“Think what they’d say if they met Sam.”

Ice water ran through my veins. “Oh no, Sam doesn’t know that he and his people have to stay out of sight. But I don’t want to tell him because I don’t want the company knowing about this.”

“How often do you see your bodyguards?”

“Almost never.”

“Well, then, it’s a nonissue, isn’t it?” He flicked a bit of suds onto the end of my nose and grinned at me. “You’ll be fine.”

He was acting like nothing had happened, but I still felt the need to clear the air. “About what my mom was saying earlier…that was just Idris playing his usual games.”

“I figured as much.”

“I don’t even know what he wanted, approaching me like that.”

“He wanted to make you nervous.”

“It worked. But you know, he can’t be too bright if he can’t figure out who my boyfriend really is.”

“Don’t worry about it. It didn’t mean anything.” He didn’t look at me as he answered, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he was busy rinsing a glass or because there was something else going on.

I heard my mother’s voice from the living room. “I still say there was one of those garden gnomes working in the park. I know what I saw.” She was probably the most vocal person around when it came to not speaking to someone.

I moaned. “I need a drink.” Ethan took the glass he’d just rinsed, filled it with water from the tap, and handed it to me. This was going to be the longest weekend in my life.

Mom and Dad still weren’t happy with each other the next morning, so Mom declared that she wanted to go shopping and spend Dad’s money. Bright and early, we headed uptown to window-shop on Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. I barely had a chance to look in the store windows; I was too busy keeping an eye out for weirdness I might have to explain to Mom. Fortunately, I didn’t see anything particularly odd. The magical world must have been smart enough to stay home on the biggest retail day of the year. That should have been enough to relax me, but I still had to deal with Mom, which was seldom relaxing.

She made me take her picture in front of Tiffany’s, then I led her a few blocks over to Bloomingdale’s. She sighed in wonder as we reached the women’s clothing department. “Just look at all this. It beats the heck out of the Wal-Mart in the next town over.”

“Yeah, it is something.”

“I want to buy you a nice new outfit. You need to look more sophisticated.”

“Mom!” I protested, but I had to admit she had a point. In spite of all Gemma’s efforts to teach me fashion sense, I still tended to err on the side of practicality, from my sensible business pumps to my mix-and-match wardrobe of skirts, blouses, and sweaters.

“We can call it your Christmas present in advance. You need something nice to wear on a date with Ethan. I really like him.”

“So do I.”

“I should hope so. A lawyer who drives a Mercedes and who’s nice enough to pick your parents up from the airport and do the dishes—well, hang onto him, honey.”

She pulled a smart little suit off a rack. “How about this?”

“I don’t really need a suit. I don’t wear them for work, and I wouldn’t wear one on a date.”

“Hmm.” She wove her way around clothing racks. “This would look pretty on you.” She held up a slinky black velvet dress. “You’ll need something for New Year’s, now that you’ve got an almost guaranteed date. You could also wear it to a fancy office party.”

I did like the dress, but I didn’t know that velvet fit so well into my lifestyle. “I can’t guarantee I’ll have a date for New Year’s, or that we’d do anything I could wear velvet for.”

“You should have it, just in case. Now go try it on. Shoo!”

She followed me to the fitting room, then waited outside when it came my turn to go inside. The dress fit beautifully, clinging to my waist, skimming over my hips, and then flowing almost to my knees, and I could already imagine wowing Ethan with it on a date. As guilty as I felt about letting my mom buy me things, I couldn’t let this go. “Come on out, honey, I want to see you in it,” she called from outside the fitting room.

I came out and gave her a catwalk turn. She nodded. “Yep, we’re getting it, and your dad can lump it. Tells me I’m seeing things, ha!”

After she paid for the dress, I got a burst of inspiration. “Come on, there’s something I want to show you,” I said, leading her to the escalators. This was a sight she’d appreciate more than almost any tourist attraction in the city: the designer shoe department. I didn’t expect the worship Gemma gave the place, but Mom would be suitably impressed, I was sure.