It saluted me with a wing that managed to look leathery and stone-like at the same time. “Just doing our jobs, ma’am. And, um, you wouldn’t mind putting in a good word with the boss?”
“I’ll be sure to let him know.”
Before anyone else could approach us and delay our dinner, Ethan and I found a relatively quiet corner with a table and two chairs and dug into the food. “Either this is the best food I’ve ever eaten or I was hungrier than I’ve ever been,” Ethan said with a laugh after devouring half a plateful.
I was just about to respond when I heard a flutter of wings. I looked up to see Ari.
“Hey, Katie, I didn’t know you were coming to this shindig.”
“I didn’t know I was coming myself.”
She made a “tsk-tsk” motion with her fingers in Ethan’s direction. “Now, is that a way to treat a lady? By the way, I’m Ari.”
I remembered my manners. “Ari, have you met Ethan, our new corporate legal counsel?”
She fluttered her eyes and wings simultaneously. “We haven’t met in person, but Trix has told me about you.” She glanced at me and added, “And I’ve heard a little from Katie. She hasn’t done you justice.”
Ari was my friend, but she wasn’t high on my list of people I wanted to run into when I was on a date. She’d been around during my last disastrous blind date, and although she wasn’t directly responsible for the disaster, she hadn’t helped matters. Unfortunately, there was no polite way to tell a friend to get lost. Ari wouldn’t mind, but I didn’t want to look like a jerk in front of Ethan.
It must have been my lucky night, for before I had to grab her by the wing and beg her to leave us alone, she winked at Ethan and said, “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m sure I’ll get all the details on Monday morning. Ta-ta!”
“She’s interesting,” Ethan remarked as she flitted away.
“You can say that again. Dessert?” I needed a chocolate fix in the worst way.
“Sure.”
The moment we stood up, our empty plates vanished. “That’s handy,” I remarked.
“I wonder how they do that.”
“I’m not sure I want to know. The less I think about how magic works, the less my head hurts.”
“Then never ask Owen a question about something magical when he’s got a marker in his hand and is anywhere near a whiteboard. I had to take an aspirin and lie down afterward.”
I was going to ask him more about Owen’s magical lecture, but I was saved from making the faux pas of talking about one guy while on a date with another by Trix, who stood forlornly at the dessert table, popping one chocolate after another into her mouth. “Trix? I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I said.
She sighed deeply. “I wasn’t planning to come. I was going to go over to Pippin’s place and try to talk to him. But Ari made me come. She said it would be good for me to get out.” A single sparkling tear trickled down her cheek.
“Nice of her to abandon you after dragging you here,” I commented.
She sniffed. “I told her to go have fun. There’s no point in both of us being miserable.”
Ethan got that helpless expression men tend to develop when they’re around a weeping woman. He awkwardly squeezed her shoulder, then directed a wide-eyed “what now?” look at me.
I put an arm around her, carefully avoiding her wings. “Come on, honey, if you keep eating chocolate like that you won’t be able to fly.” She let me lead her to the table where we’d been sitting. It was only after we got there that I realized I hadn’t managed to get any chocolate for myself. Once the initial shakes from our frightening encounter had worn off, I no longer needed or wanted a drink. I had a feeling I’d need to keep my wits about me. I did, however, desperately need chocolate.
Ethan proved to be the consummate gentleman. With a glance at me, he held his hand out to Trix. “Come on, let’s dance. That’ll make you feel better.” I watched him gently guide her to the floor, then I made a beeline back to the dessert table. I wasn’t a good enough dancer to get on the floor in front of people I might need to respect me later at work.
Ethan and Trix seemed to be having a good time out there. She was even smiling and laughing, her wings perked up instead of drooping sadly like they had been all week. As I munched on a miniature brownie and watched them, I decided I’d found myself a pretty good man. He was prepared for everything, was good in a crisis, got along with my friends (with the possible exception of Marcia) and was kind to people in need. For the first time since I’d met him, I truly wanted it to work out between us, and not only because I doubted I’d ever have the man I really wanted. I was glad I had Ethan as a boyfriend.