“Wedding things,” I only halfway lied.
“Ah,” Ezzie said, nodding. “Four months out?”
“Lovely August wedding,” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm as I gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I’ll be wearing sweat cloths between my thighs.”
Ezzie smirked at me. “If I recall, you couldn’t choose a date so you let Tyler choose.”
I flopped into one of her chairs and sighed. “You sound like Lana,” I said.
“Oh, love her. When is she coming?” Ezzie asked.
“She’ll be in on Thursday night,” I answered. “Remember, I’m taking next week off.”
“Perfect timing. I’ll try not to bother you. However, we are having a little meet and greet social with some of the team from Cupid’s Arrow next Friday. I’d like you to be there to meet everyone.”
I nearly hurled on her fluffy white rug, but I knew there was no getting out of it. “Great. Tyler and Lana will be here.”
“I’m sure he’ll love that,” Ezzie teased.
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “He will.” I slapped the arms of the chair and stood again. “Anything else I should know? I’m going to get a wrap on my other projects before diving into the Cupid’s Arrow one.”
Or possibly drowning myself in nerves and agony.
Whichever came first.
CHAPTER TWO - GAVIN
“NO, MOTHER. I am not coming home next week,” I said into the phone.
“Oh, but Eros, it’s such a special day,” my mother cooed.
My brows narrowed as I reached for my coffee off the shop counter. “What’s so special?” I asked. The cute barista caught my eye, and I mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ to her, winking in response to her leer, before turning on my heel toward the door.
“Because I’ll be home too, and what’s more special than seeing your own mother?” she replied.
I nearly stopped walking, my face going into a flat expression at her words. “I have work,” I said.
“I don’t understandwhyyou work, love,” she said. “It’s not like you need to.”
“I’m hanging up now,” I told her.
“You’ve done enough mischievous deeds in your life. You could take a step back—“
“So says Aphrodite,” I muttered.
“—you don’t need the added stress,” she continued. “You could come home. Retire. Find a few mortals to bring with—“
“Goodbye, Mother.”
I hung up the phone before she could continue. Fucking Styx. I hadn’t been home in over a century, and I didn’t plan on going any time soon. I enjoyed living a normal life, having a regular job and regular friends. I may have been the God of Lust, but that didn’t mean I needed only to surround myself with other gods.
I rounded the corner and pushed the revolving door into Cupid’s Arrow’s headquarters. What had started out as a few desks in an otherwise empty corner building had turned into five open stories of humming workers. No boring cubicles, but rather couches and private rooms for projects, floor seats and standing desks, treadmills, rest areas, and so much more. I wanted the environment to nourish productivity rather than box it in, and my team had delivered on that.
Of course, the arrows and hearts theme had grown a bit out of control over the years. It was one of the reasons why I’d requested a logo overhaul and rebrand for our ten-year anniversary.
The building was already buzzing as I entered and pushed my shades up atop my head, a few friends greeting me with words or handshakes. I made my way up to the fifth floor with my phone out and checked on numbers. I was consumed with the numbers and loved the gratification of seeing the volume of new users and interactions every day.
For a few hours every day, I toyed with the matches—some for good, some for fun. I checked in on some throughout the week just to see how things were going, and loved it when things went completely sideways or when matches that shouldn’t have made it, actually worked out. I’d been to a few of those weddings, carrying an arrow with me just in case things needed a final nudge.
