Lesson in Love (Olympians, 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

are a
god, and you are miserable and unbelievably boring. She would liven
you up. She even got Hephaestus to come out of the underworld for a
few months.”
    Hermes looked down at the ground. “No
one’s ever said anything like that to me before.”
    “ You’re the messenger of
Zeus. Everyone’s scared of you. You mean Hera’s never suggested it?
She wants everyone bonking away like rabbits.”
    “ Hera leaves me alone. She
knows it’s pointless to try to tell me what to do.”
    Iris sighed. “Fine. I’ll stop. You
came here because you care about this.”
    “ I don’t have to wear my
feelings on my shoulder to show that they do in fact exist. I
thought you should know.”
    “ Thank you very much then.
I will make sure my heart and sanity are well guarded.”
    He shrugged. “Eros is arrogant, but
you love him.”
    “ That news seems to be
traveling fast.”
    He stood up. “Don’t blame me. Hera and
Aphrodite handle that department.”
    “ I know. It’s hard to
forget. They kept my secrets, at least until last week.”
    He hesitated and then added, “Just be
careful.”
    She watched him walk away. “I will.”
She hoped she’d be able to keep that promise.

Chapter Three
     
    Eros scanned the customers
in The Iris . He
waited until he was sure there were no Olympians around before he
sat down. He chose a booth instead of his normal table. He wanted
to surprise Iris and maybe catch her off guard. He’d avoided the
restaurant for almost two weeks. Maybe she wouldn’t be expecting
him to come back at all.
    “ Trying to make a change
in your life?”
    He looked up and saw Iris peering at
him over the back of the booth. Her hair was powder blue, and she
wore a dark blue dress. Her eyes appeared clearer than usual,
reflecting the color of the dress.
    He shrugged. “Just wanted to sit here
today.”
    She just looked down at him. “What do
you want?”
    “ Just a light beer for
now.”
    She narrowed her eyes and then walked
off.
    He watched her walk away. She
obviously hadn’t wanted to take his order; she wanted to know what
he was up to. Her question had given him the perfect opportunity to
deliver a flattering line, but she’d seen him do that before. She
would have been expecting it, and she would have shut him down
immediately. She wouldn’t take his attention seriously if he
started off the way he always did.
    The problem was he didn’t know any
other way of getting a woman’s attention. He knew lots of methods,
but that was just it: they were all methods. They didn’t work on
goddesses. Gods and mortal men alike usually had to wait until the
goddess in question decided she wanted them.
    Iris set his beer down on the table.
“Anything else?”
    He looked up at her, wishing he’d
thought more about what to say. “No. I’m fine for now. Thank
you.”
    She walked away and he sighed. It had
occurred to him that his lack of flirting and cute lines might make
her even more suspicious. After all, he’d insulted her and been
kicked out the last time they spoke, so his good behavior probably
indicated he wanted something.
    Great.
    “ Why so sad,
baby?”
    He looked across the table at his
mother. Her blonde hair was curly and long again, flowing down her
back. She wore a flattering white sundress.
    “ You just wanted to hurt
my feelings, didn’t you?”
    “ What do you mean?” She
reached down and picked up a cup of frothy coffee that had appeared
at the same time she had.
    “ You planned it all out.
You wanted me to go see Abigail on Valentine’s Day when you knew
she wouldn’t be alone.”
    “ Did I make you have a
fight with Zeus? Did I bring you here and make you fight with Iris?
Or make her come to me? It was all the Fates.” She smirked at him.
“Come to think of it, you could have gone to bed and gone to see
Abigail the next day. Who knew you’d do what you were told so
quickly? Unless you wanted to see her pining away over you on the
holiday of lovers.”
    “ No, I didn’t. I