Chapter VII
Roman
“You can’t be serious,” I growled into the phone lying on my cluttered desk and chucked a wad of crumpled paper across my home office. The last two weeks had been a blur.
My godfather—once one of my favorite people—was rapidly becoming my least favorite.
“I don’t see what the harm is in letting Demi and Cassie arrive how they wish,” Eros said, maddeningly calm.
You heard that right.
Demi and her witchy assistant slash best friend Cassie were both now cast members on my show.
All in the name of making Demi feel more comfortable.
Not sure I could even call it my show anymore, considering Eros was calling all the shots this season.
Including forcing me to cast Cassie alongside his daughter.
And now? Now he was telling me they didn’t want to fly into Jackson Hole like the rest of the cast. What—were they too good for a private jet and luxury accommodations?
Not to mention, cast members were supposed to arrive separately and remain isolated from one another until filming began.
But I’d already been informed that where Demi and Cassie were concerned, that wouldn’t be happening.
Eros swore they would be discreet and not get caught, but they refused to isolate themselves from each other.
“The problem is that we can’t control the variables if they make their own travel arrangements.”
“Demi doesn’t wish to be seen by anyone until she arrives at the resort. Given her past fame, I would think you would understand why this is important to her—and me.”
“What you’re saying is I don’t have a choice in the matter?”
“I wouldn’t exactly say that,” Eros laughed, like this was all some game to him.
“Whatever.” There was no sense in arguing. I knew how it would all end anyway. Eros would get his way. He always did.
Besides, I had other things to worry about.
Things like how my ex had dropped off our daughter yesterday—unannounced—and told me she’d landed a movie role. Which meant I’d be taking Junie full-time this summer. Don’t get me wrong—I was thrilled to have her. I missed her terribly when she was with Carmen. But I hadn’t planned for this.
And now I was scrambling—rearranging schedules, reworking logistics, trying to figure out how to run a show and be a full-time dad. Thankfully, my mom had agreed to come with us to Wyoming. She’d help with Junie when I wasn’t available. Still, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Or maybe—given the gods’ involvement—it was exactly as intended.
Something about Carmen landing a movie role felt .
. . off. It wasn’t unusual for models to pivot into acting.
But Carmen had never shown an interest in that career track.
And she hadn’t even auditioned for this role.
She just got a random call from the director of a big-budget action film.
No callback. No screen test. Just “We want you.” It didn’t sit right.
Not because I didn’t want her to succeed.
But because it felt orchestrated.
It was apparent someone wanted me to have Junie all summer and for Carmen to stay out of the way.
I almost asked Eros why. Surely he knew, but he probably wouldn’t answer, and that would just tick me off more.
“You’re unhappy with your godfather,” Eros mused.
I said nothing. Just crumpled another piece of paper and tossed it.
Thinking about how much my life had been disrupted in the past several days, all for a woman who hated my guts and whom I wasn’t fond of either.
What was worse was that I was going to have to spend the next six to seven weeks with her and, if possible, help her find love even though she believed what I did was a joke.
“Roman,” Eros said more contritely. “I appreciate everything you’ve done so far and will continue to do. I know this hasn’t been easy, and you have your misgivings, but I hope you trust me enough to know I have your best interests in mind.”
I stared at the phone. Silent.
Trust him?
He’d handed me what felt like a no-win situation. A cast member who made me question everything. And a daughter whose presence felt like both a blessing and a setup. I didn’t know what game Eros was playing. But I was starting to suspect I was the pawn.
“You don’t believe that,” Eros said after several beats of dead air.
“Do you blame me?”
“I suppose not. Demi isn’t exactly happy with me either.”
“Then why?” I couldn’t keep the edge out of my voice. “The last thing either of us wants to do is spend a summer in each other’s presence. We’ve never gotten along.”
Eros thought for a moment. “I hope that will change once you truly get to know each other. Your father and I always hoped you would be friends.”
I almost scoffed at the notion, but Demi’s headshots stared straight back at me on my laptop screen.
I wished I could say I was only looking at them and studying her application and bio to prepare for our interviews.
Doing my job. But that would be a lie. Her damn photos had me mesmerized.
And I found myself looking at them way too often, wondering what made her tick and why she had always hated me.
And why I hated her for stealing something I couldn’t name.
The more I stared, the more loss I felt. It only fueled my dislike of her. Yet I couldn’t look away from the gorgeous, maddening creature.
“I don’t see that happening,” I muttered.
“A lot can happen in six weeks.”
“Yeah, sure.” I didn’t see any point in arguing. I had better things to do with my time.
“Roman,” Eros sighed. “Please, I need your help here. This has to work.”
His panicked tone startled me. He was always calm and infuriatingly collected. “What are you not telling me?”
He paused before admitting, “This is a quest for Demi. Given by Zeus. She must fall in love before the August full moon rises or she can no longer live in our world.”
My eyes landed on her photos. There was a part of me that thought maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing for her to be banished from our world.
The way she ran the Bureau made it feel like love was a crime.
Like she was punishing the very thing she was meant to protect.
But the heartbreak in Eros’s voice made me rethink my callous thought.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Why is it so important to Zeus that she fall in love?”
