Page 84 of Flowers Near Me

Persephone stifled her snort. “No, he walked through the door after I let him in. I was surprised he showed up.”

“Mad surprised? Or happy?”

“Excited, actually. I told him if he wanted to see the dress, he had to grant me a favor. A future one with no strings attached.”

Laura released a low, huffed laugh. “I’m sure he hated that. Remember trying to get Mom to promise us a blessing?”

How could Persephone forget? Their mom wasn’t stingy with her powers, but everything was on Mom’s terms. If they asked her to make their kitten strong, then the favor would come with something they’d have to uphold on their end, like it’d be strong as long as they kept a tidy bedroom.

“Yes, she blessed my wildflowers one summer and said they’d keep their petals all season unless I touched a male. She said, even if one brushed my arm, then every bloom would fall off. I was twenty-three.”

Laura flicked her eyes to the ceiling and shook her head. “Titans, she can be an ass sometimes.” Tugging the dry towel from her shoulder, Laura wiped flour remnants off the counter. “So did Hades grant you this favor? And what did you ask for?”

“He agreed, but I didn’t specify what it would be.”

“What will it be?”

Persephone shrugged and used tongs to place the finished donuts on a porcelain platter. “I’m not sure. I did it because I figured whatever advantage I can get between us, I should take. I’m living in his world and slowly making allies, but if things go south, who there would help me? And did I tell you about what happened with Hermes?”

Laura shook her head.

“He asked me to help him distract his girlfriend so he could sneak into the building and read her texts. She’s one of the app’s developers.”

Flinching, Laura turned towards Persephone. “I hope you said no.”

With a wince, Persephone replied, “No. I got him onto the developer’s floor, then distracted Eurydice’s whole team by telling them they needed to take a group picture with me.”

“Oh shit, Sephy. You snuck someone into Underworld Unlimited. Why?”

Persephone looked off to the side at her content niece, still engrossed in the game on her tablet. “I know. It’s never wise to sneak someone into a god’s domain—uninvited—but at that moment, I wanted to help Hermes. He’d do the same for me if I asked.”

“Sure, and if he snuck you into some god’s place of business, he wouldn’t be a good friend, having you act like a fool. So what happened?”

Persephone caught up Laura on the events of that day, even telling her about Hades speaking with her afterwards in his office.

“Yikes. You’ve got to be more careful.”

Hearing the admonishment from her older sister stirred the regret anew in her chest. “I know. I’m not saying I’m proud of it. Stupid, really—” As she fussed with the edge of a dish towel, Persephone’s shoulders slumped. “But he was gracious about it and it hasn’t come up again. Almost makes it more embarrassing.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. You apologized and admitted it was stupid, so you can move on.” The slotted spoon swung between the pan and paper towels as Laura rescued more fried dough.

Persephone nodded as she finished rolling another donut.

“Go back to the dress fitting story. What did he say when he saw the dress?”

Blushing, Persephone kept her focus on covering the dough with its toppings. “He said he was going to keep me and that I was made for his world.”

“How do you feel about that?” Laura asked.

Persephone met her sister’s gaze. “Comforted, to be honest. He seems committed and thinks I belong there. Maybe it’s dumb, but I like how attentive he is with me. He’s close with Charon and Hecate, but treats them like siblings. He treats me like I’m his top priority.” It was nice to get to talk with Laura like this. It’d been way too long since the two of them could spend time together cooking. Promotions forFlowers Near Mehad monopolized every waking moment during the press tour, and now her and her sister were finally catching up.

Laura inclined her head. “Good. He should treat you well.”

“This doesn’t bother you at all? That he’s a god and has been around Olympus bullshit for ages?”

The edges of Laura’s mouth quirked the tiniest bit up. “Of course I care, but I’ve been thinking a lot about his reaction to finding out you were made?—”

“Then born,” Persephone cut in. The topic had been discussed during that first dinner together at Hades’ apartment when Laura, Peter, and Helena visited.

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