Page 6 of The Perfect Matchmaking

Aphrodite had scarcely had any time to take in his advice, as ten figures descended on their table in a cavalcade of chaos. The spectacle was the perfect example of why she’d moved to Paris and away from this Olympian mess. Because itwasmessy, and loud, and obnoxious, and so damn fake, she could barely stand these gods.

Hera still acted like the queen of everything, despite not being Zeus’s wife for the last couple of centuries. Hephaestusstill pretended to be the injured party every time he looked at her. And he still hung on Hera’s every word, even though he wasn’t her favorite son and was generally ignored by his mother in favor of Ares, who swaggered like his balls were so big they prevented him from walking normally. They weren’t. She had firsthand knowledge. Which she regretted deeply. For many reasons.

Artemis and Hermes were whispering between themselves, probably sharing the latest gossip, and Aphrodite wished she was seated closer to them. At least she’d enjoy some conversation. Apollo, for all his clairvoyance, was still the same self-involved prick.

The rest of the crowd was a pretentious, extravagant blur. Including Zeus, who was busy flirting with the mortals.

Yeah, so what else was new?

Except as most of the gods were taking their seats with varied aplomb and demands for attention from the dining public surrounding them, the chair next to her was quietly pulled back by a slim, long-fingered hand, attached to a tall lanky body, smelling faintly of chalk and something Aphrodite couldn’t immediately identify. But it was so familiar and so cozy, it suddenly made her feel less exposed in her off-the-shoulder Armani gown, being drooled over by the entire restaurant and most of her table companions. That scent propped her up, gave her the illusion of being supported, and comforted. So did the tweed jacket with the corduroy elbow patches.

She found herself craning her neck to get a better look at the person slowly lowering themselves next to her, and did a double take when an oh-so-familiar face turned itself in her direction with a shy crooked smile playing on sensuous lips.Sensuous?Did she really just think that? But before the aforementioned sensuous mouth—yes, decidedly so with that sculpted upperlip bow—could formulate a greeting, they were predictably interrupted.

“Ah, Athena! Daughter! So nice of you to join us! What with you abandoning your official duties, I had no idea whether I should expect you to accept an invitation from your father anymore. Better late than never, I always say!”

Zeus’s booming voice managed to sound even more patronizing than usual. And of course, he was loud enough to immediately overwhelm every ear within a one-mile radius. God of Fucking Thunder indeed. At least, to everyone’s pleasure, Poseidon’s face soured. Upstaged yet again. Aphrodite wanted to sigh. Zeus hadn’t addressed anyone but Athena, and she was already sick of his pompous ass.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one.

“I’m not late, Father. And your orders were more than a mere invitation. As for abandoning my duties, I haven’t. Sciences and discoveries have burgeoned since I managed to devote my full attention to them and not divide myself between war and wisdom. Ares can handle the former. The latter is clearly out of his league. Plus, I didn’t want to interrupt your socializing with the redhead who seemed taken with you.”

The cultured, thoroughly pacifying tones of the low voice beside her betrayed nothing, but Apollo covered his laughter with a cough, and Aphrodite had to bite her lip to suppress a smile.

Now she recalled the kerfuffle with Athena somewhat better. Brave, foolhardy Athena, who had one day said ‘screw you all, I’m done with war and I choose to dedicate myself to the sciences’. Very brave indeed. Aphrodite didn’t know exactly how things had come about, but the fallout had been massive. For a while, Athena was exiled and, if she wasn’t mistaken, pretty much cut off from the family. Maybe that was why—while all the other Olympians languished in a rather comfortable, if not to sayopulent and idle lifestyle for most of their days—Athena actually worked for a living. Some professorial job in some god-awful New England place with lots of bears and snow and dreadful winter clothing.

But one thing Aphrodite did remember well: Athena had quite a mouth on her. A very smart and—as she had already stated—sensuous one, too. And you should never turn your back on her, because she could and would neutralize you with ease and poise. Just as she had a minute ago. Three hits in a sentence. It was obvious Zeus was properly placated by the remark on his pulling powers, Ares was left completely flabbergasted, no doubt knowing he’d been insulted somehow, but unable to recover enough to summon a clever retort, and Aphrodite knew Hera would be totally incensed by the reminder about Zeus’s philandering ways.

