After the goddess of discord crashes her best friend's rehearsal dinner, Irina must figure out how to send the divine disaster back to Ancient Greece before she wreaks any more havoc... But learning to embrace a little discord may be just what she needs.
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"If you want something done right..." I mumbled under my breath as I stared at the random array of Greek sculptures before me.
None of which were where they were supposed to be.
Quickly, I got to work rearranging the centerpieces. The rehearsal dinner was set to begin in half an hour and the rest of the bridesmaids had yet to stroll into the museum. Maybe planning the bachelorette party the night before hadn't been my best idea. A blur of last night's memories flashed through my head while I continued to set up.
Karaoke.
Dancing.
Strip Club.
More dancing...
Private VIP Lounge.
No, definitely not my best idea.
But the more I decorated, the more I was distracted from last night's mistakes.
"Good god," I groaned aloud, picking up a winged goddess. "Why are you so heavy?"
Instead of a hollowed out lightweight plaster cast like the others, this sculpture was carved from natural stone. I hoisted the base onto my hip and turned it over to see the face. Smooth as silk, the pale marble skin of the goddess felt real beneath my fingertips.
"Heavy, but beautiful," I whispered as my thumb slid down the statue's thigh. I quickly cupped my hand around the base again. "Sorry. I totally just felt you up, didn't I?"
"How are you even functional after last night?" Jenna's voice whined from behind.
I gripped the goddess a little tighter, turning to see the bride-to-be in a white chiffon mini dress, her blonde hair pulled back into a clip. Dark sunglasses obscured her eyes, but a playful pout puckered her lips.
Despite the obvious hangover, Jenna seemed to be acting normal.
"Not sure functional is the best word for me," I murmured. "I just apologized to a statue for feeling her up."
"At least get her a drink first." Jenna's laugh turned into a groan. "Ugh, I don't even wanna think about alcohol right now. Seriously, I don't know how you managed to pull all this together on your own after last night."
I sighed as I looked out over the round tables, each decorated with sprawling ivy and golden laurel leaves. Pedestals with Greek busts anchored the sweetheart table set along the backdrop of the museum's classical sculpture hall. It looked straight out of a bridal magazine. Exactly how she wanted it. "I just want everything to be perfect for you."
It was the least I could do.
Jenna walked over, tucking her sunglasses into the neckline of her dress. "Everything looks perfect, Rini."
Just as her lips brushed my cheek, I pulled away. "Where's Tyler and—"
"So we're not gonna talk about last night then, I take it?"
With a thud, I set the winged goddess down on a pedestal. "I don't think now is the best time, do you?"
"Then when, Rini? Straight after dinner, we're rehearsing the ceremony. Tomorrow's the wedding. Then I'm off to Greece for two weeks."
"For your honeymoon. With your husband," I clarified. I avoided Jenna's eyes by looking over her shoulder instead. "Who just walked in with his groomsmen."
"I heard you girls were up to no good last night." Tyler strolled over with his best man lumbering behind.
"Bad karaoke choices were definitely made," Jenna answered smoothly.
The best man snickered and clicked his tongue. "That's not all I heard."
Jenna shot me a look, but there was no way any of the bridesmaids would have known what happened in the lounge. That was just between me and Jenna and a gorgeous Ukrainian stripper named Anastasia.
"Lydia said yinz ended up at Honey's."
Fucking Lydia.
"We may have," Jenna tried to playfully tease, but it came out a little dry. "What's it to you?"
"Oh, nothing." Tyler shot her a toothy grin that turned my stomach. He walked up to Jenna and embraced her from behind. "Did you get a lap dance at Honey's, Honey?"
Jenna's eyes found mine again. "I uh, bought Rini one actually. It's been years since she's gotten any ass."
"Years?" I laughed in irritation.
"The divorce has been brutal on ya, babe. You just felt up that goddess statue over there."
"I—" But if my sexless, forever-tainted love life took the heat off of us, I could bear the embarrassment. And it seemed to have worked. Tyler looked less interested in grilling Jenna.
