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Troy handed them each a page full of events. “Ebony, will you go through the itinerary for the month?” he asked.
“Sure.” Ebony ruffled her feathers. “So, the first thing on the agenda tomorrow morning is a press conference about your ‘whirlwind romance.’”
Min pushed her glasses nervously up her nose. “Will I be told what to say? I’d hate to get the story wrong.”
“Of course.” Troy passed over another, thicker document, giving Ethan a copy, too. “You’ll both need to learn your lines before tomorrow morning.”
Min cast a look at Ethan and he waggled his brow bones at her comically. “Piece of cake. I played Lucifer in a school production once.”
“That’s a worry!” Min laughed. She liked his knack of being playful to loosen the tension. He’d done the same that first day at Adina’s office; that had been one of the things that had sold her on the whole idea of dating him.
Fake dating, remember, Min.
“Straight after that, at 11 am, Ethan, you have a meeting with the Council of Towns, to inform them you are dating Minerva.” Ebony passed Ethan another sheet. “They will probably be suspicious of the timing, so you need to stick to the brief and keep your cool. No smoke displays, right?”
Ethan nodded.
“Should I be there, too?” Min asked, not relishing the prospect of being grilled by a panel of Tween officials.
“Not this time,” Ebony said. “You will probably be required to sign some documents, and they may seek further proof later. After the press conference, Min, you’ll be free to relax and make yourself at home here.”
Min nodded.
“After that, the next big thing is the intimate candlelit dinner in the gardens. We’ve scheduled that for the next Friday, and if Min agrees,” the raven paused, “we’ll need you to, er, passionately kiss on camera.”
Next to Min, Ethan moved sharply in his seat, and she sensed him side-eying her. Min’s pulse sped up. She’d expected there would have to be public shows of affection, but…
“As in… really kiss?” She pursed her lips and touched them, then realized she must look ridiculous.
“Yes. A full clincher, I’m afraid. We need to show that the passion between you is absolutely genuine. Fake genuine, I mean.” Ebony smirked.
“So… the idea is we’re photographed kissing in the gardens of the house?” Min gulped.
“Exactly. There will be a photographer hiding in the shrubbery to take some photos. And then those photos will get leaked.”
Min rubbed at her forehead, sensing Ethan watching her. “By whom?”
“By us,” Ebony said, “though no one will know that, of course. It makes it more credible if it looks like the paparazzi have invaded your personal space and taken shots when you thought you had total privacy.”
There was a moment’s awkward silence before Ethan said, “Min, if you’re uncomfortable with that idea we can scrap it.”
Truth be told, Min was already imagining the kiss in glorious technicolor.
“Min?” Ebony raised a feathered eyebrow in her direction. “You up for a dragon snog?”
“No problem,” she squeaked, trying to dampen the vivid images her mind conjured of being bent over in Ethan’s arms, tango style, as he kissed her, long and deep and very thoroughly.
“Sorry to subject you to that.” The raven smirked. “Though I hear on the grapevine he’s a very good kisser.”
Ethan glared at his publicist. “Where the heck did you get that from?”
“Does the word bas-il-isk ring any bells?” Ebony popped her eyes back at him, then leaned in conspiratorially to Min. “One of my girlfriends from college dated him for a while. I’ll probably get sacked for bringing that up.” She cast a wicked wink at Ethan, who was now tugging at his collar.
“This is what happens when you employ old college friends,” he muttered. “They know too much about your misspent youth.”
Min smiled brightly and silenced a little stab of envy. What did it matter who Ethan had dated in the past, for heaven’s sake?
Troy cleared his throat and said, “I think we should stick to business, not salacious gossip.”
