Page 9 of Winning Back Persephone (Jinx Paranormal Dating Agency #9)

HADES

Persephone picked up her wine glass and took a sip, drawing my attention to her lips as she did. I doubted it was on purpose, but it was impossible to ignore all the same. She'd made it clear how she felt about initiating anything that could confuse things between us, and I respected that, even if it was hard to.

"Are you enjoying the party?" I asked, realising as I did that I probably didn't want to hear the answer. Not when it would involve her talking to other people.

"It's all right," she responded, setting down her glass. "What about you?"

"I've only just got here," I admitted. "I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone."

"Please don't let me stop you." A pained expression entered her eyes, but she covered it a moment later. I just knew her well enough to know what it meant.

"I'm not particularly interested in talking to anyone else, Sephie."

She sighed. "No, I'm starting to realise that's true for me too. How am I supposed to move on when no one can compare to you?"

I chuckled. "Shouldn't I be saying that I'm glad you're not going to be able to do that?"

"You're not really the jealous type," she pointed out.

"True. That was more your forté."

"I don't get jealous."

I raised an eyebrow.

"All right, fine. I do get jealous," she mumbled.

"Maybe that's why I'm not talking to anyone else right now." I regretted the words immediately. Not only were they a lie, but it was cruel to imply that anyone wouldn't be safe around Perspehone because they were talking to me. "Forget I said that."

"I didn't expect this to be so hard," she said.

"Breaking up isn't supposed to be easy."

"Not just that." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, exposing more of her features and captivating me in the process. "Dating."

I laughed. "It's horrible, isn't it?"

Surprise crossed her face.

"Oh, come on, Sephie. You know me better than that."

"You'd rather be at the club," she said.

"Or at home with Cerberus," I said. "He's good company."

Her face fell. "Yes."

"I'm sorry, I should have thought."

She shook her head. "Why should you have? He's your dog."

"He misses you. I miss you."

"I miss you too," she said so quietly that I almost thought I didn't hear it.

"Maybe you should come see Cerberus," I said.

"You want me to come back with you?"

Yes .

"To see Cerberus," I said. "He really does miss you. Maybe we could work something out so that you could see him more often."

Her face lit up, and it was all I could do not to feel hope well within myself. I knew there would be a lot of people who might call me a fool for wanting to take her back, especially so soon after things had ended, but I loved her, and my life was better with Persephone in it.

"I would like that," she said. "If you don't think it's strange."

I laughed. "It's definitely strange, but I don't think there's much precedent for our situation. Most relationships don't last as long as ours."

"That's true," she said. "I think that's partly what's making dating hard. I'm expecting something that can't exist with a stranger. We've known each other for so long, and so well, that it's hard to imagine I could have that with someone whose name I don't know until they introduce themselves."

"We were strangers once too, Sephie. You just have to think back to that."

"A lot's happened since then." She took a sip of her wine. "And that wasn't really dating. We met at one of Zeus' parties."

"So that's what you've got to do this time too," I suggested. "Attend one of Zeus' parties."

"Over my mother's dead body."

I laughed. "Fair enough. I can't imagine Demeter letting you go."

"I don't want to go," she assured me. "I'll do anything I can in order to stay away from one of Zeus' parties. I'm surprised there are people who still go."

"There are always people who want to find out if the rumours are true," I responded. "And he can be very charming when he tries to be."

"I wouldn't know. I would say that's one of the perks of having a protective mother."

"Ah, finally a use for Demeter."

She smothered a laugh, even though the joke was at her mother's expense.

"How are things going for your launch?" I asked, spotting her handbag on the bar.

She reached out to touch it. "Well, I think. Nyx suggested I asked Aphrodite for help with planning the launch party, and she's actually been really helpful."

"I've heard good things about her event planning," I said.

"Mmm. I'm waiting on the final bags to ship, but other than that, I'm ready," she said.

"So it should be right about now that your dinners start transforming from proper meals to a glass of wine and cookie dough ice cream?"

Her cheeks flushed. "Something like that."

"You should make sure you eat properly," I said. "You know that there are meal services you can use now, right?"

"I know, I just haven't gotten around to doing it," she said. "But I promise, I'm looking after myself, Hades. I've even been doing some meal prep. Only simple things, but it's better than nothing, right?"

"It is."

"But it's hard. Looking after myself is much harder than looking after us both."

"Yes," I agreed. "Maybe when you come to see Cerberus, I could also make you dinner."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" She met my gaze.

"Probably not. But it would be cruel of me to let you starve."

A slight smile lifted at the corners of her lips, and my heart constricted, both at the sight of her being vulnerable and the fact she hadn't actually said no.

"All right. Dinner sounds nice."

"You know where I live," I responded.

She bit her lip and nodded.

There was a good chance this was a terrible idea, but I hated the thought of her getting lost in her work and not eating properly. And this was something I could do to help, even if she struggled to look after herself sometimes.