His hands slid off her as he took a step closer to me. "Imagine if we'd all ended up at the same strip club together?" He clapped me on the shoulder with a bellowing laugh.
"Ahh, yes," I mumbled. "Imagine that."
"I don't get it, Rini." Tyler squeezed my arm. "You're a gorgeous girl—Babe, I can say that, right? Of course I can. I'm engaged, not blind. You're gorgeous. You've got a decent job here at the museum..."
"A decent job." I almost laughed. I was the damn curator.
"...What's the problem?" Tyler asked.
"The problem?" This wasn't where I expected the conversation to go, but where to start? Thirty-five year old divorcees who would honestly rather talk to marble sculptures than most real people weren't exactly in high demand in the dating world. "I—"
"She's picky," Jenna jumped in to save me. "And she has every right to be. Irina could have any woman she wanted."
"I don't know about that." As genuine as Jenna had meant it, there was still something more behind her words, something only I seemed to notice. But I kept my eyes on the winged goddess to avoid drawing attention to the tension between us.
"My cousin's gay," James—or Jason or whatever the best man's name was—blurted out. "I could hook you up."
Tyler slapped his arm in excitement. "That's perfect. We still have an empty seat next to Rini tomorrow since—"
Jenna's face twisted to a scowl. "I don't think Jeff's cousin is Rini's type. Like, at all."
My fingers glided over the soft marble skin of the goddess once more before I turned back to Tyler with a forced smile. "If yinz are that invested, why don't you take a little honeymoon detour to the Isle of Lesbos and find me a nice Greek woman while you're over there?"
"Isle of Lesbos," Tyler laughed. "You're hilarious too, Rini. I don't know why Hailey ever let you go."
I sucked in a sharp breath as Jenna smacked the back of Tyler's head. Hearing my ex-wife's name made my skin crawl.
Just then, the rest of the bridal party began to filter in. I breathed a sigh of relief. "You better go greet your guests. I'll finish setting up in here with the other girls. Oh, and someone should probably keep an eye on Grandma Emmy once she gets here. She'll be nipping at the wine and heading to the rooftop. Which reminds me, we really need to have the maintenance guy check that door. It keeps sticking."
Jenna glanced my way once more before turning towards the lobby with her soon-to-be husband. They'd be occupied entertaining their families for the rest of the night and at least for now, I could avoid the mess between us.
Catering had just finished setting up the charcuterie display next to the fruits and vegetables. Trays of hot food were being brought out to the buffet. As I walked over to make sure everything looked perfect, a golden yellow apple rolled off the table and across the floor in front of me.
Bending to pick it up, I stopped short when another hand reached down for it first. A dusty lavender Grecian dress draped gracefully over the pale shoulder of a woman I didn't recognize. A crown of golden laurel leaves held back her black wavy curls. My heart began to pound as I met the woman's hazel eyes. A coy smile played on her lips.
"To the fairest," the woman said, holding the apple out to me. Her heavy accent felt both familiar, but unique. Certainly not from Pittsburgh.
"The fairest?" I laughed. "You some kinda evil Disney queen or something?"
The woman's dark brows quirked as she held the apple out for another moment before bringing it swiftly to her full lips. "That woman does not love that man," she stated, taking a big bite.
I was sure I'd heard her wrong. "Excuse me?"
"The fair-haired, blushing bride," she said through offensive chews. "She does not want to wed that man."
My eyes narrowed on her, my head slowly bobbed. "And you must be Tyler's ex, the old friend of the family his mother just had to invite, right? Jenna warned me about you. Bold of you to crash the rehearsal dinner, but points for dressing on-theme."
Very on-theme.
My eyes wandered lower to the sheer lavender fabric that barely hid her figure.
The woman continued to chew the apple slowly. Obnoxiously beautiful in every way. She leaned back onto an empty pedestal where I was sure I had set the winged goddess. Her luminous dark eyes gleamed beneath the dim lights. "Avoiding strife only empowers her, kallistē. Trust me, I would know." She crunched into the golden apple again. "You should be honest with your friend."
