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Pa her She was also surprised to realize howat her, but the aze, he turned from her and became very busy hatever work their lunch break She sat with Eddie and Arteobbled down one of the excellent gourenius cook rab a sandwich and send her a brief, distracted smile before he rejoined the architect over near the site where workers had already begun staking out the ground for the bathhouse

Not that she wasn&039;t busy herself Today they were choosing the flooring, and it had turned out to be a major event At first Eddie had wanted a horrid reproduction of the tacky fake stone flooring that was so nauseatingly abundant at The Forum Thankfully, fro a bow in her hand instead of yesterday&039;s vase, Artemis shook her head and said a quick, "Oh, no, Eddie It is dreadful" And that was that The laminated fake stone was instantly vetoed Then Pamela had told the three representatives fro forward saan Eddie had been instantly enthralled with the different colors and varieties of the stone, and he keptthat they choose a different color sche Pa headache

She tried to explain to hi froolds, siennas and greens, to Verde Fire, which was filled predominately ild chartreuse, yellow and black, to Golden Alexandra, which ell, golden, would be a terrible design error

Arteain, saved the day

"I like that one," she&039;d said, pointing one slender finger at a square of forgotten tile, lying well apart frooddess?" Eddie had said, instantly attentive

Pamela had practically sprinted over to the tile It was an understated creaht buttercup variations which ran softly froold Pamela smiled "It&039;s lovely, but it&039;s not marble It&039;s tumbled li hand over its smooth surface

"It&039;s soft and perfect" Artemis looked at the author and purred "Eddie, I would very ainst my naked skin"

Eddie&039;s eyes darkened "Then allow oddess I choose this limestone to cover the floor of my humble home"

Humble home ? Oh, brother! Pamela wanted to roll her eyes Instead, she winked a quick thank-you at Arte over the specifics of the order with the delighted stone hty order she was struck with inspiration She told the sales, she rejoined Eddie on the bench near Arteht find interesting," she said

"Do tell us, Pamela!" Eddie said

"Well, ould you think of putting the limestone in all the rooo wild - choose a different marble for each of them, and then we&039;ll create the color scheme and personality of that particular bathroom to reflect its own individual, distinct marble It would be like an adventure to enter each powder room And in the case of the bathrooms that are attached to suites, like the uest suites, ould take one color fro room"

"What a marvelous idea, Paenuine enthusias each one"

Eddie&039;s booh caused several heads to turn "Well done, Pato be truly unique, Eddie" And for the first time she meant the words as a co out their most outlandisha bottle of icy sparkling water and studying a square of marble that reminded her of a kaleidoscope, when she felt Apollo&039;s eyes on her Again She looked up Heacross the courtyard fro over the artist&039;s shoulder at the sketch being created of his sister His head was still tilted doards the sketch, but his eyes were on her Autohtened Please don&039;t let hihts whispered She smiled tentatively at him He returned her smile, and then his expression shifted, as if he remembered hihed

"Why do you punish him?"

Eddie&039;s voice, uncharacteristically low, came frootten so close to her without being heard Pa man, ready to insist that she didn&039;t knohat he was talking about and the honest concern on his face stopped her dismissive words

"I don&039;t want to punish him I just don&039;t knohat to do about him," she said

"You do know that he loves you?"

Pamela blinked in surprise, and Eddie ruh

"You should always remember that I am an author, which is really just a storyteller who observes the world and then reshapes it into his own vision to entertain and amuse Besides that, Phoebus does not attes for you - it is you who masks what your heart feels for him Is that not so?"

"Yes," she said softly

"I know it is presumptuous of me to ask, but why? He seems a man of excellent character"

She hesitated, unsure of whether she could tell hi to me, Pamela What you say will not affect our business relationship And I would like you to think of me as your friend I have always considered it sublimely ridiculous when people say that they never mix business with pleasure How colorless their lives e alone under the burden of such restrictive rules So tellPhoebus?"

She studied Eddie&039;s eyes They were guileless and filled arm concern "If I tell you the truth, do I need to be afraid that it will appear in one of your books?" she asked, only half in jest

This tihout the courtyard "That is always the danger when befriending an author" He leaned in and lowered his voice to a stage whisper, "but I give youa decision based entirely upon what her gut was telling her, she blurted, "I&039; hurt Aren&039;t you?"

Eddie&039;s gaze went from her to Artemis For a moment sadness shadowed his face, then he drew a deep breath, and it was gone, replaced by a knowing soddess, he said, "You will remember that when first we met I wanted the center statue of od, Bacchus?"

"Yes," Pa to make hi been a favorite of y reports that he was the last god to enter Olye hiods; they who loved order and beauty did not always appreciate the unique character of Bacchus or his worshipers I understand that I knohat it is to be titled as one thing and thought of as another" He shook his head and looked fondly at Paress It is not Bacchus&039; story I want you to hear, but hischairs for theirth and called for a cold glass of ed and nodded Why not? When one worked for Eddie, one definitely colored outside the lines After theirinto his story

"Semele was a beautiful Theban princess Born of oddess Unfortunately, she caught the eye of Zeus, the Supreme Ruler of Olympus Zeus dallied with oddesses"

Here Pas Eddie smiled

"Remember, my dear It was a different world then Pretend, for just ain ancient Greece Born into a hardworking merchant family, you are dissatisfied with the role in life fate had allotted you Do you cast aside your secret aspirations and quietly many as your family chooses? What if, say, a handsome man looked your way? Perhaps the eldest son of a wealthy landowner He is out of your reach, but you find love in his arms Suddenly you discover that you are with child Are you driven from your household in shame as your betrothal is broken? Or do you describe how, one day while you were gathering flowers in a od appeared to you, seduced you, and fathered your child - a child who is then birthed with ic?"

"I get your point," Pamela muttered

"May I continue withback in her chair and sipping her , Semele became one of Zeus&039; many mortal lovers But she was different, and in y reports that Zeus was co mistress, so much so that when she told him she was to bear his child he swore an oath by the River Styx that he would give her anything she asked of hi his mead in slow contemplation