Page 79 of Ungodly Rich

Fine, then. If the world was going to consider her an Ellene, then she should start behaving like one. She would prove to all of them that she could, as Valentine had put it,make the cut.

She would beat them at their own game.

Julia walked back toward the front of the gallery, but she didn’t stop at her desk to draw up the sale paperwork. She pulled out her phone.

“Hey, Percy,” she said when Harry’s cousin picked up. “Are you free this weekend? I want to go shopping.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hermes

“I’msoglad you suggested we go shopping,” Hermes told Julia as their Uber Black turned onto Lafayette Street. “I was starting to think you’d never ask.”

Julia laughed self-consciously. “Is my look that bad?”

“What look?” Hermes teased. “I thought your personal style was a pair of jeans and the top T-shirt in the stack.”

“That was way too accurate,” Julia admitted. “But don’t I get some credit for dressing up at the engagement party?”

“Julia. You looked like you were auditioning to play the dowager aunt in an Oscar Wilde play.”

Her smile fell at his words. “I was auditioning, all right—to enter the family. And I’m still not sure I’ve made the cut.”

Hermes was surprised by her vulnerability, and even more surprised by the burst of sympathy he felt. He knew that feeling of inadequacy far too well.

Julia sighed and glanced out the window. “I have to admit, I thought you would want to go to Bergdorf’s. Or Saks.”

“Oh,godno. Saks is for tourists who come in from the Midwest to seeHamiltonand splurge on a single flashy handbag.” Hermes gave a dramatic shudder. “I haven’t set foot inside a department store in years, except for the time Tara sent me to Bergdorf’s for a limited-edition Chanel.”

Of course, Hermes easily could have taken Julia to Saks, let her try on a few nondescript dresses while he pumped her for information. That was why he’d agreed to join her today, wasn’t it—because he was spying for both Hades and Hera? Honestly, given the whole Victorian-era look Hera had foisted on the girl, he suspected she wouldn’t want Hermes toactuallyhelp Julia at all.

He’d seen the flicker of unease in Hera’s eyes when he related that Julia couldn’t be touched by magic. Hera was clearly as confused by Julia as Hermes was, even if she wouldn’t say so aloud.

Hades, on the other hand, wasn’t all that surprised to learn that Julia was impervious to magic. Perhaps he knew something that Hermes didn’t.

Their car pulled to a stop, and Hermes led Julia to the gleaming glass doors of a boutique, tucked between the storefronts on either side so discreetly that you might not even see it was there. Most mortalsdidn’tsee it. Their eyes skimmed right over the entrance, sliding from the boutique that sold hand-poured candles on one side to the narrow wine bar on the other side.

Hermes saw Julia scanning the storefront for a name, but she wouldn’t find one. This particular boutique was unmarked.

“Percy,” she said hesitantly, “you know I don’t have the budget for anything too fancy—”

“First of all, you certainly do,” Hermes said, cutting her off. “Second of all, you are no longer allowed to use the wordfancy,all right? If you’re trying to give a compliment, then the correct term isnice,or perhapslovely.If you want to convey that something is too much, then you can call itexcessive.It’s not enough to look the part,” he warned. “You have to speak it, too.”

“Thank you, Professor Higgins,” she said sarcastically, but Hermes could tell she’d been listening.

The moment they stepped inside, a woman with auburn hair and square-framed glasses emerged from the back. “Hermes, darling!” She pulled him into an airy European double kiss, then squinted at Julia. “Who did you bring me today?”

“Peitho, this is Julia. Ares’s fiancée,” he explained, then turned to Julia. “Peitho is the best personal shopper and stylist in New York.”

Peitho, the goddess of physical appearance and seduction, was underappreciated among both gods and mortals. On the rare occasions she was depicted in Greek art, it was as a handmaid to Aphrodite, holding a ball of thread. (This also meant that she was often confused for Ariadne, who was famous for telling Theseus how to use thread to escape the labyrinth.) Peitho was certainlynotin Aphrodite’s service. If anything, the two goddesses were in quiet conflict, both so tied to the physical, to beauty.

“Ares’s fiancée.” Peitho sniffed. “Fine, I shall help. But next time, make an appointment!”

“Thank you,” Hermes breathed, though he hadn’t doubted that Peitho would agree. She could never resist the chance to piss off Aphrodite. And supporting Ares’s new love interest was a surefire way to earn Aphrodite’s anger.

Apparently, Hermes wanted to piss off Aphrodite too. He was surprised how annoyed he still felt about the stunt she’d pulled in London. It was a dirty trick: shape-shifting into Julia’s mortal friend, setting her up for paparazzi shots.

Not to mention thathewas the one who’d paid the price. He hadn’t exactly enjoyed digging through the prime minister’s nasty internet history so that Tara could slip it to the editors at theSun.