Page 29 of Winning Back Persephone

She stared at me. "What?"

"You heard me. I don't have time for my mother to be at odds with my husband tonight." My heart was racing as I said the words, but I was saved from having to reply by Aphrodite bustling into the room.

The love goddess looked stunning in a sparkly green dress that matched her eyes, and her golden hair slicked back into anelegant up-do. My mother glared at her, as she often did when one of Zeus' other daughters was in the room. I wasn't sure what her problem was. She had to have known that Zeus was incapable of fidelity.

"Are you ready?" Aphrodite asked me.

I nodded. "As ready as we can be."

"Good, because the doors are about to open. Everything should be set." She waved over to where a couple of members of staff headed to the doors with trays of champagne, reminding me that tonight was supposed to be a celebration.

"Thank you. I couldn't have done this without you."

She smiled. "I'm sure you could have. But I'm glad I could help."

"For a fee."

"Of course. Family discord is the currency amongst us Greek gods, not family discounts."

I laughed. "Fair enough. I think we're ready to go." I checked around the room again, making sure that each of the bags was in the right position and displayed to show off its features in the best way. There was very little I could do about any of it now, and there was no doubting that Aphrodite had done a great job at the rest of the room. The decor and event space itself were elegant, with stunningly dramatic floral arrangements.

She headed towards the front door and nodded to one of the staff members. I had no idea how she did it, but they all seemed to listen to her no matter what she said. I supposed that had always been part of Aphrodite's charm.

The guests began to pour inside, causing a fresh bout of nerves to make themselves known. This was the moment of truth. I knew that my bags were good, and even if this failed, I'd still be using them, but whether other people liked them was another matter.Andit was important. I didn't want this to be a failure.

I milled around, not really paying attention to anyone and tryingnotto look over to where Hades was talking to Nyx. I knew I had no reason to be jealous, but I wanted to be the one talking to him.

"Champagne, ma'am?" one of the waiters asked, offering me a tray.

"Thank you." I picked up a flute but didn't take a drink.

A woman with long dark brown hair and a stunning blue dress approached, smiling at me. "It's a wonderful event, Persephone."

"Thank you, Aine. Aphrodite did an excellent job."

"Mmm, she knows what she's doing when it comes to organising events. I'm still trying to convince her to join Jinx full-time rather than just being a contractor."

I laughed. "So you're trying to poach everyone to work for you?"

"Something like that." She took a sip of champagne and surveyed the room. "You know what it's like in business. You just want to do the best."

"Yes."

"Including by you. Did I see Hades here?"

I cleared my throat. "Yes, he's around."

"Unexpected."

"It would be strange to launch a business without him here to support me," I said without thinking.

The love goddess gave me a shrewd look, one that made it clear she could tell what my feelings towards him were. I supposed that made sense. It was both her magic and her business to be able to tell when people were in love. "Well, at least that explains the email I got earlier," she said.

"What email?"

"You'll have to ask Hades."

I looked over at him, meeting his gaze. He smiled in a way that I knew was only meant for me, and my heart skipped a beat. I smiled back, wishing we were the only ones in the room. Maybe I should have invited him for dinner last night or something, rather than to an event with a lot of other people, but it was too late for that now.

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