Page 8

Sabine took a long swallow, polishing off her drink, and placed her glass on the bar, aligning it with the four empty ones Aphrodite had set in front of herself.

“That’s for me to worry about. You watch your six, boss. So many cupids, so many arrows, so few perfect matches.”

3

WHERE ROMANCE TROPES ARE ENUMERATED AND (PREMATURELY) DISCARDED

So she had several problems.

But she’d been through worse.

She’d been forcibly married to a man she despised.

She’d been made to cheat on him in order to escape the loveless marriage, only to be discovered by the whole world and blamed for the wretched ordeal.

She’d been betrayed by her lover and left to shoulder the consequences of their affair alone.

She’d been used by pretty much every god in their own interests as a pawn.

She had survived.

She chose to completely ignore the rising of yet another anxiety-induced frisson at the memories of her trauma. Yes, for the upcoming week, she’d be surrounded by the very people who had abused her. Yes, they still made her skin crawl. Yes, to this day she could barely raise her eyes to Zeus lest the fear of the new torment he’d come up with return. And yes, she had to go fulfill her duty. Preferably within the next ten minutes.

Aphrodite looked at herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror and nodded as much in approval as to reassure herself. From behind,Erato placed a wrap around her naked shoulders and gave her a decidedly lascivious once-over.

“For what it’s worth, you look hot, Boss.”

Aphrodite winced. Not that she didn’t intend to appearhot. She always looked the part of Goddess of Love. The fairest of them all. Paris had not given her the damn apple for nothing, starting the entire Trojan War over her beauty. And tonight, at the Opening Ceremony, she’d need all the ammunition she could conjure to stay strong and withstand whatever harebrained plan Zeus had concocted. But it was costing her a lot.

“And I don’t understand why you’re worried. The cupids never really bothered you before. Do you actually think they’ll take Zeus up if he issues his challenge?”

“I’d say we have several problems, Erato. You and I know that an arrow alone won’t make me fall for anyone. And a couple of arrows do not make for a perfect match, regardless of whether the people in question have feelings for each other.”

Erato’s blank face did not inspire any confidence in Aphrodite that she was being understood.

“Okay, how’s this? Problem number one: the cupids will make fools of themselves, me, and whomever they choose to pair me with. Problem number two: if they fail, Zeus and the rest of them will be smug and awful and interfere with my affairs all the time, and probably take over the whole damn business, since they’ll see it as proof that I cannot run the love affairs of mortals. Problem number three: I have to endure this motley crew of self-involved prima donnas for a whole week.”

She was conveniently side-stepping the real problem. Interfering in her job of governing over love and cupids was one thing, but forcing her hand to choose a mate she had no desire whatsoever to… She shivered, pushing the images further from her mind.

“What about problem number four, which is actually a real issue? What if the cupids, just by their sheer numbers, stumble upon your perfect match? And masses of nincompoop cupids aside, Sabine Goddard is here, and she does not miss.”

Erato gave her a look that was suddenly a touch too insightful, which was disconcerting for some reason. Aphrodite preferred when her assistant was less perceptive.

“Sabine is a little upset with me. You may have been on to something about how I summoned her. Let’s just say, she is not amused.”

Erato clucked her tongue in a gesture Aphrodite knew too well meant she was trying to keep herself from saying ‘I told you so’.

“Okay, realistically, who could they pair you with? Is this Heph’s play to get you back? Asecond chancekinda thing?”

They looked at each other in the mirror and both shuddered before shaking their heads.

“Artemis then?”

“Please, Erato, she’s one of my best friends. I can’t ever see that happening.”

“You couldn’t see the wholeZeus challenging cupids to a perfect match showdownhappening either. Andfriends to loversis a popular trope.”

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. “Trope? Are we doing romance novel clichés now?”