Accidentally Aphrodite - Dakota Cassidy Page 0,53

sympathize. I’ve personally given up on finding the one and decided to focus on me.” Quinn squeezed her arm again and smiled her reassurance.

“Quinn!” Khristos hissed.

The man snorted. “How did you manage to find another granola-loving, tree-hugging woman in a sea of all the women in New York City, right here in this class?”

The woman pushed her stool out and stood up, her rounded body rigid. “You know what? If you’re not careful, I’m going to drown you in that sea, you uptight, pompous, overblown bag of Abercrombie & Fitch!”

Quinn raised a fist in the air, cheering on this brave woman in solidarity. “You tell him, sister! Don’t settle for second best!”

The man almost knocked his easel over when he pushed his stool out, too, and stomped over to them. He glared down at her, and if she were honest with herself, he was quite handsome. He’d aged well.

“Second best? Why don’t you stick your nose in someone else’s trail mix and mind your own business, lady?”

Khristos was on his feet in mere seconds, setting her behind him in an act of protective measure. “Okay now, buddy. Let’s all just cool off. Quinn didn’t mean to interfere.”

Quinn poked him in his broad back. God, touching him was like touching a wall of sumptuous granite. “I did too!”

“Quinn,” Khristos warned, his voice rising.

She pushed him out of her way and stood on tiptoe, her finger under his nose. “Don’t you ‘Quinn’ me, buddy. She’s doing the right thing by nipping this disaster in the bud. I mean—”

And that precise moment was when it hit her—so hard, she almost fell into Khristos and took out her easel of discontent. But it wasn’t like the night before, that incredible, warm certainty.

It was jolting and fast and almost painful in its intensity as it grabbed her intestines and tugged with such ferocity, she lost her breath.

“Quinn!” Khristos grabbed at her as she began to fall forward, her knees buckling.

She looked up at him in helpless question, everything else in the room blurring but his face. “Cupid?” she asked, almost unable to get the word out from her lips at the pain tearing her apart.

Nina was there, too, in a flash of movement and hoodie, bracing her from behind, her hands surprisingly gentle as she cupped Quinn’s elbows and supported her. “Kiddo?”

But everything else had faded away, everything but the pain and the certainty of this match. “Cupid!” she whispered on a groan as another stab of searing-hot pain ripped through her.

The man and the woman had moved just behind Khristos. She caught a brief glimpse over his shoulder of their faces, full of concern

They stood together, her shoulder touching the top of his chest as they each scrambled for their phones. But her hands shook, and his phone was out of charge, according to his yelp of dismay.

So he took the phone from her and held it steady as she peered over the top of it and ran her finger over the screen, their heads now touching. While her fingers flew over the phone, he looked down at her and inhaled, his once hard-as-chips-of-ice eyes gentle and almost surprised.

When the last gut-punch of agony grabbed her and tossed her insides like a salad, she clenched her teeth together and gave the order on an urgent whisper, “Now!”

Like an old friend, trusty and steadfast, the arrow arced over the couple’s heads and tagged each of them in the heart, melting into multicolored sparkles.

Love bloomed—perfect and everlasting, making them both look into each other’s eyes in wonder.

And even through the haze of shooting, fiery jabs of pain—it was beautiful and deep and real. So real, Quinn could almost taste the sweet tang of it on her tongue.

Well, then.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Chapter 10

Khristos carried her out of the art class with Nina hot on his heels, his heart pounding in his chest. He held her close to him, as though trying to absorb her pain. If he just kept her as close as possible, he’d somehow take the distortion of her beautiful face from agony to that impish smile she lavished on people with such generosity.

The one that made his chest tight and his fingers itch to run through her hair.

“Did you make sure they didn’t call 911?” he asked Nina.

“I got it all covered. I told them she’s off her meds, and that’s why she fainted. They’re so diggin’ each other, it’s a wonder they even managed to see the fucking phone.”

Quinn’s head bounced upward. “I heard what you