charlene handed her the cup. “I can let you get some more shut eye if you want,” Charlene said. “I just thought we could sit out on the back porch and look over the flower garden. She has those beautiful winter roses.”
    “Thank you,” Amber said.
    “I can come back,” Charlene said.
    “No, really, I’d like that,” Amber said. “I just didn’t sleep well.” She yawned.
    “Well, I guess you wouldn’t all alone in that bed.” Charlene chuckled as she gazed at the heart shaped bed with its red silk trapping and gold filigree. There was even a gold plaster image of Cupid on the wall behind it. Betty Boop reigned supreme in the décor war. The cherub was sadly outnumbered by the Boops. “This room is made for two.”
    Amber immediately thought of the man she’d most like to have with her, which wasn’t what she wanted to be thinking about.
    “Hmm, hmm,” Charlene said as Amber donned her glasses. “I don’t know why you are hiding those eyes behind glasses.”
    Amber glanced in the mirror over the dresser. Her hair had lost some of its frizz factor as she slept. Her curls were cascading down her back in a glorious heap. Oh, no! She wanted to groan at the fetching picture she presented. Good thing only Charlene is in the room with me .
    “Have you ever thought of contacts?”
    “They make my eyes puffy,” Amber said quickly.
    Jessie popped her head in the door. “You are up!” She smiled. “I was