“Well, you’re clearly late, since you didn’t deign to dress for the occasion, Athena.” As zingers went, Hera’s attempt was decidedly subpar, and everyone around the table knew it. Athena just shrugged her tweed clad shoulders, before shucking off the blazer and revealing a black, sleeveless turtleneck and a set of arms…

Had it gotten warm in the room all of a sudden?

No university professor in the boonies of New England had any business having those kinds of biceps, triceps, delts…

Aphrodite completely missed everyone standing up to toast something Zeus was pontificating about. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs of whatever it was that had suddenly discombobulated her, and no, the proximity of tanned, chiseled, uncovered arms was absolutely not the reason for her confusion. A deep breath and Zeus’s speech made its way to her ears.

“… glad you lot are taking your family obligations seriously and showed up for this reunion. I think this is a tremendous occasion to take stock of who we are and what ourresponsibilities as both members of this family but also as Olympians are. Some of you have been relaxing, maybe slacking off a bit.”

His eyes met Aphrodite’s and she felt the same premonition she’d had in Paris.

Responsibility, duty, marriage…

Zeus winked at her and went on, “But don’t worry, you can always rely on family to lend a shoulder, to help you make the correct decision, to pick up that mantle of responsibility and return to the good old days. To family!” He raised his champagne, and the rest of the gods followed suit. Last thing she saw before she hid her face behind the rim of her flute was Ares’s smug, goading grin.

Her hands trembled, and she had to slowly set the glass down so as not to give herself and her anxiety away. But she felt faint and could sense the blood draining from her face. The room spun. Before she could decide what to do, the long-fingered hand she had admired just minutes ago covered her trembling one, and Athena spoke haltingly, distracting her from the viciousness of her ex’s gaze.

“Aphrodite… Ah… You’ve gone pale...” Any port in a storm, or whatever it was mortals said? She could maintain a conversation with the devil if she had to, just to escape the uncomfortable sensation that she was being set up as the sacrificial lamb yet again. Too bad Hades wasn’t here. Athena would have to do.

Except Athena more thandid. Perhaps not seeing the Goddess of Wisdom for a couple of centuries and generally avoiding her for millennia had been a mistake. Had she always been this oddly appealing, with those horn-rimmed glasses on the slim, high cheek-boned face? Had her eyes always been this shade of amber? Andappealing? How strange to see the raw sensuality on the marble-like, sculpted, classic features devoid ofall make-up and pretense. Aphrodite’s now-steady hand picked up her glass and she took a long swig, but before she could answer, Zeus coughed loudly and every stare turned his way.

“It has been brought to my attention…” He inclined his salt-and-pepper-haired head in the direction of Hera and Ares before continuing. “...that mortals are abandoning some of the long-standing doctrines of our social order. And love is one of those doctrines.”

Zeus narrowed his eyes and finally turned to her fully. “The steady decline in perfect matches delivered by your cupids, Aphrodite, the lack of clear direction for that segment of our subjects because of your non-existent romantic involvement, has certainly affected the general perception of love in the world. This needs to be rectified. To this end, we have gathered here, my dear.”

Aphrodite felt the world tilt under her feet yet again, and only sheer will held her upright in her seat. Her premonition had been correct. The ancient asshole and his meddlesome posse were up to their old tricks. Since she saw no other reason for them to do this, she assumed that Zeus had some ulterior motive for his assholery. And not that he needed help in being awful, but alternatively it could’ve been that Hera was either bored, or someone had reminded her of the many times Aphrodite had bested her at an assortment of things since the goddamn Trojan War.

“I see Ares has turned into a busybody. Like he’d recognize anything about the mortals and their behavioral trends?” Athena murmured, following Aphrodite’s gaze. She seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Aphrodite had, and the steady pressure of Athena’s hand on hers did not waver, grounding her. It was time to stop taking hits though.

But panic was still clawing at her throat, and she struggled to draw breath. All her fears were gathered right in this room,staring back at her. And she wasn’t certain she had what it took to stand up for herself. At the end of the day, she so rarely did where Zeus was concerned. But Athena’s hand on hers was warm, and while it did not magically give her the courage the Goddess of Wisdom herself possessed, it stilled her somewhat, allowing her to take that deeper breath. After all, Athena would know, would understand like no other what Aphrodite was going through, as a woman and as a Goddess. Being made to be a pawn was something they had both endured many times over.

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