Goddess of Light (Goddess Summoning #3)(82)

Eddie looked at her and beamed. "Well done, Pamela! Well done." Abruptly, he stood, and his deep voice blasted throughout the villa. "Phoebus! Come to me!"

Pamela tried to say something - something like, "Wait, Eddie! I didn't mean I was ready to touch the blood buggering light right now!" but the author totally ignored her frantic whispers. When Apollo hurried up to them, she was mortified to realize that her face felt fiery. She was blushing like a schoolgirl. Great.

"There you are, my boy! I have a request of you."

"What can I do for you, Eddie?"

"I believe Pamela has been working too hard. I have one strict rule: always mix business with pleasure. Our Pamela is new to this rule," Eddie said as if Pamela wasn't sitting less than a foot from him with a bright red face.

"I have noticed that about our Pamela, too," Apollo said, trying to keep his expression neutral.

"Good! Then you understand exactly what has to be done." At the golden twin's blank expression, Eddie rose and clapped him on the shoulder. "Why, take her out of here, man! Stroll with her about the resort. Visit the springs and refresh yourselves. I'll instruct James to make sure he packs a lovely dinner for you, and we won't expect to see you again until dark."

Apollo looked as stunned as Pamela felt.

"James!" Eddie bellowed, and his assistant, as usual, miraculously appeared. "Tell Robert to take Pamela and Phoebus back to the resort. Have the staff pack them an old-fashioned picnic dinner. The two of them need some time to rest and to" - he hesitated and winked at Phoebus - "rejuvenate."

"Of course, Eddie," James said before hurrying off.

"Off you go," Eddie told them. "And don't worry, Pamela, Diana and I shall finish choosing the marble for the bathrooms."

"Are you sure you don't need me to double-check things with the limestone rep?"

"No, no, no," Eddie brushed away her concern. "The man has the blueprints. Now off with you!"

Seeing no other choice, Pamela got up and began walking with Apollo through the courtyard. The doors were open, and the sun reflected off the silver hood of the limo as it pulled up and braked in front of the villa. Apollo stopped.

"Remember, Phoebus, you must slay the dragon before you win the fair maid!" Eddie shouted from behind them.

The God of Light lifted a hand and waved back at Eddie with good humor, but Pamela heard his miserable sigh and noticed how his face had instantly paled at the sight of the limo. Apollo squared his shoulders and started forward again.

"Do they have dragons in the ancient world?" Pamela whispered, walking beside him.

"Yes, but they do not have cars. I can promise you that I'd rather face the dragons."

"I'll sit in the front seat with you."

"I can't slay it?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Pamela tried unsuccessfully not to laugh.

Chapter 27

Hiking in and around Pikes Peak had long been one of Pamela's favorite hobbies as well as her main form of exercise. Why should she work out in the stuffy confines of a man-made gym when she had the splendor of the Colorado Rocky Mountains surrounding her? Not that she was one of those hard-core, backpacking, camping, shunning-the-conveniences-of-modern-life hikers. Scaling up the side of a sheer rock had never, ever appealed to her. Nor did sleeping on the ground and peeing in the woods. But taking a trail that wound up and around the mountain, especially early in the morning when everything was clean and still and private, was something she had been shifting her schedule to include at least four times a week ever since she had left Duane. Hiking was synonymous with freedom to her. And it didn't matter how sluggish or stressed out she was feeling at the beginning of her trek; an hour later when she returned she was relaxed and rejuvenated. V called it her "attitude adjustment time."

So the brand-new shorts, T-shirt and hiking shoes that had been set out on her bed for her brought a definite smile to her lips. She changed clothes quickly and emerged from her room in time to see Apollo, in a male version of her attire, walking down the hall towards her.

"I do not know how Eddie performs all of this magic without any immortal power," Apollo said, smiling wryly.

"The power Eddie has is called money. Lots of it. Coupled with his imagination, it equates to the modern world's version of magic. James called my room and said for us to meet him in the den."

"After you," Apollo gestured gallantly for her to precede him down the hall.

Pamela noticed that, just as in the short ride in the car, he was very careful not to touch her. She reminded herself that he was only giving her what she had asked of him, space and time, which didn't help to dispel the crappy, knotted feeling in the pit of her stomach.

James was waiting for them with a smile, a picnic basket and a map.

"I have marked a trail nearby that I thought you might particularly enjoy exploring. It begins north of the ranch house, winds through First Creek Canyon to a lovely spring-fed pool." He pointed at the end of his yellow highlighted trail. "The perfect place for a leisurely dinner. In the basket you will find plenty of water as well as sunscreen. And, though you probably won't need it, I also included a cell phone, which is programmed back to the spa information desk. Just hit star sixty-two in the unlikely event you get lost or need assistance."