Page 7 of Matchmaking With Cupid

"No, of course not," I said, remembering that he'd asked me a question.

"Good. I really should take part in handling a client as high-profile as Hades, but I have a Valentine's Day party to organise, so I could use the support."

"There's going to be a Valentine's Day Party?" I couldn't keep the surprise out of my voice. I knew from some of my research that Valentine's Day wasn't something that had started in Rome, even if Cupid was sometimes associated with it.

He nodded. "Aine came by earlier this week to ask me to be the host. Naturally, the team will be invited."

"Yes. Naturally," I answered.

"Though I wouldn't worry about it if you have other plans. I'm sure you have a date already."

Was he fishing for information? It was hard not to think that was what it was. "I'm free. Valentine's Day isn't really my thing."

He raised an eyebrow. "Fair enough. It would be good if we could get Hades matchedbeforethe event, that would look goodfor the department," Cupid mused. "Would you email him and ask him to come in for an interview? I think that would be better for a client as high-profile as Hades."

"You want me to email him?"

"If it comes from me, he's more likely to ignore it," Cupid responded. "Greek gods, I'm sure you know."

"I really don't," I responded.

"Ah, well the Roman and Greek pantheons don't tend to get along. We should ensure he doesn't match with any of the Roman goddesses in the system for that reason alone. The result wouldn't be pretty."

"Okay. Erm..." I looked around for something to write notes with.

Cupid seemed to notice what I was doing and held out a pink sparkly Jinx pen and a notepad. I took them from him, trying to ignore how good it felt when his fingers brushed against mine.

I cleared my throat and made a note to put a block on Hades' profile for any Roman goddesses. "Do we also need to block anyone he's related to?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't going to have to look up the family tree of the Greek gods to work out who could and couldn't date Hades.

"No, that's all uploaded to the system already. It's Jinx-wide, so if they sign up with their real names on the dating app, or for any of the other services, it should also stop them from matching with anyone they're related to."

"That's a relief."

"It does make our job a little easier," he responded. "So no, there's nothing that we need to do when it comes to the Greek gods. I doubt any of them are going to come back as a match anyway."

I nodded. That made sense, especially when it was so complicated and Jinx had all kinds of services on their books.

"Other than that, I'm out of the office next Friday, but I can do any other day. You can check my calendar for when I have other appointments," Cupid said.

"Okay. Erm, I guess I'll go set that up then."

He smiled at me. "I look forward to working with you, Eloise."

The way he said my name sent a pleasant shiver through me. "I do too," I responded.

It was hard to believe that I was going to have a client this big. Everyone knew who Hades was, and there would be no denying how much it would help my career if I could find him a match. The fact I was going to be working with Cupid was just another level to that, and I wasn't entirely sure how to deal with it, especially when the reality of the match we'd made was a secret hanging over my head.

Chapter 5

ELOISE

I wasn't sure what I expected from Hades, but it wasn't the man sitting across from me. He had dark hair, and a Greek nose, but he was skinnier than I expected. Not in a weird way, it was more that he was tall and streamlined, like a runner rather than a weight lifter. But it wasn't his looks that confused me the most, it was his demeanour. I'd expected someone exuding power, and instead he seemed...kind of sweet.

So long as he wasn't looking at Cupid, anyway. The moment his gaze fell on the Roman god, his expression soured.

"Good morning," Cupid said, taking a seat.

"Cupid," Hades responded in a deep voice with a hint of an accent.

---