Page 70 of A Vow to Set the Virgin Free

“She is quite something,” said Apollo.

“She isirritating,” said Cameron.

For some reason the exchange cheered Athena immensely.

“You look much more ready for tomorrow night than I anticipated. If she has accomplished that, she has certainly done more than I’ve ever managed to do it all those years of phone conversations. I applaud her.”

“Thank you,” she said to Apollo. “It is nice to be appreciated. Cameron appreciates me, he just can’t admit it.”

That earned her another sharp gaze, but she was enjoying herself far too much to be chastened.

She had been embarrassed earlier. About her response to him.

But she felt... Free of that now. Did it matter she cared for him? If she wanted him. There were other things holding him back, things that had nothing to do with whether or not he wanted her.

It was the same reason he could not cry with joy and give his friend a hug because he had seen him for the first time in ten years.

He was a prisoner to his feelings.

She didn’t need to take that personally. And she did not need to be a prisoner of hers simply because he was.

She didn’t have to be a prisoner anymore at all.

She heard footsteps, and looked up. Standing in the doorway was a very young-looking woman with wide, luminous eyes. She smiled, and her blue eyes sparkled.

“You didn’t tell me that we had guests, Apollo.”

“I thought that you would be studying.”

“I was. But then I got hungry. Very mean not to tell me.”

Athena was confused for a moment about what relationship he might have to this... This girl.

But then she stepped into the room, and met Athena’s gaze. “Hello. I am Hannah. Apollo is my guardian.”

“Oh,” said Athena.

Cameron, for his part, looked questioningly at his friend.

“I don’t usually live here,” she said. “But I am on holiday from school.”

“Yes, and she has a final exam yet to take before she is fully on break.”

When Apollo addressed her, she blushed, her cheeks turning a deep rose. “Yes. I do. So... I can’t stay for dinner but...”

“You can stay,” he said.

She smiled happily, and took a seat next to him.

Athena, for her part, was grateful for the company, even though the girl was quite a few years younger than her. She had actually been to university, so... She knew more about the world than Athena did.

After dinner, the men got up and retired to the study to discuss business. And that left Athena alone with Hannah.

“He’s terrifying,” she said, clearly speaking of Cameron.

Athena went rigid. “He isn’t.”

“I didn’t mean because... You know, they just both have that... That manner about them. Apollo would terrify me if I didn’t know him. He’s been very good to me since my parents died.”

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