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‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘That would be great.’
Loneliness had been eating at me in Coal’s Lake without my grandfather. With no-one to talk to, barr the locals who hated me for changing their drinking hole. Scout could have been a place to forget my worries for an hour or two… if he didn’t remind me of my dickhead ex.
Just like John, he towered over me, with a mop of dark hair and inky eyes. Too bad he was a jackass. He got the work done but was nothing but a grouch. Not that I’d been the most sparkling company.
No.
I'd just keep going, get through Valentine's Day, and make enough to pay off the last of the debts. This way, I could finally close the bar, do the necessary changes, and pass it on to someone else.
How the heck was I going to get more than the handful of old-timers in the bar? I needed to really capitalise on the holiday. Maybe pull in singles? Or couples? The thought of a night surrounded by happy, in-love people when I was so full of rage didn’t elicit any joy.
I rearranged the cork board next to the door to make sure my note asking for a bartender for immediate work stood out. There had to be someone local who wanted a job, even if it was only short-term.
‘Don’t know why you’re bothering, city girl,’ Bill said as I moved back behind the bar.
I wondered why I was bothering, too.
Because you’ve got nothing else.
CHAPTERFOUR
AMOR
‘Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be mortal?’
Anteros turned toward me, a grimace on his face. ‘Gods, no. Why would I?’
‘Don’t they fascinate you?’
‘Not in the slightest. Dirty, messy, and uncivilised. Why are you asking?’ Anteros said, his face contorting with revulsion as he counted his reasons with his fingers.
‘I see them a lot, and I’ve often wondered what it would be like to live amongst them. To experience what they do. They lack so much of what we have, yet they still persevere. Why?’
‘You’re so damn weird, Amor.’
Perhaps I was. I had everything I wanted on a golden platter, yet it was always just more of the same. Excitement called, and I was sure the mortals had it in spades.
‘I’m going to ask Zeus if I can go to the mortal realm for a vacation.’
My brother sat up and looked at me like I’d grown three heads.
‘That’s not a thing.’
‘I’m going to make it a thing,’ I said with a grin. ‘I’m going on strike until it happens.’
‘Zeus is going to laugh you out of Mount Olympus.’
‘What’s new?’ I shrugged, Zeus could be a total ass, but he also liked frivolity. I hoped he was feeling more on the lighter side.
‘The mortals still think you are a pale, tubby little kid in diapers,’ Anteros said, his voice straining with exasperation.
‘What? No, they don’t.’
‘Yes, they do. All the images of you are like a cherub. Cupid is still a baby in their minds. Not that they really believe we exist these days.’ Anteros looked smug at the horror on my face.
They thought I was still a youth? The depictions of me had lessened as years had turned to centuries and the mortals had changed their focus. From a cherub with a bow, it was now all garish hearts to depict love. I’d worked hard when I’d reached adulthood to sculpt my physique. Hell, I’d had my body scribed with dark inks like I’d seen on some mortals. My wings were no longer pale and stubby, they stretched wide and glimmered darkly behind me. Gone was the kid I’d been when I’d first received my arrows.
‘Right. That’s it.’ I stood and made for the door.
