Marked With Love

MARKED WITH LOVE ELLA GOODE CONTENTS Summary Chapter 1 Eros Chapter 2 Morgan Chapter 3 Eros Chapter 4 Morgan Chapter 5 Eros Chapter 6 Morgan Chapter 7 Eros Chapter 8 Morgan Chapter 9 Eros Chapter 10 Morgan Chapter 11 Eros Chapter 12 Morgan Chapter 13 Eros Chapter 14 Morgan Chapter 15 Eros Chapter 16 Morgan Chapter 17 Eros Chapter 18 Morgan Chapter 19 Eros Chapter 20 Morgan Chapter 21 Eros Chapter 22 Morgan Chapter 23 Eros Epilogue Also by Ella Goode Connect with me! Eros was named by his mother to be a great lover but he has more interest in paint than women. A reclusive artist, Eros spends his days immersed in his art. To stop his mom from hounding him, Eros agrees to go on a blind date…and proceeds to fall in love with the woman the moment his eyes land on her. Morgan’s a free spirit who loves her Grams and her friends, in that order. She stays away from men because they all want her gram’s money and while Eros Flynn is too beautiful for words, she’s pretty sure he’s exactly like all the rest of the guys she’s ever come across. Eros hasn’t ever met anyone who hated him on sight but if there’s one trait he’s known for its persistence. He’ll turn Morgan’s hate into love if it’s the last thing he does. He wasn’t named Eros for nothing. CHAPTER 1 EROS “No, Matty, I’m not going on a double date with you.” I flip through the television menu. Why do I subscribe to five hundred streaming services and have nothing to watch? I settle on a documentary about vampire myths. It seems like the right sort of background noise for my conversation with my teammate from the basketball pickup league we have on Wednesdays. “Why? It’s not like you have anything else going on.” “I’ve got dishes to do.” Huh, Romanians don’t like the vampire stories. I was not aware of this. “What dishes? You have a dishwasher. Besides, you can’t cook for shit. The only dishes you have are the ones you use to feed Gremlin. You live on takeout and your mom’s mercy.” My cat, who resembles one of those furry creatures from the movie, twitches his tail at the mention of his name. “Exactly. I have takeout boxes to dispose of. That takes time. And effort,” I add in case he doesn’t get my point. “I’m swinging by at six. Wear something with a collar. We’re going to a restaurant that has tablecloths.” Matty hangs up. I send a baleful glance toward Gremlin. “Do I look like I own something with a collar? I’m an artist, for fuck’s sake. I live in ratty, paint-splattered T-shirts and joggers. Also with paint splatters. Speaking of paint…” I pinch the end of Gremlin’s tail. “I see you have some marks on you, too.” He jerks his tail out of my grip and whips it across my palm a few times to chastise me for touching him. I think that my naming him Gremlin set us off on the wrong foot. Maybe. I give the surly cat a pat that earns me a hiss in return and then push to my feet. The truth is I haven’t been painting, not in a long while. I’ve dabbled here and there. I’ve had a brush in my hand every day, but nothing I’ve done is any good. In my studio space that runs along the entire back of the house, I stare at the giant canvas hung on the wall and wait for inspiration to strike. What am I painting here? What am I feeling? I bang open a can of paint, dip my brush inside, and then…I don’t move. The brush hangs at my side, and paint drips off onto the drop cloth at my feet. A bell rings overhead, rousing me from my stupor. I check my phone and am surprised to see a half hour has passed. If it wasn’t for the doorbell, who knows how long I would’ve stood here. I toss the brush down and go answer the door. My mom pushes past me the moment I turn the knob. “Gosh, you took so long. I could’ve been mugged out here,” she calls over her shoulder. I peek outside but see no one on the street. “It’s a gated community,” I remind her as I follow her to the kitchen. “People die in gated communities all the time.” “When was the last time?” “That we know of?” She puts four glass containers on the kitchen table and then pulls the fridge open. I inspect the dishes. Lasagna, pork belly, roast beef, and some kind of chicken meal. All of the food groups represented. “I haven’t noticed anyone missing.” Mom stops rummaging in the fridge to give me an Are you kidding? roll of her eyes. “Name one neighbor.” Instead of answering, I restack the glass containers. “Exactly,” crows Mom. “You’ve lived in this house for five years and can’t name a single neighbor, so they could be murdered and you wouldn’t know.” “The smell would give it away.” “Only if the bodies were decomposing.” “You might need to stop watching those true crime shows.” “I have.” “Because you’ve run out or because you aren’t interested?” “Can you believe that they aren’t putting any new ones out? I had to resort to watching fictional crime dramas, although I will say Selena Gomez has some wonderful chemistry with Steve Martin and Martin Short.” Mom slams the door shut. “Anyway, as I was saying, I’m going to set you up with this nice girl whose dad is a detective. I met him at a book signing the other day and he was—” “No.” I shudder. The last setup that I had was with an actual cop, and she took out her phone and showed me crime scene photos. I didn’t need to see that. I’m an artist! I’m sensitive! I like to paint with