Ava swallowed, trying to give herself a moment to reply. Because her impulse was to pop out her wings and show this guy exactly how she could see auras.
Yeah. He made her lose her inhibitions that easily.
Which was totally not a good thing.
And she couldn’t even blame it on the alcohol—fairies didn’t process alcohol like humans. Even in human form, it usually didn’t matter. She could drink bourbon for breakfast if she wanted. Granted, enough of a really high proof could certainly mess with her, but it wasn’t like she would get hammered.
Hell, she didn’t really know what that felt like.
So she couldn’t blame the lowered inhibitions on the alcohol.
It had to be Jason.
“I’m waiting,” Jason said.
“I guess you’ll just have to trust me.” She grinned, ignoring her own fluttering stomach.
“Trust you? I hardly know you.”
“Then let’s just say I know stuff. And leave it at that.” She laid her hand on the table.
He put his hand on hers. “I know stuff too.”
That fluttering in her stomach turned into all-out explosions inside as he lightly caressed the edge of her hand.
Their fingers laced.
“What do you know?” Ava asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“That…” he looked down, “…t-t-that I’ve never—”
The waitress’s timing couldn’t have been more horrible. She smiled a little too much at Jason as she brought another round. Her friendliness stopped when she practically flung Ava’s drink at her.
Bitch, Ava thought. She caught it before it slid off the tabletop, which made her pull her hand away from Jason’s. She was pretty sure the waitress knew exactly what she was doing. And probably had done it a time or two before.
What a brat.
Then Ava immediately shamed herself for thinking that way. What kind of a Fairy Godmother was she? Who knows, maybe Jason had come in here before, and the girl just carried a torch for him?
She was Jason’s Fairy Godmother.
Not his date.
The waitress batted her eyes at Jason, but he didn’t notice, instead his dark-brown eyes stared into hers.
He should have been plain. Hardly good-looking at all. His hair—not quite brown, but not surfer blond—was cut short and severe. His face, when she took in the parts, had no distinguishing marks—his eyes, deep and rectangular in shape. Eyebrows the same rectangular blocks. His jaw, nothing special, just, well, a guy’s jaw. No cleft or dimples or freckles or anything to distinguish him from anyone else.
Yet all of it together worked.
Worked very well.
By Hera, why does this guy need a Fairy Godmother?
She took a sip of her new bourbon and coke, trying to collect herself. Jason seemed to be having similar thoughts, because he did the same. Yet she couldn’t help appreciating his attractiveness.
And that was all it was. Appreciating his appearance, she told herself. Just like appreciating the Statue of David or Venus de Milo.
Had nothing to do with those butterflies in her stomach. And he wasn’t much help, because he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her, either.
Maybe this whole being-human thing wasn’t the best idea for this.
Jason cleared his throat and glanced away. “So, how did you know the bride and/or groom?”
So they were back to the small stuff. She could handle the small stuff. “Friend of a friend.”
“Of?”
“Both, actually. One of those weird you-know-who-knows-who-type things. What about you? Are you friends with the bride and/or groom, or were you just there to make the amazing barbecue?”
“Both. I went to high school with the groom. He asked me to do the barbecue, and even though the bride objected, I made a special sauceless batch for her and the other bridesmaids, so no one stained their dresses.”
“Very thoughtful of you.”
He shrugged. “I do what I can.”
“Is that what you want to do?” she asked. “Cater?”
“Not exactly. I do barbecue cook-offs, and that’s what I enjoy.”
“Ever won any of those?”
“Not the top prize, but I’ve placed a few times.” He sipped on his drink. “What about you? What do you do?”
Loaded question, Ava thought. “I’m a consultant.”
Jason waved his hand like he wanted her to elaborate. When she didn’t say any more, he said, “Consulting what, exactly?”
“I work for a dating service. I help people find their Happily Ever After.”
He smirked. “And how’s that working out for you?”
“One hundred percent success rate so far.”
“That’s impressive. So much so I find it hard to believe.”
“Well, it’s true. I’ve never not been able to unite charges with their HEAs.”
“Charges?”
Ava realized what she’d said. “That’s, uh, what we call clients. Because they are more than just any person to us. We invest a great deal of time and effort into finding the perfect match.”
“So how does one get you as a consultant?”
“Referrals only.”
He nodded. Then sat up a bit straighter. “That’s why you asked about Tessa.”
“Bingo.”
“That’s not a match for me, so don’t worry about that one.”
Ava tipped her head to the side, about to say something, when a flicker of light in her peripheral vision made her turn.
Son of a kraken! Cupid hovered over Jason’s shoulder, arms crossed, glaring at her.
At least he didn’t have one of his arrows out. That would have made things far more difficult.
“Will you excuse me?” Ava said, smiling at Jason. “I have to, uh, use the facilities.”
He stood as she did. “I’ll be here,” he said, touching her arm as she walked by.
“I’ll be just a minute.”
Ava walked as casually as possible around the corner to the restrooms, glanced to make sure no one could see her, materialized her wand. In a flash of reddish glitter she shrank to fairy size, effectively vanishing from mortal view. Her wings fluttered behind her, happy to be unfolded and stretched.
And Cupid was waiting for her.
“What are you doing?” Cupid snapped.
“I’m working,” Ava said, her wings flapping fast, making her hair blow around into her face.
“That doesn’t look like work to me. That looks like flirting with your charge.”
Ava brushed the hair back. “I always take on human form and talk to my charges. That’s how I do my job.”
Cupid snorted.
“Have I ever had a failure on my record? This is what I do. It works. You’d be surprised what you learn when you just talk to a charge, instead of trying to guess what they want all the time.”
“And what have you learned so far?”
“Uh…”
“Exactly. This is not good, Ava. Have you looked at him? Really looked at him?”
Ava’s shoulders slumped and her wings stopped fluttering so fast. “I have.”
“He’s falling for you. Badly. You have to do something.”
“I will, I will. I won’t be staying much longer.”
“Good. I would hate to report this to Andres on the Council.”
Ava glared at him. “Go for it. And I’ll report to Jupiter your extracurricular activities.” They both knew their little private time together would not be approved by either the Council or the gods and goddesses.
“Which would hurt you more than me. Jupiter knows of my past indiscretions. He may not approve, but he would not do anything to me. I’m a god.”
“And I’m a fairy.”
“Exactly my point.” Cupid waved his hand, and he disappeared.
Shit.
He was right. She had a lot more to lose than he did if their relationship were discovered.
Ava hated that.