“Because the world needs her.”
“Why?” I couldn’t imagine what grand benefit she was to the world.
“Get to know her and find out for yourself,” he challenged me. “And . . . please help her find love this summer.”
“No pressure there. You realize she has to want to fall in love. And she doesn’t believe that my show or I can help her with that.”
“Prove her wrong.”
“My gifts can only do so much. As you well know.”
“Don’t rely on your gifts. She needs you to be human. She needs to be human. Do you understand me?”
“Not really.” I’d never thought of myself as human per se. To me, there was no human side or god side—I was just a demigod. I took pride in that. It meant I could walk in both worlds. See what others couldn’t.
“Well, I’m counting on you to figure it out. I love you, godson.”
“I’m beginning to wonder,” I teased him.
He laughed. That familiar, easy laugh. It gave me some comfort. He’d always been one of my favorite people. A confidant.
But this time, his laugh didn’t erase the weight of what he’d asked me to do. It felt like an impossible task to help Demi find love. Harder still would be becoming friends with her. She didn’t trust me, and I certainly didn’t trust her. Or her hex-loving friend.
“I promise at the end of this, you will know just how much I love you.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” He owed me big for this. His supposed help in saving my show was feeling more and more like a punishment.
“Very good. Good night. I hope you rest easy.”
Impossible at this point. “Good night.” I clicked “End” and stared at my screen. I studied Demi’s guarded eyes. Her perfect posture. Her pouty mouth that refused to smile. “Why are you so important?”
That question lingered in the air unanswered and relentless.
Thankfully, my favorite word replaced the silence.
“Daddy!” Junie ran in squealing, wearing peach polka-dot pajamas and holding her favorite bear, Cuddles.
My mom, Melissa, trailed not far behind, smiling, always with an air of contentment, carrying a mug of chamomile tea.
She believed a good cup of tea could cure almost anything.
My father called her his angel. Even now, when her golden-blonde bob had darkened and looked less like a halo.
It made me think it had never really been about her hair.
He’d once told me she was the love of his life and he wasn’t sure he would ever be with another woman even though he’d been with plenty before her and had several children with them.
I had a long list of half siblings, some fully divine, some half like me.
Sadly, my parents had separated years ago. Not because they didn’t love each other, but because of time. My mother had aged, while my father looked as young as I did.
They were still the best of friends, but there was always an ache between them anytime they were together. Father had offered to become mortal for her, but she said the world needed Cupid. But sometimes I think she wondered what it would be like for them to grow old together.
I scooped up Junie, and she and Cuddles settled on my lap. I kissed her dark braided hair, the same shade as her mother’s.
Mom set the mug of tea on my desk. “I thought you could use this.”
“Thank you.” I gave her a knowing look. She was aware of the reason behind the special season of Love Unscripted.
Or at least the condensed version. Eros’s latest revelation that this was a quest for Demi added an entirely new level of chaos.
Quests were never easy. And the gods always meddled during one.
Given how accommodating my team had been and how everything had fallen into place, it seemed the meddling had already begun.
“I know that lady.” Junie pointed at the screen.
I should have clicked out of the photos before they’d entered.
“How do you know her?” I asked, surprised. As far as I knew, Demi and Junie had never met. Over the years, Demi had refused to come to any “family” gatherings.
“She reads to me in my dreams all the time.”
I cleared my throat. Discomfort prickled down my spine. Junie’s dreams had a way of always coming true. Her mom possessed the same gift.
“She does?” I asked cautiously.
“Uh-huh.” Junie beamed, her bright amber eyes locked on Demi. “She’s so nice.”
Hmm. Maybe it was just a dream. Demi was anything but nice.
But the grin Mom flashed me told me not to discount Junie. This was all giving me a headache. The last person I wanted to read to my daughter was Demi. She’d probably try to lull her to sleep with a horror novel.
Mom peeked at the screen. “Does she know about the poster of her you kept on your wall?”
I hurried to click out of the pictures. “No. And she never will.”
Mom leaned against my desk, her expression thoughtful.
“Funny how you’ve been chosen to find love for the girl you used to swear was talking about you when reporters asked who her biggest crush was.”
I shifted in my seat, not wishing to think about it. I wasn’t that boy anymore, and Demi certainly wasn’t that girl. And I despised her for not being who I thought she would be.
“She’d say, ‘I don’t know. I haven’t met him yet. But I know when I meet him, I’ll just know.’” Mom grinned. “And you’d say, ‘That’s going to be me.’”
“I was obviously wrong. Very wrong.” It was clear she’d met that person.
It was probably whomever she’d fallen in love with.
Which reminded me—I needed to see if my assistant, Lars, the only other demigod on my team, had tracked that guy down just in case we needed him during Temptation Week.
That was assuming he’d even be interested.
Judging by how adamantly Demi refused to discuss him, it was probably a nasty breakup.
Or she had realized we might contact him and was trying to prevent that.
She was probably afraid that he’d tell the world what a shrew she was.
Mom shrugged. “I suppose so.”
There was no suppose about it—I’d definitely been wrong about Demi, and I had a feeling I was about to find out just how much.