Page 10 of Competing Against Thor

"I do." A smile sprang to my face as I thought about Daisy working. She wasdefinitelycompetition, and I wouldn't be surprised if she did win. Though maybe I'd be saying that about anyone who was working in the station next to me, not just her.

"Well, I look forward to hearing how it goes," Hel said. "And maybe watching. I do love a good reality TV show. Though I prefer the ones with all the drama. Maybe I just need Jinx and the Muses to team up and do a dating show. That would be great."

I chuckled. "I'm not sure Aine would go for that, she's all about peopleactuallyfinding love, not the drama."

"Oh, please. She's a love goddess, they live on drama," Hel countered.

"I've never had much to do with them," I admitted. "Other than the occasional party."

"Then maybe we should get you signed up for one of their events,thenyou'll believe me about the drama."

"There's a party coming up linked to the competition," I said. "Does that count?"

"It counts enough. Now how do I get an invite to make sure I get to witness all of the drama going down?"

I laughed. "You can be my plus one, if you want?"

"Won't that spoil your chances with the sculptor you're crushing on?"

"Why would it?" I asked without thinking. "You're my niece."

"Interesting. So you're not denying that you're crushing on her."

"I'm nearly two thousand years old, I don't get crushes."

The look of disbelief on her face said differently. "We all get crushes, Uncle. We're not immune just because we're immortal."

I frowned, not sure what to make of her assessment. I drank some more of my mead instead of thinking too hard about it. Whether or not she was right, there was certainly a part of me that was enraptured by Daisy, and I certainly wanted to get to know her more.

Chapter 6

DAISY

I smoothed down my dress, not really used to wearing one. It wasn't that I didn'tlikedressing up this way, it was more that I never really got a chance to and it was alien to have a nice dress on. But I wanted to make a good impression, especially if there were going to be cameras there. I had no idea if there would be or not, but considering that all of the contestants ofThe Great Sculpting Challengehad been invited, I wanted to be prepared in case there was.

The bar was decked out in an alarming amount of pink, and it took me a moment to realise that it was probably because the whole thing was sponsored by the Jinx Dating Agency.

"Good evening," a hostess said brightly as I approached. "Could I take your name?"

"Oh, erm, Daisy Dixon, this is my plus one." I gestured to Danny, who was looking around the room like he'd never been to a fancy event like this.

The hostess nodded and ticked something on her list. "Welcome. It's an open bar, and there will be nibbles brought out for you in about half an hour."

"Thanks." I gave her what I hoped was a friendly smile.

"You didn't mention that it was an open bar," Danny said, heading straight over to it.

I shrugged. "I didn't know. The assistant producer just asked if we'd come and said that it was a chance to mix with everyone."

"You're already three weeks into the competition."

"I'm not sure what to tell you," I responded. "Maybe they didn't want everyone to get too chummy before the first elimination, or maybe this is just when the party was planned and they're taking advantage of it."

"Ah, maybe. Now you're going to have to tell me who everyone is," he said.

"At least let us get a drink first," I responded. "And you're going to be disappointed, there isn't much in the way of proper gossip yet."

"I'll be the judge of that," he said. "And maybe that's what tonight is supposed to be about. Trying to create some drama and tension between the contestants."