My pulse began to thrum in my ears as I scanned the sculpture hall. The bridesmaids were busy occupying the groomsmen. Family members were beginning to fill their seats at the tables. Jenna stood at the entrance.
And Lydia hovered nearby, popping a grape in her mouth.
Just as the woman went to take another bite of the apple, I snatched it from her hand and tossed it into a cardboard box behind the catering table. Looping my arm through her elbow, I dragged her into a narrow hallway that led into the next gallery where we could be alone. This seemed to please her. Her devilish smile cut under my skin in every way. Yanking my arm free of hers, I leaned into the woman. Close enough that the scent of oleander and citrus filled my nose. Close enough that I could see the flecks of green and gold in her mischievous eyes.
This was not Tyler's ex.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"Eris. And you are?"
"Irina."
Her hazel eyes widened, flicking back and forth over mine, searching for something. "Eirene?"
"Irina," I corrected. "Irina Mavronas." But something about the way Eris had said my name sent an electric spark through my core. I took a deep breath and pushed it down, then lightened the tone in my voice. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you thought you overheard, but—"
"It is not so much what I heard, Eirene, but what I saw. I have an eye for tension. It's a gift, some would say." Her eyes trailed down over me, deliberate and slow. "And you seem very tense."
"What you saw?" I looked Eris over the same way she was studying me. Long legs, raven black hair, perfect tits that weren't exactly hidden behind the sheer fabric of her dress. "Were you one of the strippers from last night?"
"Just minutes ago, you pulled away from what should have been a friendly kiss," she stated matter of factly. Her head tipped. "What is a... stripper? This language has evolved to be so harsh on the tongue."
My jaw clenched as my lips curved to a smile. "I don't know what kinda game you think you're playing with me," I whispered, leaning close to her ear. "But if you ruin Jenna's wedding, I'll—"
My breath caught as Eris ran her slender fingers up my arm to the slope of my neck, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. "So very tense, Eirene..."
"Rini?"
I jerked away. I ran my own hand over the back of my neck where my skin still burned red hot from Eris's touch. "Hey, Jen. What's up?"
"What's up?" Jenna scoffed. "Who is this?"
"No one."
She looked Eris over head to toe. "Why didn't you just tell me you were seeing someone? I wouldn't have—" She waved a microphone towards me, obviously irritated, but there was a hidden layer of hurt in her voice. "Tyler wants to welcome everyone, but we can't figure out how to connect this to the speakers."
"You have to make sure the Bluetooth is on," I replied, holding the button in. "And I'm not seeing anyone, Jenna. I just met her five minutes ago."
Her eyebrows raised. "Wow. When I said you could have any woman you wanted earlier, that wasn't exactly meant to be a challenge."
"As truthfully, by 'any woman,' you meant yourself, yes?" Eris interrupted. "What is a stripper?"
"You told her?"
"No—"
"I think I'm beginning to understand." Eris smirked something beautifully awful. "You do not want to wed that man because you have feelings for Eirene."
"No." I shook my head. I continued to mash the Bluetooth button as the light flickered on then quickly off. "No, she doesn't. She has cold feet. It was just a lap dance. Friction. And booze. We were drunk." But the more the truth began to spill from my mouth, the more I realized Jenna wasn't backing me up in agreement. "She was just trying to learn some new moves for her honeymoon. For her husband. That was the whole point. I just happened to be the test dummy."
"You kissed me, Rini."
"I—no," I laughed nervously. My mind flipped through the montage of drunken memories. "You kissed me. You told me you wished I was a dude. Then you kissed me."
"You didn't exactly shove me off," Jenna shot back. "You told me Tyler doesn't deserve me."
"That's because he doesn't."
A loud screech of feedback from the microphone tore through the hallway.
The anger on Jenna's face paled. "Tell me that wasn't..." As she turned back towards the classical sculpture hall, Tyler stood at the doorway.
My stomach dropped.
Jenna took a step towards him. "Ty—" But he stormed off.
Citrus and florals floated over my shoulder as Eris leaned in close. "What is a lap dance?"
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