Page 61 of Ungodly Rich

“But you’re still upset about it,” Aphrodite ventured, because Julia certainly didn’t seem happy.

“Of course I’m still upset! He dated me for a year, only touseme for my application essay and steal my spot at Harvard Law!”

A romantic betrayal—interesting. Aphrodite could work with this.

“Are you worried that Harry might do something similar?” she prompted.

“What? No.” Julia blew out an angry breath. “Look, I know it isn’t fair of me to draw similarities between them just because they’re bothwealthy. That’s what you meant when you said I was pinning Preston’s sins on Harry, right?”

“Right,” Aphrodite said uncertainly. “That was an entirely different relationship.”

“Harry’s money scares me,” Julia went on. “I know he’s not Preston; he isn’t trying to use me. But I worry that he and Preston share the same sense of entitlement, a sense that they’re more important than the rest of the world. How could Harrynotfeel that way with a family like his?”

You stupid mortal,Aphrodite thought.Wearemore important than the rest of the world.

Still, she was caught off guard by Julia’s comment. The woman had sounded sincere when she said that Ares’s money scared her.

“If you’re having second thoughts about Harry, I’m here for you,” she offered, but Julia shot her a surprised look.

“No, that’s not it. I love Harry. I’m just…this has all been a lot, and I’m still processing.”

“Of course,” Aphrodite said soothingly.

She wanted to know more about this Preston character, the one who had so wounded Julia that she mistrusted all rich men. “What ever happened to Preston, anyway?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

Julia frowned. “You’rethe one who told me to unfollow him, Abby. As I recall, you wanted to hire that voodoo woman in New Orleans to put a curse on him.”

“I’m just curious,” Aphrodite amended. “He was such an asshole, I hope he got what he deserved.”

“No chance. He’s probably campaigning for office already. Remember what he used to say, that he’d be a senator by thirty?” Julia shook her head dismissively. “Just like his father. He thinks politics are for people who want to bend the world to their will, not people who want to actually do good.”

Aphrodite sensed that she wouldn’t be able pry anything more from Julia, at least not now. Time to move on to the main part of her plan.

She smiled and noisily slurped the last of her margarita, then waved at the waitress, who appeared a little dazed after her magically promptedsmoke break. “Should we get the check?” she asked Julia. “I was thinking we could go dancing.”

“Dancing?” Julia sounded startled.

“You told me you don’t want a real bachelorette, but can’t we go out, just the two of us? The night is young, and I want to celebrate that we’re reunited!” Aphrodite pleaded.

Julia stared at her, and Aphrodite wondered if she’d laid it on a bit thick. Perhaps Abby didn’t talk like that.

But then Julia laughed and said, “Why the hell not. If this is the only bachelorette I’m going to get, we should make it count.”

• • •

To her relief, Julia got into the spirit of it all relatively quickly, proving Aphrodite’s theory that all women love to be the center of attention, to act like the Bride with a capital B, if only once.

Aphrodite led them to a tacky sex shop, where they giddily purchased Julia a white sash and rhinestone tiara that would have made Hera shudder, as well as a matching sash for Aphrodite that saidBride Squad.Then they went to a club, the sort of place that catered to twenty-somethings in tight clothes, dimly lit with funky purple spotlights. Aphrodite sailed over to the bar and ordered a pair of vodka Red Bulls, caught off guard when the bartender asked for payment. When she was in her own perfect body, everyone gave her things for free.

“Red Bull? Really?” Julia exclaimed once Aphrodite returned with the drinks.

“I wanted it to feel like college again,” Aphrodite guessed.

Julia burst out laughing. “We never drank this in college!”

“Then we’re making up for lost time,” Aphrodite insisted.

Moments later, the DJ started playing Lady Gaga. Aphrodite inwardly cringed, but Julia tugged at her hand. “Remember when this was our song freshman year?”