Page 50 of Loved By Aphrodite

She narrowed her eyes, her hands on her hips. “And you didn’t think to ask me first? Or consider the consequences?”

Eros shrugged. “It’s not like I expected it to blow up. Besides, you always tell me to be creative with my work.”

“This isn’t creativity, Eros,” she shot back. “This is recklessness.”

“What’s done is done,” Hephaestus said. “But now we need to focus on fixing it. Together.”

Eros glanced between them, his smirk softening slightly. “Together, huh?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “And if you pull a stunt like this again, you’ll have more than the council to answer to.”

Eros held up his hands again, this time in genuine surrender. “Got it, Mama. No more tweaks without permission. Scout’s honor.”

She rolled her eyes. “You were never a scout.”

“Details,” he said, flashing her a cheeky grin.

“Speaking of details, how’d you get into the app? The magic infused in it was impressive.”

“Not to mention the coding,” Hephaestus added.

“Oh, that,” Eros said, nonchalantly brushing some imaginary dust off his shirt. “I built the app with Matt. When I saw that he wanted to make a dating app, I thought it would be the perfect way to make matches for mortals.”

“Ah, to be relevant,” she quipped, arching a delicate brow.

“Something like that,” Eros replied with a grin that was equal parts smug and mischievous. “But when I saw the two of you in Alaska, I knew I had to step things up a notch. You two have been avoiding the inevitable for centuries now. It was painful to watch.”

“You meanmeddling,” Hephaestus said flatly, though the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement.

Eros shrugged. “Meddling, matchmaking—semantics.”

She crossed her arms. “And you decided that manipulating an app and adding love magic was the best way to do that? So, you’re telling me this whole thing was a glorified matchmaking scheme?”

Eros sighed, throwing his hands up dramatically. “Look, you’re both so stubborn. If I didn’t intervene, you’d still be stuckin this ‘we’re fine just as we are’ limbo. Watching you pretend not to care for each other was like watching paint dry. Painful and unnecessary. And don’t even act like it didn’t work. You’re kissing now, aren’t you?”

“That’s not the point,” she snapped, her voice sharp enough to make Eros wince.

“Fine, fine. But seriously, the app malfunctioning wasn’t part of the plan. That was…collateral damage.”

“Collateral damage?” Hephaestus groaned.

“Okay, poor phrasing,” Eros quickly backtracked, a sheepish grin plastered across his face. “But come on, admit it—this was long overdue.”

“We’re going to have to fix this mess, Eros. The council is looking for a scapegoat.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eros said, waving it off. “You’ll figure it out. You’re Aphrodite and Hephaestus, the power couple everyone’s secretly rooting for.”

She glared at Eros, watching him fidget under her scrutiny. “And what about Thessaly? How were you able to enchant the house like that? That kind of magic is way beyond your capabilities.”

Eros glanced up, his boyish smirk slipping into something more guarded. “Called in a couple of favors,” he said with a shrug.

“From whom?” she pressed.

“People,” he replied evasively, avoiding her piercing stare. “You know how it is, Mama. You scratch their back, and they scratch yours. No big deal.”

“No big deal? Eros, that house practically breathed magic. It felt ancient.”

Eros held up a hand. “Relax, okay? It’s handled. You don’t need to worry about it.”

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