Accidentally Aphrodite - Dakota Cassidy Page 0,86
cows for him today.”
Quinn grinned. Maude had surprised her mother with a trip to a bird sanctuary in Africa for their three-month anniversary and they’d waved the newly minted couple off just two days ago.
She and her mother talked often now. No less than twice a week, and they made a point of seeing each other, with Maude and Khristos included, at least once a month for family dinner night.
They’d been working hard to mend old wounds, talking things out and laughing more than Quinn could ever remember them doing her entire life.
Helen and Maude had moved in together, and Maude’s influence on her mother, her calming, gentle effect, had done wonders for Helen’s relationship with Quinn.
Plus, Maude made the most amazing sugar cookies this side of the universe. Most importantly, her mother was happy—blissfully so, and she was working toward accepting herself and letting go of all the anger she’d allowed to fester for so many years.
And it was a beautiful thing to watch her mother’s relationship grow, flourish.
It was also pretty awesome to watch her romance with Khristos deepen.
Khristos had wooed Quinn, dated her one day at a time, showed her what falling in love with the right man was like, one who was true to himself, one who wouldn’t let her turn him into something he was never going to pretend to be.
He sat with her while she read her beloved copy of Keats and he read posts on Facebook. She sat with him while he played video games and she planned the garden of English tea roses she hoped to one day grow.
He rolled his eyes while she shopped for more decorative pillows he saw as pointless if you couldn’t lay on them, and she rolled her eyes back when he suggested they eat dinner on the bed.
He refused to eat frilly girl food like brie cheese on wafer-thin crackers, so she’d made him a cracker-and-cheese sandwich on a hoagie roll.
And they laughed—often—loudly—softly—together.
They talked. They were silent. They learned. They loved.
Khristos pointed to the space on the blanket he’d spread out. “Come sit with me, Quinn Morris, aka Aphrodite.”
Quinn dropped down next to him and snuggled up against his chest, pulling her knees to her chin. “This is some game they have going on. Vampires are a cutthroat bunch, huh?”
He barked a laugh. “You have no idea. But it’s damn good to see everyone together. So I’m okay with the virtual annihilation of my people.”
She giggled, taking a bite of the strawberries he’d brought along for the Vampires vs. Gods Picnic—Round Two. “Nina’s killin’ ’em out there. I think she made Zeus cry for his mother.”
“Nina is a warrior.”
“A very pale one,” she said on a chuckle. A pale one she’d come to care a great deal for. “You know, I’ve been wondering about something…”
“And that is?”
“What were you doing when GG knocked the apple out of the pillar?”
“I was in a minor fender-bender with a woman who hit a dog. She slammed on her brakes, I tapped her bumper. Total accident, but the dog—his name’s Boo—was pretty smashed up. I was googling nearby emergency vets so we could get him help and I got distracted. He’s fine now, by the way.”
She leaned in and kissed him on a sigh, his good heart never failing to make her swoon. “Hey, did I tell you how beautiful all this is? I know you’re not a huge fan of my girlie food, but you blended game-day food with it like a boss.” Quinn waved her hand at the plates of cheese and fruit, the wine crisp and cold, the blanket he’d spread out on soft grass he’d created with a snap of his fingers.
“I don’t believe you did.”
“Well, then let me be the first to tell you, it’s beautiful. Thank you for organizing this amazing celebration to annihilate our people.”
Khristos laughed, his eyes warm. “Is it like you imagined?”
She pulled her hat from her head, one very similar to the one she’d worn to the Parthenon just a few months ago, and set it aside. “The annihilation of your people?”
He poured her a glass of her favorite wine and held it out to her. “Not so long ago, you were here, dreaming of your engagement to a man who was totally wrong for you. But is this what the setting looked like in that pretty head of yours?”
She leaned in and kissed him, letting her lips linger on his. Knowing he was hers was still as amazing now