Page 29 of Flowers Near Me

Persephone’s chest tightened. “I hope you’re right.” Her sister usually was, but Laura loved her too much to be objective.

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

The moment was eclipsed when Hades and Peter approached, Helena holding onto her father’s back.

Hades’ piercing bluish gray gaze locked onto hers, his smirk just shy of smug.

Laura whispered, “I don’t think he wants you here just for the app.”

During the meal,their conversation hopped from Helena’s swim lessons to Peter’s latest cooking mishaps and Laura’s recent interest in mystery audiobooks. No one seemed to want to address the elephant in the room, not even Laura.

Persephone speared fusilli noodles with a fork as she studied her sister’s face. When Laura caught Persephone’s stare, she mouthedwhat, right as Peter pulled out his phone to show Hades his best batch of croissants. Persephone shook her head and stuck to furtive glances for the rest of the dinner. What did Laura really think of all of this?

When they’d finished, Hades invited them to lounge in the living room. Nearby in the kitchen, Helena sat in the seat closest to the dessert tray on the countertop and chewed on a cookie. Crumbs cascaded from her lap, falling towards a rapt Cerberus, catching the morsels like snow.

“Laura, did you ever want to work with your sister?” Hades asked.

“And work for our mom? Absolutely not. My dad begged her to let him train me when I showed an interest in medicine.” Laura stroked Peter’s shoulder absentmindedly.

Persephone cut in, “She was making splints for injured livestock before she was ten.”

Hades smiled, then turned his gaze to Persephone, something unreadable flickering in his expression. “And you? You were restructuring distribution channels and negotiating logistics before you were twenty. I’ve read every proposal you’ve ever written—your strategic efficiency is unparalleled.”

Laura blinked, studying him. “You’ve reviewed all of Sephy’s proposals?”

Hades nodded, unbothered. “Of course. She’s brilliant. I was waiting for the right time to recruit her.”

Persephone stiffened. “You mean steal me.”

Unapologetic, Hades replied, “Semantics.”

“You shouldn’t have been able to access those proposals,” added Persephone.

How had he procured DB files? In response, the fiend simply shrugged.

Laura’s expression turned questioning as she regarded him. “That’s a lot of effort to put into understanding someone’s work. What is it about Persephone that makes her so valuable to you?”

Hades held Laura’s gaze. “Because she’s extraordinary.”

Laura tilted her head. “Sounds more like a personal reason than a professional one.”

Turning towards to Persephone, Hades answered, “It is.”

Laura released a small laugh, eyeing her sister. “Well, I suppose it makes sense. Persephone’s always been exceptional. Even among the elite in Olympus, her origin story is one of a kind.”

Hades’ attention sharpened. “How so?”

“She was made,” Laura clarified.

Hades shifted forward in his seat with a pinched brow. He leaned closer to Persephone. “You weremade?”

Funnythatwas the point he decided to focus on and not the fact he’d all but forced her to work with him. “Not like how you or my mom or any of the gods were. I didn’t start as an adult. I was born an infant and have aged just like my fellow mortals.”

Hades sat back, a pensive look on his face. “That’s why Demeter declined to name your father.”

“Well, you can’t name someone who doesn’t exist,” said Persephone.

Hades asked, “How? Who did she bargain with?”

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