The following day, Jimmy sent me a text saying he was in town and asking what time they let me off for lunch so he could pick me up.
Henry was sitting at the table with Isabella, watching as she put wolfsbane leaves into the distiller to extract their oils. Yesterday’s werewolf customer had wiped out most of our stock. I hoped it was keeping her unwanted suitors at bay until the current lunar cycle was done with.
“Sorry to interrupt, but my brother asked me if I can meet him for lunch. What time would be okay with you?”
Henry slid off his chair and came over to where he had me fulfilling our shipment orders for the day. Compared to this, potions seemed positively exciting. Brown wrapping paper, tape, string, address label, write the shipment details by hand into the big orders book. My brain had gone walkies hours ago.
“You know, I didn’t even know there was such a place as”—I examined the header on the invoice—”Vale do Javari. Now I do. Oh. Is this an error? This confusion oil is expensive, isn’t it? It says zero due."
“This shipment is a gift in thanks for certain herbs and seeds Sylvia receives from that region that she can’t get somewhere else.”
“But confusion oil?”
“Apparently they brush it on the barks of trees to confuse parrot poachers. It just needs a solid invocation spell, and it’s good to go. I couldn’t approve more. You know, if your brother’s in town, why not invite him to join us for dinner tonight? Four is a good number.”
“That’s a nice thought,” I said. “You don’t mind?”
Henry picked up one of the heavier boxes to move to the docking area at the back of the store. “Sure, why not?”
Across the room, Isabella sat up a little straighter. “Oh, you’re all going out for dinner? Can I come?”
“Sure, the more the merrier,” Henry said.
I was glad he’d looked away just then because I didn’t want him to see me frown. I saw plenty of Isabella as it was. Not only that, I didn’t like that she’d practically invited herself. Not to mention her inevitable next question.
“Can I invite my brother, John, too?”
Henry paused midstride. “Sure.” I noticed he didn’t sound quite so convivial this time. Perhaps he was regretting his “the more the merrier” comment. Oblivious, Isabella grinned and got back to her work.
I typed Henry’s proposal for dinner instead of lunch into my phone and Jimmy quickly replied with a “yes,” and I suggested he meet me at the apartment at five. He agreed.
“All set.”
Henry nodded, and I slipped my phone back into my pocket and carried on labeling.
“I’m looking forward to meeting your brother,” Isabella said. “John’s told me all about him. I hear he’s quite a whiz in class. Not to mention something of a looker, but how could he not be, being your brother?”
I should have been flattered by the compliment, but I wasn’t. I felt manipulated. I wondered if Henry felt the same too.
“He can hold his own, I guess.” I peeled the final label from the backing paper and attached it to the last box. I carried the boxes out to the docking area and stacked them on top of a similar pile. “There. That’s done. What’s next?”
The shutter was up at the back, and Henry was looking down the back alley, waiting for the UPS man to arrive at the shop. There were several kittens sitting on the tops of boxes, looking out. I wondered why they didn’t make a run for it, but I’d never seen a single one try to leave the store.
“It’s nearly lunch time. Why don’t you break off now?” He spun round quickly, not realizing how close I had been behind him, and almost knocked me off my feet. Luckily, he reached out and caught me. His face was inches from mine.
My gaze went from his lips to his eyes, which were locked on mine. Delighted, I saw what I wanted to see there, a mirror of my own feelings. I relaxed in his embrace and held my breath, realizing he was about to kiss me.
“Did I hear someone say lunch?” Isabella was right behind us, tucking her wings inside her jacket. “I’m starving. Can I go first?”
Henry let me go, and the moment was lost.
I could have killed her.
Thank Gaia I’d showered already because Isabella was taking forever. I wouldn’t mind, but Jimmy was due any moment, and I needed to pee, bad.
“Have you fallen down the toilet or something?” I yelled through the door. “I need to use the thingy.”
“Can’t you use a bucket or something?” she yelled back.
“No, I can’t!”
“Just a minute.”
