In an attempt to protect her heart, newly single, Ember has sworn off love. Intrigued, the goddess Aphrodite decides to change the girl's mind. But when Ember's stubborn nature proves difficult, Aphrodite's intentions turn dark.
•---•---•
Ember Mich...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
At ten o'clock the next morning Ember was headed to the boardwalk to begin her very first shift at You Had Me at Merlot.
She'd been arguing with herself for over an hour, the entire time she brushed her hair into a high ponytail and clipped a glittering star pin into the hair band. The entire time she scanned her closet until settling on a powder blue dress and white sandals, and finally the entire time she applied her makeup of pink lipgloss, shimmering eye shadow, and mascara. But it hadn't been quite enough, because the entire drive to the boardwalk Ember continued her one-on-one argument out loud.
"I don't even want to go. I don't even really need a job. Actually, you do, idiot, you need money!"
When she arrived at the front door of the wine shop, she closed her eyes, held in a deep breath, and told herself that she could just go home if she didn't like it. It wasn't like she was a hostage, people quit jobs all the time.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You're here!" Aphrodite called out excitedly when Ember entered the shop, she had been waiting since dawn, sipping wine and chatting with two demigods who were scheduled to arrive that afternoon and attempt to woo Ember. "I've got your apron right here, darling, oh and look how pretty the little name tag is."
Ember donned both items and set to work, following Aphrodite around the shop and taking notes on a small red notepad about all the different types of wine.
"We sell mostly red, but we do have a small selection of white, it's just you know... for the less affluent."Aphrodite snickered to herself as she watched Ember scribble a note on the corner of a page: never drink white wine around your boss.
By noon Aphrodite had her dusting and rotating stock, you know, the fun parts of retail. It was around that time that the first customer of the day entered, the demigod, Arcas. He appeared as a young man a year or so older than Ember, with brown hair and blue eyes, he was tall and ruggedly handsome, and Aphrodite had her hopes high for this love match. She sat quietly in the corner of the shop and watched.
"A new face," Arcas smiled at Ember. "Wow," he said, pointing at her nametag, "a name well chosen for a face such as yours."
Aphrodite rolled her eyes, he could do better than that.
