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“It looks so wrong,” she said in almost awed tones.
We were seated at one of the two tiny tables inside the small ice cream parlor. It was a hot day, and the place was doing brisk business. I had taken off my hoodie, and Lila had shoved her shirtsleeves up to her elbows.
“Try it,” I said. “It’s really good.”
Perhaps not the best combination for someone who had never had ice cream before, but Fae were adventurous, and green fit the mood.
She used the tiny wooden spoon to scoop some ice cream and touched her tentative tongue to it.
Lila reared back, startled. “Oh.” She went in for a full lick. “Oooh.”
“Good, huh?”
She stuffed her mouth and nodded enthusiastically.
“Don’t eat too fast, or you’ll give yourself a headache.”
“A what? Ow!” She put her hand to her forehead. “Owowowow!”
I patted her bent head. “You’ll be okay.”
“Is it spelled?” she asked, eyeing the ice cream with deep suspicion.
“Nope, just a normal reaction.” Although her question made me look at my ice cream with new appreciation. Perhaps there was some kind of Fae magic in human cooking. Eat too much ice cream, get a headache. Eat too much Mexican… Well, you get my drift.
“Did you find your pet in your job?” Lila asked, taking another brave bite of her ice cream. She relaxed when no further bodily horrors happened.
“Yup. He came along with the first artifact I ever found.” The one I’d found in my old temp-job basement. I recalled the adventure fondly. Aidan and I had had some great adventures trying to get out of the basement while being spellbound together and chased by a Fae creature. Good times.
Aidan had a slightly different recollection of the events, one a lot less fun, but that was why I was sticking to him—he needed someone to point out the good parts of life.
“What else have you found?” she asked, all interest.
“A few artifacts, another pet,” I said, as if it was not a big deal. “One time I even found someone in Fae jail.”
“Ooooh.”
I tried not to look smug.
“Do you think we’ll find Squibbit?”
“Of course.” We found it once; we’d find it again—a great artifact hunter motto if I said so myself. I should put it on my business cards.
Someone knocked on the window by our side, and I found Aidan smiling at me. He was tall and impressive in his jeans and a T-shirt, with short, dark hair, the beginnings of stubble covering his jaw, and the most amazing nose. I wasn’t usually much of a nose girl, but the perfect width and depth of his had made me a convert.
We were still in a judgment-free zone.
I waved enthusiastically, then trashed my empty cup and dragged Lila out of the shop. Feeling no shame, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
He brushed his mouth against mine, but his attention was fixed on Lila.
“Who is this?” he asked with deep, deep suspicion.
I let go of his shoulders and smiled brightly. “My new client!”
His eyes narrowed.
Lila crossed her arms and returned the scowl.