I shook my head and plopped down on the sofa, reaching for my magic book. I flipped through it every chance I got, surprised at how much I understood. There was a section on mind reading, which included the trick Henry had used with the Egyptian pixie dust. Earlier I’d caught Isabella reading it when I came out of the bathroom. I wasn’t surprised—Henry had said she should get one of her own. Isabella had been flicking idly through the pages, shaking her head, but then shrugged and tossed the book onto the sofa.
“All reads like gobbledygook to me,” she’d said. And then she ran off. Not that I cared. In fact, I was secretly pleased Isabella hardly understand a word of it. It merely reinforced what Sylvia had said about this book being well and truly mine. If Isabella wanted a book like it, she’d have to find one of her own.
Bang on five o’clock, the doorbell rang. Excited for the evening to start, I put my book aside and jumped up to answer it. But it wasn’t just Jimmy standing in the hall. John was with him. I was accustomed to giving Jimmy a hard squeeze, but not wanting to give John any ideas, I tempered my enthusiasm and settled for a smile.
“Well, are you going to let us in?” Jimmy asked, grinning back and sharing an amused glance with John. I hoped he didn’t think there was something developing between me and Isabella’s brother, and bothered by this, I dropped my own smile and opened the door wide for them to pass inside.
“Isabella’s finishing up. She shouldn’t be much longer.” At least I hoped she wouldn’t be.
I stood awkwardly, clasping my hands in front. I didn’t like the way John was looking me up and down, like a piece of meat under appraisal. Before I could stop him, he planted an uninvited kiss on my cheek. “Good to see you’re feeling better.”
In turn, Jimmy shot me a worried glance. “You were sick?”
“Nothing special. Just a blip.” I narrowed my eyes at John. By Gaia, the man had promised not to say anything, yet he had broken his word the first chance he’d got. If he was trying to win me over, he was certainly going about it the wrong way. “Have you heard from Mom and Dad? I keep meaning to phone them.”
Jimmy shook his head. “No, I guess I’m just as bad as you. I should call them soon and let them know I’m alive.”
I took out my phone and thumbed into my contacts list. Moments later, I heard the ringing tone, and a familiar voice answered.
“Hey, Dad, it’s me. I’m here with Jimmy, and we’re about to go out to dinner with friends. We just thought we should let you know we’re doing fine and everything’s okay. How are you and Mom keeping? And the horde? Good, good. No, the job’s great. They’re teaching me stuff, so it’s interesting. Miss you, though. We’ll visit you soon enough. I’ll call again, and so will Jimmy. Take care!” I smiled at Jimmy. “Done.”
At that moment, the door to the bathroom opened, and Isabella stepped out. She wasn’t wearing makeup as far as I could tell, but her skin looked vibrant. Her eyes were brilliant, and her wings, unrestrained, stretched to their full, glorious length before they magically disappeared inside her custom-made shirt. Her jeans fit her perfectly, two long legs disappearing into a pair of slightly heeled leather boots. I could hardly be surprised by my brother’s admiration when I could barely conceal my own. I would have closed Jimmy’s jaw with the crook of my finger if I could have done so without embarrassing him.
“Umm, Jimmy, this is my roomie, Isabella. And this goof is my brother, Jimmy.”
Jimmy crossed the room and shook her hand with more vigor than necessary.
“I’ve heard so much about you,” Isabella said, gazing up at him with those gorgeous eyes of hers. I could only imagine the effect this must be having on him. Funny how John had similar eyes, but they didn’t quite have the same effect on me.
“All good, I hope.” Jimmy shot a playful glance at me, but I shrugged. The truth was I’d barely talked about him at all, but I had a feeling neither of them cared about actual details right now. They looked far too pleased with each other.
I heard a cough behind me. I turned to see John was grinning. “Well, perhaps we should get going if we don’t want to be late.”
I couldn’t have agreed more and grabbed my poncho off the hook by the door.
Jimmy stood aside, gallantly allowing Isabella to leave ahead of him, though his eyes dropped to her backside as she passed, and I shook my head in mock disapproval, even though I found the whole thing funny just the same. Was I just as drippy with Henry? Once everyone was out, I cast the lock up spell behind us.
A few minutes later, we were on the street, and no sooner did John raise his arm than a Magic Cab pulled up by his side. The window slid down, and a dwarf troll driver stuck his head and elbow out of the car.
