Page 23 of Ungodly Rich

Aphrodite kept moving toward Ares, ignoring Athena’s angry stare.

“Hey, you two,” she said cheerfully when she’d finally reached them. This close, she could see that Ares was leaner, his hair longer and streaked from the sun. He looked pointedly away from her, but Aphrodite was undeterred.

“Aphrodite, back the hell off,” Athena snapped. “Stop getting my brother into trouble out of boredom, or spite, or whatever this is.”

Aphrodite sniffed and turned toward Ares. “Can we talk alone?”

“I don’t think we should be seen together,” Ares mumbled. He was still staring at the ground, as if afraid to set his eyes on her.

“I disagree,” she said levelly. “We can’t be seenavoidingeach other. That would only add smoke to the flames. If we talk like everything is normal, what could they possibly have to report?”

Athena gave a derisive snort, but Aphrodite kept her eyes on Ares. After a beat, he nodded.

“Athena, please just…give us a minute.”

His sister sighed. “I’ll be right over here.” She cast Aphrodite onelast warning look before stomping off. It took all of Aphrodite’s willpower not to magically break the stilettos off those ugly pumps she wore.

She turned back to Ares, looking up at him through her eyelashes. “It’s good to see you again,” she murmured. When he didn’t reply, she added, “You left so abruptly.”

Finally, Ares met her gaze. “Of course I left abruptly, Aphrodite. Your husband—mybrother—told me to get the hell out. Which I deserved.”

“You never tried to get in touch. Not once over the past three years!” That, perhaps, had stung more than anything else: the realization that anyone, man or god, could sleep with her and then walk away without a backward glance.

She was Aphrodite, thegoddess of sex.No one got to leave her. She was supposed to be the one to leavethem.

“I didn’t exactly think it was a good idea to reach out,” Ares said flatly.

“But you just ran off, and leftmeto deal with the fallout!”

She hadn’t meant to come at him with accusations, at least not at first. Aphrodite swallowed, surprised to find that she was blinking back tears.

“What happened between us was your fault as much as mine,” she added in a heated whisper. “Yet your family blamesmefor what happened.”

Ares seemed surprised by her words. “I think it’s safe to say that they blame me, given that Hephaestus banished me afterward.”

“Trust me, they blame me plenty,” Aphrodite seethed. “It’s not fair that you get to come back, the prodigal son, as if nothing ever happened. While I’m still being punished for what webothdid!”

She expected Ares to fight back, but he stared down at the blue waves below. Dolphins were chasing alongside the yacht, grinning and jumping in a perfectly choreographed dance—Poseidon, always such a show-off.

“I’m sorry,” Ares said at last. “If it makes you feel better, I’ve been answering for our actions, too. Hephaestus still hasn’t spoken to me.”

“You’ve only been back a day. Give it time.” Aphrodite let out a breath. “It took much longer than that before Hephaestus forgave me. But he did move past it, in the end.”

Ares frowned. “Then why did you say you’re still being punished? Who else blames you for what happened?”

Aphrodite could have rolled her eyes at his stupidity. “Who do you think? Your mother.”

“Oh. Right,” he said awkwardly. “Well, I’m sorry.”

“If you really feel sorry, then you could talk to your mother for me,” Aphrodite insisted.

“Talk to her?” Ares repeated, bemused.

“You could tell Hera to move on, convince her to stop icing me out.”

“Aphrodite, I wish I could help,” Ares told her, with surprising gentleness. “But I have enough on my plate trying to get Mother to approve of Julia.”

At first, Aphrodite didn’t comprehend what he’d just said. Then she barked out a strident laugh. “You can’t be serious. That mortal woman? Why do you care what your mother thinks of her?”