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QETESH

I made my way into the large hotel now owned by the Jinx Dating Agency, feeling the usual jump of nerves that I got whenever I considered how I'd tied my name to Jinx.

It wasn't that I regretted it. My Lock and Key parties had been doing better ever since I'd agreed to join with the agency, especially because I didn't have to do everything myself all the time.

But it was still my name on the line. I'd spent years building a reputation, and it would be remiss of me not to be concerned about how that could be affected.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw Aine waiting in the lobby. I smiled at the Celtic goddess of love and beauty, while internally wondering about what she was doing here when she was kind of my boss.

"Hey, Tesha," she said.

"Hi," I responded. "I didn't expect you today."

"I thought I sent an email, but I must have forgotten. We've had a new hotel manager start this week and I wanted to introduce you to him, he's going to be working with you for your events."

"Ah." I had no idea if that was a good thing or not. "Is he a god?"

She shook her head. "But he knows that we are, so there's nothing to worry about on that front."

I laughed. "You mean you're not going to make us pretend to be mortals?"

"If anyone took one look at you, they'd have no doubt you were a goddess," she responded.

"Thanks."

She nodded. "I've been meaning to stop by one of your events again, but I haven't had time to yet."

I laughed. "You mean you're worried that Min will call in a favour and ask for the key that matches your lock again?"

"That was a risky choice to say yes."

"I didn't give it to him. I don't actually know which key goes with which lock once they're on the table. I just gave him one when he asked."

Surprise showed on her face. "He said..."

"He asked, I gave him a key. If it fit, then it was purely a coincidence."

"Huh. So it was fate or something?"

"There are only twenty-five sets, and they all have a match. There are lots of combinations, but it's not supposed to be impossible to find the set."

"He's going to be heartbroken when I tell him," Aine mused.

I laughed. "Then don't. He asked, and I gave him a key. That's all he needs to know."

"I suppose he got what he wanted anyway."

"That was obvious to anyone who was watching you," I responded.

"Maybe." From her expression, I could tell that there might be more to it, but I didn't know her well enough to be able to pry.

Unlike most of the supposed love gods from around the world, I'd mostly kept to myself.

Sometimes, it made me feel a little lonely, even if I knew that it was better not to court the complications that came from spending a lot of time with them all.

"I should go set up for the event tonight," I said, gesturing towards the room I used for my Lock and Key parties.

There wasn't a huge amount of set-up that needed to be done, especially since the room was already laid out the way I wanted it to be.

It was certainly easier now that Jinx owned the hotel where I was hosting.

"I'll bring the new hotel manager in when I have a moment," she said.

"Thanks." I smiled at her and headed inside. It was larger than the room I'd had at the previous hotel, which did make me wonder whether I should consider releasing more tickets. I hadn't expanded beyond the size of my event in about five years, but it might be time to.

I reached out to touch the leaves of the peace lily on the bar, closing my eyes and letting the inherent dryad magic I'd had my entire life spring into being.

I fed some of the energy into the plant, while also gaining a boost from being around one that was so healthy.

It definitely helped that I was feeding it with magic every week.

It wasn't necessarily something that added anything to the event other than a general welcoming atmosphere, but I loved it.

I went around the room and checked on a couple of other things, but I wasn't entirely surprised to find that everything was in place for tomorrow's event.

The staff at Aine's hotel did a good job at making sure everything was set up the way it should be.

Footsteps sounded behind me, and I turned in time to see Aine enter the room with a tall dark-haired man beside her. That must be the new manager she'd told me about.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the introduction. I didn't know anything about him, and the staff hadn't really been talking, so all I had to go on was what was in front of me.

Aine smiled. "This is Jacob, he's the new hotel manager. And this is Qetesh, she runs the Lock and Key parties for Jinx each week."

"Good to meet you," I said, holding out my hand.

He took it with a firm shake. "Likewise. I suppose you're the one who left the very detailed instructions for the staff on how to lay out the room."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one who does that," I said.

"I don't mind," he responded. "It makes it easier for us. Though I have to admit to being surprised about the request for potted plants, and not cut flowers."

"I'm a dryad, I prefer to be around live flowers than dead ones," I explained.

Surprise showed on his face, and it made me wonder if he didn't know about the paranormal world. It seemed unlikely that Aine would hire someone who wasn't, but there was always a chance of that. Except that she'd said he knew we were gods.

"I'll leave you to it," the love goddess said with a smile. "I have an appointment to get to. Let me know if either of you need anything." She waved and headed back out of the door, leaving us alone.

"Is there anything you need?" Jacob asked.

"Not really. The staff know what they're doing for me. Unless you've changed any of the rules about my event."

He laughed. "Not yet. I might change things in the future if I think they could be run better, but I don't intend on changing anything for at least the first month of being here. I don't believe in coming in and changing everything before I get a lay of the land."

"A wise way to approach things," I said.

"You're surprised?"

"About as surprised as you are that I'm a dryad."

"I thought you were a goddess," he admitted sheepishly. "That's what Aine said."

"Oh, I am. But I've been a dryad longer than I've been a goddess, so that's what I consider myself to be most of the time." I smiled at him. "It's not really that important, other than for knowing that I like my plants living."

"Fair enough."

"So, do you want me to run through what my event needs, or would you rather just experience it for yourself?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that an option?"

"It is if you come here around eight tomorrow," I responded. "I believe I'll even have a couple of locks or keys spare."

"That would be great, if you don't mind."

I shrugged. "I can understand wanting to know what's going on at the hotel you run," I said. "Besides, if your contract with Jinx is anything like mine, you get access to the dating services. I can just hook you up with a lock or key, and you can mingle to your heart's content."

He cleared his throat in a way that made him seem a little uncomfortable.

My gaze strayed down to his hand to check for a wedding ring, even though I knew that didn't mean much either way.

Married people could have the kind of relationships where they might be looking for someone else, and just because he wasn't married, didn't mean he wasn't in a committed relationship, or had other reasons to not want to take part. "Sure," he said.

"It's not an obligation," I said quickly.

"That's not how I run my parties. Everyone gets a lock or a key, and they mingle with the other guests.

If they match with someone, they take it to the bar and get a free drink.

That's it. There's no obligation for further dates, or even further conversation. "

He raised an eyebrow. "So what's the point?"

"To get people talking. Less than half of the couples who have told me they met at one of my events actually had a lock and key that matched, most of them just happen to meet here and get talking."

"Interesting. So I come, and you give me a key?" he asked.

I tapped my hand on the box waiting for me. "You pick yourself, and you can choose a lock if you prefer."

"Does it mean anything?"

"No. The whole point is that people talk, it would be reductive of me to insist that men took keys and women took locks.

Not only does that make it more difficult for anyone who doesn't identify as either, but it doesn't take into account orientation or anything else.

So people just pick whichever they like the look of and get talking. "

"And that actually works?"

"Sometimes, people just need something to break the ice.

That's what I'm here for." At least that I can be confident about.

My own love life was a bit more complicated, but at least I could hold onto my reputation as a love goddess if everyone thought that I was good at helping other people find romance.

And maybe Jacob was going to be the next person I found love for. He seemed sceptical in the way that many people were before they met the love of their life, I'd seen it countless times. Maybe my event would be the one that changed it for him.