“Where to?” The troll’s voice was low and booming, but a lot more pleasant than I expected. Maybe city trolls were less aggressive than their mountain cousins. At least I hoped this one would be.
The poor thing could barely fit into the driver’s seat. Though a fraction of the size of his mountain brethren, his still rather ominous bulk filled the entire front of the cab. His neck was so bent forward, I wondered how he could bear to be hunched up like that all day.
“Where are we going again?” Jimmy asked.
“The Magic Banana,” I replied.
“Hop in,” the troll said politely.
“Will we all fit in the back?” I asked dubiously.
“Sure you will.”
Somehow, we all managed to bundle into the rear seat, and the cab pulled slowly off.
I was squeezed in between Jimmy and John, and though I was pretty sure there was enough space for John to put his arm somewhere else, he found it convenient to drape it over my shoulder. His fae cologne smelled of wood smoke. It was pleasant, if a little heavy for my taste.
“So how are you liking New York?”
I turned to answer my brother, only to find the question was not for me.
“Loving it!” Isabella tucked a lock of loose hair behind her ear and shifted so her back was against the taxi door and she could see Jimmy better. “Not that I’ve seen much, since Henry keeps us busy, but I like what I’ve seen so far. I really want to go ley line watching from the top of the Empire State Building, but I haven’t had a chance yet.”
“I wouldn’t mind checking that out myself. Perhaps we could do it together?” Jimmy suggested.
“I would love that.”
John shared a wicked grin with me. If he had been Henry, I might have enjoyed the gesture, but I disliked being intimate with John and didn’t want to give him ideas. I turned my head and pretended to be interested in the view outside. There wasn’t much traffic about, but the driver was going awfully slow.
“I thought Magic Cabs were famous for being superfast?” I whispered.
“I don’t think this one got the memo.” John grinned.
Still, we had plenty of time, so I wasn’t worried about being late—just anxious to get out for other reasons. The third time John’s fingers strummed on my neck, I was ready to bite his wings off. Enraged, I was about to punch him in the unmentionables, but lucky for him, at that exact moment, the driver pulled up to the curb and all our attentions went to the front of the cab.
“Seven fifty,” the driver said. I reached into my purse to get the fare, but Jimmy was way ahead of me.
“This one’s on me,” Jimmy said. “You can pay for the one back if you like.”
“Fair deal,” I said. I also noticed that though John had his hand on his wallet, he’d been rather slow to pull it out. Isabella hadn’t made any show of paying at all.
“Thanks, mate,” John said. He opened the door and shuffled out. I was next, and the others followed us out curb side. Jimmy paid the troll through the window. The tip was fair, nothing out of this world, but the troll couldn’t have been happier. He tapped his forehead politely and drove off.
“I didn’t know trolls could drive,” Isabella said.
“I wasn’t aware they could actually talk,” John added less charitably.
“I thought he was very nice.” After making that comment, I made for the double doors that led into the Magic Banana, anything to put some distance between me and John. From what I gathered, the restaurant was famous for being able to conjure up whatever you ordered right at your table, no matter how exotic or bizarre. I looked forward to seeing how it worked. It was also very low-key, affordable to everyone, no matter their budget, and the decor was pretty rustic. The tables were rough oak, the lighting dim, and there were monkey nuts all over the floor. There were barrels of the things all over the dining area, and I helped myself to a handful as we stood in line behind two other groups.
The hostess was about to serve us when suddenly Henry appeared at my side. He smiled, and the hostess acknowledged him with a nod. “They’re with our party. Come on in. We got here early and ordered drinks for everyone. I hope you don’t mind?”
My heart jumped to see him, and although he was behind me, I knew my brother would be grinning.
John stepped forward to shake Henry’s hand, and though their greeting was cordial, it wasn’t exactly warm.
“Have you been waiting awhile?” I asked.
“Just a few minutes. Not long.”
We all followed Henry into the restaurant. The place was buzzing, diners were chatting animatedly, and every now and then, people in strange outfits would appear with food and then disappear with pops and a whiff of smoke. Fascinated, I wondered what they were about.
