Once Upon Stilettos

“Sure. That would be fine.”



I had a lot to think about when I finally got back to my office and fell wearily into my desk chair. In the plus column, I now had a real suspect, someone who had motive and opportunity. In the minus column, that suspect was one of my friends, and I didn’t have a shred of hard evidence, just an instinct. It would be easy enough for her to rebut every charge I made, even if she really was guilty. I wasn’t sure which column Rod’s invitation fit into.



There was a light tap on my door, and I looked up to see Trix standing in my doorway. She looked timid, which was unusual for her. “Can I talk to you about something personal?” she asked.



“Sure. Come on in.” She shut the door behind herself, then approached my desk.



“I know this is a terrible thing for a friend to do, but I did want to ask you first,” she said, wringing her hands.



“What is it, Trix?”



“Ethan was just here to see the boss. And, well, he asked me out. And to be honest, I’d like to go. He seems nice. But I know you and he had that thing, and it ended not that long ago, but I don’t know how much it still bothers you. So I thought I’d talk to you before I said anything. If you have a problem with it, I’ll say no, and I’d understand completely.”



My stomach twisted. I knew he’d said he was interested in exploring the magical world, but I hadn’t realized how close to the mark I’d come when I said he wanted to date chicks with wings. Looking at Trix’s face, though, I knew I couldn’t be bitch enough to tell her she couldn’t see him.



“You go ahead, please. It’s not like we were engaged or even dating that long,” I said. “Maybe you’ll have better luck with him than I did.”



She shot up into the air and spun around, then landed. “Thank you! You’re the best friend I could imagine.”



I watched her flutter back to her desk, wondering what she’d think if she knew I was going to try to bust her other friend. Then my eyes began stinging. I hadn’t thought much about Ethan in a few days, but the realization that he’d already moved on hurt. Before I knew what I was doing, I’d picked up my phone and dialed Rod’s extension. “Hi, it’s me,” I said when he answered. “I’d love to have dinner with you this weekend.”



“Really?” Rod sounded so overjoyed that I was glad I’d accepted his dinner invitation.



“Sure.” I didn’t have to tell him that it was mostly to strike back at Ethan for asking Trix out. Or maybe I was distracting myself. I wasn’t sure which it was. I just knew I wanted to go out with somebody that weekend.



“How’s Friday? Not right after work. I live close enough to you that I can pick you up at your place, say sevenish?”



“That works for me.”



“Good. This is mostly for fun, but we could also discuss some of my morale-building ideas while we’re at it.”



“Okay. I’ll see you Friday. And I guess I’ll probably see you some before then, huh?”



He laughed. “I hope so. Thanks, Katie.”



I realized as I hung up that I was actually looking forward to it, and that had nothing to do with his attraction spell, unless it was capable of carrying over the telephone. I’d have to ask about that.



I spent that evening frantically cross-stitching a Christmas ornament for Owen. I needed an excuse to go back to R&D to spy on Ari, and if I kept baking at my recent rate Owen would probably explode, no matter how often he went to the gym.



“What are you up to?” Gemma asked when she came home from work and found me watching TV while stitching.



“More secret Santa stuff.”



“You’re really going all-out.”



“It’s a long story, but this has nothing to do with the guy. There’s this whole other reason, and I don’t have nearly enough time to get into it.”



“Mmm-hmm,” she said, and I could tell from her tone that she didn’t believe a word of it.



“Really. In fact, I happen to have a date with someone else Friday night.”



“You’re on a roll, aren’t you? I knew all it would take was a little confidence for your luck to change.”



“Yeah, a couple of good dates and now I’m the most desirable woman in New York.” I still hadn’t told her about the nightclub last weekend. I wasn’t sure I believed it myself. I’d had plenty to drink that night, plus a big scare. The whole thing could have been a very vivid dream.



“Need help planning an outfit?”