Page 24 of Choosing Goddess

I opened my mouth to say something and then shut it, thinking about what he said.

He didn’t know anything about Spy; but I did.

I’m probably the only man on The Network’s client list who knew that Spy loved the stars, the night sky, White Russians, and watching old movies.

And no, not probably, the only man.

Because those were tidbits that special people got.

“Shit,” I muttered, slamming my glass down.

“Will you at least give me her real name? I’ve been dying to know for ages.”

“Spyridoula. She’s Greek. She was my best friend growing up and probably the one woman I always had a thing for. I grew up next to her and we’d always hang together. She heard some of my very first stories.”

“I love that for you, man. Guess my next question is, why are you mad at Spyridoula when she and Goddess aren’t the same?”

“Because….well you see….I mean I….,” I trailed off, not sure how to answer that question, and that was the truth.

I even knew the two were different.

I trusted that Goddess wouldn’t do anything on those dates.

So, did I let my own insecurities destroy something before it really had the chance to grow?

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered, standing up and grabbing my wallet. “Carter, I hate to say this but thank you. That was some true inspirational shit.”

“Nah, man, I just pushed you. For what it’s worth, Goddess has never let anyone make a move, and she never will. I think she puts on a mask and just deals with it, but it’s never beyond that.”

“You’re right. And don’t even let anyone know I said that.”

I threw some bills down on the counter, covering both of our drinks and I ran out of the bar, quickly making a reservation. Then I pulled up the app for The Network and said a silent prayer that the woman of my dreams would accept the request, because I had no other plan on how to win her back.

A day later, I checked into the hunting lodge at The Preserve, an area of protected forest land with tons of luxury lodges and exclusive hunting or skiing clubs, when the season called for it. It was located at the northmost point of the city limits and right now with the fall trees and colors in bloom, it just seemed like the perfect place to apologize.

Of course, that was assuming I could speak, because as of right now, this woman hadn’t accepted my request.

I walked into my room, setting my bag down, and let out a breath. I left a message with the front desk saying that if she came, she was to be given a key and shown where to go, and it sucked waiting on pins and needles for her to show up.

With a sigh, I opened the curtains so that I could look outside, freezing as I heard the key in the door. Slowly, I turned around, seeing Spy there with the phone in her hand and a smile on her face.

“Hey,” she said, walking in and setting her stuff down.

“Hi,” I whispered, closing the distance between us and cupping her face.

“You said you owe me something?”

“I do, an apology. Because I was an asshole and you didn’t deserve that.”

“Neither did you,” she told me, clutching onto my elbows. “I didn’t hear you out and I didn’t see it. But I’m willing to discuss things, if that works.”

“You’re serious about that?”

“I like helping my clients, but I can lay off the later dates if it helps?”

“Let’s put a pin in that, because we can come back to it if you want. But, really, Spy, I had a good talk with someone, someone who really made me see the difference in you. Someone told me they didn’t even know your name, didn’t know anything about you, and I could really see the mask and shell you put on.

“If you want to keep doing it, I trust you. I believe in you. And I know you wouldn’t hurt me. But I think I might have been a little scared into letting you see just how much I was falling for you. How much you meant to me.