“We’re just over here.” Henry shuffled into a corner booth where his sister, Eleanor, was sipping a smoking purple cocktail. There were similar glasses full of the same purple liquid in the center of the table. Beside her was an older man, who looked like Henry but with silver hair and a goatee, and sat so rigidly I thought he might have been in the army. That had to be their dad. “Let me introduce you to Pops. Dad, these are the girls I told you about. This one’s Cat.”
I smiled in his direction. He nodded back. “Forgive me if I don’t get up, but my children insisted I sit in this corner. And please, call me Frederick.”
“Nice to meet you, um, Frederick. Or is it Freddy?”
“Actually, call me the General. Freddy’s what we call my eldest boy, and you don’t want to go mixing us up.”
“And this one’s Isabella.” Henry motioned to Isabella, who smiled her sweetest, but with little effect on the older man. Like Henry, he seemed immune to charm in general. “This crazy goof is Cat’s brother, Jimmy, and this is Isabella’s brother, John.”
The men exchanged polite hellos.
“Last but not least, this is my sister, Eleanor.”
Eleanor smiled warmly at Jimmy, John, and Isabella. Introductions being over, everyone squeezed into the corner booth, and I noticed Jimmy slid in immediately after Isabella. John and Henry both waited for me to slide in, and I was delighted when Henry beat John to the punch and moved in next to me.
“So how does this work?” I asked, eagerly looking around the restaurant and watching as strange individuals kept appearing and disappearing from nowhere. As I spoke, a rather ordinary-looking waiter joined us briefly, leaving us with a bunch of menus before scooting off again. I was secretly disappointed he wasn’t as exotic as some of the others.
“It’s rather cool really.” Henry passed me the first menu, which I passed on until everyone had one. He then placed one of the purply drinks in front of me, and I took a sip. It tasted like champagne and Concord grapes, and the smoke tickled my nose. I liked it a lot. “The restaurant has locations all over the world. You can pick whatever you fancy, and cooks teleport from their restaurants with the food you requested.”
“That’s pretty amazing,” I said.
“Ooh, this is going to be fun,” Isabella said.
Jimmy nodded, unable to take his eyes off her.
The General picked up his knife and fork and began to polish them with his napkin. “My son tells me your father is a doctor?”
I realized he was talking to me. “Yes, and my brother wants to follow in his footsteps,” I added. Jimmy glanced our way, only half listening before turning his attention back to Isabella. I sighed, hoping he wasn’t going to moon about like that all night.
“You don’t?” the General continued.
“I’m not sure. Maybe. I haven’t decided yet. I’m learning—other things—at the moment.”
“Well, you should. It’s an excellent profession. Very lucrative, I understand.”
“Yeah, I guess it can be,” I replied.
“I’d like Henry to settle down into a profession one day, instead of moping about in a magic store like a crazed kid in a toy shop. His late mother would turn in her grave if she had any notion of his gallivanting about.”
I had no idea Henry’s mother was dead. I squeezed his hand beneath the table. Henry merely smiled and shook his head, and I got the impression they both visited this subject a lot. He gently let me go.
Eleanor must have been thinking on the same lines. “Now, now, Pops, play nicely, or we’ll send you home without any supper.”
The General grunted and turned his attention to John. “I hear you’re also training to be a doctor.”
John sat up as straight as the General and puffed out his chest. “Yes, sir. If all goes well.”
If he can find five minutes to study, I thought.
“Excellent. Have a word with my son here, when you can—maybe you can knock some sense into that brain of his? If you ask me, he should have followed me into the Wizard World Inquisition, like his brother did. That would have straightened him out.”
“If you say so, Pops.” Henry’s smile was indulgent.
I didn’t want to mention I was glad Henry hadn’t, and not just because I would never have met him if he had. The Inquisition was established to ensure our world coexisted peacefully with nonmagical beings, but I’d never heard good things about anyone who joined. Maybe the General and his son were the exception.
Thankfully, the waiter returned, killing that conversation before it took off. “Good evening, and welcome to the Magic Banana. My name is Austen, and I’ll be your server for tonight. Do you all know how the restaurant works?”
“Yes, I believe so,” Henry answered for all of us.
“Very good. I see you’re all enjoying our signature magical refilling cocktails, but can I tempt you with something else perhaps?”
