Accidentally Aphrodite - Dakota Cassidy Page 0,63

her face, Quinn mentally summoned Cupid, her pulse racing at this gift she’d been given—this ability to put one of the people she loved most in the world into the arms of someone who’d finally make her happy.

“Now!” Quinn murmured, shaking and hushed.

The arrow appeared out of nowhere, glowing more magnificently than it had in any of her matches so far, melting through the big picture window of the café, and landing perfectly on her mother. The shower of color sprayed over them, shooting upward and disappearing, leaving a residual glow.

Quinn shuddered a happy sigh and leaned back into Khristos wordlessly, enraptured, at peace,

A light snow began to fall, swirling around them in soft, wet flakes, and the wind howled, rushing against her wet cheeks as she stood and watched her mother and her new lover laugh, cry, sip wine and discover each other.

Chapter 12

Khristos pushed the door open to her apartment to find everyone sitting quietly around the table. They all jumped up, obviously prepared to offer their comfort to her, but Khristos, as intuitive as always, held up a hand to thwart them.

Quinn didn’t hesitate when she sorted her way through the chairs and threw her arms around Nina’s neck. “Thank you,” was all she was capable of saying. “Thank you.”

Nina didn’t speak, but she grabbed Quinn’s hand and pressed it to her cheek and nodded.

In turn, Quinn gave everyone a hug, inhaling their scents of vanilla and musk, pinching Archibald’s cheek, sharing a smile with Ingrid, thanking them silently before she made her way to the bedroom and closed the door.

She needed to absorb the information behind the doors her mother had unlocked tonight. To reflect on all the angry words her mother had once imparted and let this new light, this newest revelation, shine on them.

Pulling off her clothes, she didn’t ever bother to put her pajamas on. Instead, she pulled Khristos’s borrowed sweater into her arms and tucked it beneath her chin, inhaling the scent of him as she climbed under her covers and closed her eyes.

She smiled into the darkness just before she fell fast asleep.

* * * *

Someone sat on the edge of her bed, and she stirred. Rolling over, she focused in on Khristos, his hair wet from a shower, his olive skin made deeper by the dark stubble littering his jaw. “A match needed?”

He shook his head and smiled down at her as she tried to sit up, placing his hand on her shoulder to encourage her to lie back down. “Nope. I was just checking on you to be sure you were all right, or if maybe you wanted something to eat? You missed dinner.”

She knew he was doing this out of his sense of duty to the apple and his mother. She knew his kindness had a string attached. She just wished he didn’t make her heart beat so fast or her knees feel so wobbly. Or worse, have that compelling way of making her feel as if she was important, as though he actually cared about her beyond her duties as Aphrodite.

But that was all in her head. She knew it. She’d do well to pay attention to it.

So she decided to avoid how she was feeling in favor of something she’d wondered about all the way home. “So, my dad…”

Khristos peered down at her, brushing her hair from her face. “What about him?”

“He knew. He always knew about my mom and he never said a word.”

“I think he knew it wasn’t his story to tell. Those words had to come from your mother. It was her secret to share, and no amount of reassurance from anyone would have helped until she was ready.”

“I’m glad she was finally ready.” The relief she felt over her mother’s confession was full bodied.

“You were amazing tonight, Quinn. Exactly as Aphrodite should be.”

His words of praise made her cheeks warm and her breathing hitch. “It was obvious my mom and Maude should be together. There wasn’t much to do but let that arrow fly.”

“Still, you’re getting better, stronger, more sure. That’s a good thing.”

“Will it make a difference in leniency for you if I’m making the grade?” she asked.

“Don’t think about me.”

“I can’t help it.” She really couldn’t help it. He was impossible to not think about.

“I just wanted to check on you, not put another issue on your plate. Go back to sleep.”

But she grabbed his arm as he began to rise. “Wait. How did you know what was really going