Page 34 of Artemis

Well, they don’t run away from a woman the instant she tells them that she has a kid,the unhelpful voice in his head supplied. Finley winced. He wassuchan asshole.

“Are you okay?” Maddie asked.

“I just...” Finley didn’t want to spill all his problems out to her. She had enough on her plate. “I was thinking about how big a jerk I am.”

“I’m sure you’re not that bad,” Maddie said with a chuckle.

“I ran away from a woman after eating… er, um… beingintimatewith her because she told me she has a son,” he said flatly.

“Oh.” Maddie covered her mouth with a hand. He had a sneaking suspicion she was trying not to laugh at him. “I’m sure you could apologize?” she suggested, her voice sounding choked.

“It was two weeks ago,” Finley said, ashamed.

How had he let it go that long?

“Never underestimate a good apology,” Maddie advised. “If you mean it and you have a good reason—and yes, being scared of kids is a pretty decent reason, especially if you can admit that you’ve had more experience with them now and you’ve realized you were mistaken—and you promise to make it up to her in some way...” The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement.

Finley caught her meaning and flushed.

Making it up to her on my knees was my plan, but I wasn’t thinkingthat!

“I need to find her first. We didn’t exchange information before I ran like a chicken.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard to find her. The Underworld is a lot like a small town in that way. Unless she was a human from the topside?”

“No, she was definitely a Goddess. Told me so herself.” Finley resolutely pushed the image of her glowing in his arms out of his mind. “Her name is Artemis. I didn’t get her last name, though.”

“The Moon Goddess?” Maddie asked, her jaw dropping.

“That’s the one.” Finley shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands. “I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind, you know? She’s just... She’s one of those women who are smart, funny, and sexy all in one package.”

“Oh wow, a multi-dimensional woman. However did you find one of those?”

Finley looked up. “I know you’re being sarcastic, and I don’t appreciate your tone.”

Maddie grinned. “Who, me?”

CHAPTER9

On Alexander’s birthday,Artemis always felt the urge to wake him up at 12:34 in the morning, the exact time of his birth. He’d arrived at that auspicious time of the night, just as the moon rose in the sky, its beams shining into her window.

She’d never forget that moment.

The pain of childbirth was long forgotten, but the feeling of the moonbeams caressing her distended belly in time with her last contraction... And then the pressure had been gone and a healthy scream had pierced the night.

Artemis had insisted on the baby being given to her immediately unless medically necessary, and her beautiful little boy had been placed directly in the light of the moon on her belly. She could practically hear the contentment from both the baby and the moon.

It had been magical.

But she wasn’t about to wake a three year old from a deep sleep in order to recount his birth story. Maybe when he was a teenager. She paled at the thought.

Her baby, all grown up?

What would his personality be like?

Would he still like to lean against her while they sat in the backyard, or would that be too babyish for him?

Artemis got out of bed and padded across the hall to Alexander’s room, pushing open the door as quietly as possible.

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