Henry looked around the table, but we all shook our heads.
“I’m happy with this purple stuff.” I took a sip just to show I was.
“So have you all ordered?” Austen asked.
Odd question, I thought. I grabbed my menu, which up until now I hadn’t even looked at.
Inside was a colorful picture map of the world. I stared at it, completely confused.
Henry opened his mouth to explain it to me, but I was already tapping a spot on the map. I’d chosen India. A beautiful girl in a sari, no taller than six inches, appeared on the surface. She offered up a bowl full of something very orange and meaty. As she held her bowl up to me, I breathed in the wonderful spices and wondered how the room wasn’t a muddle of aromas, since we were all choosing something unique, yet the only scent I was aware of was the one coming from her bowl. I loved magic. Especially gourmet magic like this.
Still, I wasn’t quite in the mood for garam masala, so I shook my head. The girl smiled and disappeared. Glancing around the table, I saw everyone else making similar choices, being tempted by tiny people all around the world.
The second time I tapped on England, half expecting someone to pop up with a plate of fish and chips, but instead, a rather hot-looking six-inch young man, wearing a chef’s coat and a puffy white hat that made me think of the Pillsbury doughboy, offered me a tantalizing bowl of beef and scalloped potatoes.
“Oh, what’s that?” I said aloud, intensely interested.
“Lancashire hot pot with carrots and peas,” the man said in a British accent.
Intrigued, as much by him as the dish, I nodded, and with a quick puff, he disappeared, and my menu went blank.
“Ha, that was fun,” I said.
I noticed everyone was handing their menus back to Austen, so I did the same.
“What did you order?” John asked.
“Something very English, I think. How about you?”
“Something from Iceland. I was in the mood for fish.”
For a moment, we all discussed our individual orders, each of us intrigued by the novelty of the menu and wondering what everyone had gone for.
“I suppose you have some very exclusive restaurants back home,” the General said. “You probably find these urban tourist traps quite vulgar.”
I gulped down my purple cocktail and licked my lips. No one in their right mind would call the feeding holes back home exclusive, but I didn’t want the General to think we were that poor.
“They’re certainly not as high concept as some of these New York restaurants, but they’re nice enough in their own way.”
“I’m sure you’re being very modest.” Although he was talking to me, the General’s focus was on Henry. Henry smiled but looked away and started a discussion with Eleanor. I got the feeling he understood his dad all too well, which was more than I could say. I felt like the General was trying to unearth some truth about me. I didn’t know how much he knew about my background, and I felt uncomfortable going into it any more than I already had.
There was an audible pop, followed by a beautiful Turkish woman in a belly dancing outfit standing beside Eleanor. She carried a plate of adana kebab, served with pita bread and a red onion salad. It looked both delicious and healthy at the same time. The server placed the dish in front of Eleanor, bowed slightly, and after another pop, she was gone.
Over the next few minutes, there were several pops as one by one our meals arrived. My Lancashire hot pot was the last to arrive, but I didn’t mind. It was fascinating to see all the food coming from around the world. There were lots of thank yous, and this looks delicious. My cute little English chef was even cuter at full size. After placing my meal in front of me, he unfolded my napkin and laid it across my lap. Then he smiled and popped away.
There was little talking as we tucked into our amazing dinners. I drained the last of my cocktail and watched with wonder as it magically refilled itself. The cocktail left me feeling warm and fuzzy, and I found myself very relaxed and more talkative than usual. Not that I was alone. The Magic Banana’s signature drink soon loosened all tongues, and the conversations began to flow thick and fast as everyone finished their dinners. Only the General seemed unaffected. A lifetime of toasts in the wardroom had given him immunity, no doubt.
The only thing that bothered me was John. Though I didn’t mind talking to everyone, it was clear he wanted to monopolize my conversation, with his what did I think of this and what did I think of that, but each time I returned his volleys with a lob, opening the conversation back up to the general table and refusing to be boxed in by him. I was baffled by his determination, when I was so clearly uninterested and when any fool could see how much I preferred talking to Henry. At least I thought so.
“So, John, do you have any idea what you will do after you graduate?” the General asked. “Do you have a particular field in mind? It seems all the money’s in nonmagical patients—I could never understand why, but there it is.”
John pushed away his empty plate and puffed out his chest. “I have several options I’m considering, but I’m not ready to make a final decision just yet. There’s still plenty of time before I have to specialize.”
Glad of the opportunity to get away from John, I leaned into Henry and whispered in his ear. “Little girls’ room.”
“Oh, right.” Henry slid out of the booth so I could get out.
As I stood up, my napkin dropped to the floor. A slip of folded paper fell from it, and Henry picked up both and handed them to me. Without thinking, I opened it up. Written inside was the English chef’s phone number and a message: WhatsApp me!
Henry looked down at the note and grinned. I laughed and slipped the note inside my pocket.
“Hold on, I think I’ll come with you,” Eleanor said.
There was a momentary shuffle, and after locating where the restrooms were, she and I headed in that general direction. For a horrible second, I thought Isabella might come along too, but she and Jimmy quickly turned back to each other and were soon lost in their own private conversation.
The ladies’ restroom at the Magic Banana was quite small, with two stalls and a double sink area. I was just drying my hands when Eleanor came to wash hers.
“I take it you’re not enamored of the handsome young fae then?”
I smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
She grinned and rinsed off her hands. “He’s certainly persistent. But I think you’ll break my brother’s heart if you give in to him.”
I flushed and watched my cheeks blaze red in the mirror. “Oh, I most certainly wouldn’t want that.” She’d taken me completely by surprise. I mean, I’d hoped that Henry perhaps liked me as much as I liked him, but aside from some moody looks that were hard to read, he’d never actually indicated by word or deed that he had any feelings for me. Well, except perhaps that moment when I thought he might kiss me, but sometimes I wondered if I’d been wrong about that too. Yet here was Eleanor practically saying that Henry Tilney did have such feelings. I tried to act nonchalant, although the joy in my heart made me want to scream out loud.
“Hasn’t he said anything to you yet? Poor Hank can be a little socially awkward. Sometimes my dear brother needs a good kick in the right direction.”
I shook my head. “He hasn’t had much of a chance. Isabella is always there in the day, and her brother sniffs around me like a love-sick dog when she’s not. Whenever I try to get away, Isabella manages to invite herself along. Frankly, I’m surprised one of them isn’t here in the restroom with us now.”
Eleanor laughed and then looked thoughtful. “How would you like to come and spend a few days with us up at the Abbey? I’m sure Dad won’t mind, and I’m pretty sure my brother would like it too.”
Delighted beyond imagination, I bit my lip to stop from gushing like an idiot. What an amazing opportunity! At last, I’d be able to find out if Henry was truly interested in me, away from the watchful eyes of the terrible fae duo. Plus, I’d get a chance to see what Henry was like in his natural habitat. I wondered, was he as wonderful on his own turf as he appeared to be at Sylvia’s shop, or would he have any annoying habits like leaving the top off the toothpaste and stuff like that?
“Sure, I would absolutely love that. You sure no one will mind?” By which I meant the General. I didn’t want him getting mad or something.
“No, of course they won’t. Well then, that’s settled.” Eleanor dried her hands under the automatic dryer. “I’ll make sure Henry’s free and will text you after dinner.”
“Great!” I opened the door and let her leave ahead of me. As we returned to the table, I felt elated. I hadn’t imagined an opportunity like this would come so soon, and I couldn’t be happier it had.
As we approached, Henry stood up, allowing me to slip back into my seat. I took a sip of my lovely cocktail and settled into my chair, hoping he’d be pleased about this as I was.
“I can never understand why women always go to the bathroom in pairs.” John chuckled, and we all laughed with him.
After all, nothing could spoil my evening now, not even John and his patronizing drivel. He could have said almost anything at that point, and I’d have laughed along. The only thing that mattered was the weekend ahead of me and what would happen if an opportune moment presented itself. As the talk turned to pudding, and my thoughts focused on apple crumble and custard, which would complement the Lancashire hot pot perfectly, I secretly dreamed of being alone with Henry. Of walking and talking to Henry. And if Gaia willed it, of being kissed by him. After all, a girl could hope, couldn’t she?