Grinning, the halfling lifted the phone to her ear again. “We’ll get back in the car and head on up.”
“Wonderful. See you soon.” Bianca hung up in her usual perfunctory manner, and Cheyenne sniggered.
“Did that just happen?”
The halfling shrugged and stuck her phone into her pocket. “Looks like it.”
“Wow. I’m about to go have dinner with Bianca Summerlin.” The surprised smile faded from Ember’s lips, replaced by a wide-eyed stare.
“Okay, Em. You look like a mouse staring at a chunk of cheese in a mousetrap.”
The fae swallowed. “It’s creepy how well you just nailed the feeling.”
“Look who can read someone like an open book now.” Cheyenne laughed and turned the wheelchair around to head back toward the car. “Relax. It’ll be you, me, my mom, and Eleanor. Nothing fancy. Nothing super-special, just a casual dinner at chez Summerlin. You’ll be fine.”
“Honestly, that was the most surreal thing I’ve heard you say all day. I don’t… I mean, I don’t have a clue how to be around someone like your mom.”
The halfling shook her head and didn’t even bother to glance inside the Hot Topic again as they moved much more quickly past it this time. “Just be yourself.”
“That’s the worst advice you could possibly give me right now, and totally cliché.”
“Okay, okay. How’s this? Don’t try to impress her. Don’t lie to her. Don’t try to filter yourself. Bianca Summerlin’s bullshit detector is worth millions.”
Ember dropped her head back onto the thin edge of the back of the chair. “You’re making it worse.”
Cheyenne pulled a face at her upside-down fae friend. “We’ll make it in time for a cocktail or two before dinner. Those were her words, Em.”
“Oh, now we’re drinking with Bianca Summerlin.”
“Hey, keep your voice down, huh?”
“Sorry.”
Cheyenne glanced quickly at the other pedestrians walking past the storefronts of the shopping center and shook her head. “It’s a good thing. As long as she doesn’t break out the good scotch, everything’s peachy.”
“I don’t know anything about scotch.”
“No problem. She’s got a fully stocked bar all the time. Gin and tonics for Ms. Gaderow. As many as you want.”
Ember finally lifted her head and ran her hands down the sides of her face. “I feel slightly better.”
“We don’t have to go—”
“Are you kidding me? Yeah, I’m a little freaked out, but the thought of turning down a dinner invitation from Bianca Summerlin is, like, terrifying.”
Cheyenne burst out laughing and unlocked the Panamera as they drew closer. “Yeah. She’s gonna love you.”
Chapter Ninety-Four
“You’ve gotta be shitting me right now.” Ember’s mouth dropped open a little less than two hours later when they made it up the shallow incline of the gravel drive and Bianca Summerlin’s valley lodge came into view. “You grew up here?”
“I grew up here.” Cheyenne eyed the estate house and wrinkled her nose. “So, full disclosure here, Em. You’re the first person I’ve brought out here. Like, ever.”
“What?”
“I know it might be surprising, but I’m not a big people person. Like, intrinsically.”
Ember just blinked and slowly shook her head. “I don’t even have words.”
“All right, at least close your mouth before we get to the front door. She’s a stickler for first impressions.”
“Like anyone could leave a better first impression than this.” The fae gestured at the house and leaned forward in the passenger seat. “This is unreal.”
“Yeah, until you get used to being here. Then it’s very, very real.” The Panamera came to a smooth, rolling stop on the gravel yards away from the wide stone steps leading up to the front door. Cheyenne turned off the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and froze. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I didn’t think about the gravel or the stairs.”
When the reality of that inconvenience dawned on the fae, Ember groaned and thumped her head against the headrest. “First impressions. Off to a great start.”
“Okay, hold on. We’re here, and we’ll figure it out, okay? You mind waiting for a minute?”
Ember shrugged. “I could stay here the whole time and have a much better chance of not humiliating myself.”
“Whoa. Em.”
“What?”
“Come on. Look at me.”
The fae slowly turned her head, one eyebrow raised. “What?”
“Everybody wants you here. Nobody cares about anything else, got it?”
“I care.”
Cheyenne laughed. “Well, cut it out already, okay?”
“Yeah, easy for you. You don’t give a damn what other people think of you.”
“A skill honed by years of practice, just to be clear.” The halfling nodded and popped the trunk. “You got this. And I’ll help.”
When she got out of the car, the crisp, fresh scent of pine trees and earth and the flowers in the front garden settled the halfling into a calm she’d forgotten she knew how to reach. There are still benefits to coming “home.” She grabbed the chair from the trunk, opened it up, and brought it around toward the passenger side door.
Ember stared at her when the halfling opened the door. “What are you doing?”
“I’m gonna help you into this baby.” Cheyenne patted the back of the chair. “And then I’m gonna figure out the best way to get you inside the house before you meet my mom.”
Ember steeled herself to just go with it. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“That’s more like it.” Cheyenne bent down and helped her friend out of the car. Ember barely had enough energy in her arms to steady herself on the armrests, then she was in, and the halfling closed the door. “That’s gotta be a record.”
“Really? Felt like hours.”
Shooting her friend a knowing glance, Cheyenne swiveled the chair around on the gravel until Ember sat a foot in front of the Panamera, directly in front of the door. “Lookin’ good. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Yep.”
The halfling hurried toward the wide stone steps and almost laughed. So much better than the last time I was here. Zero FRoE agents. She skipped up the steps and smoothed down the front of her shirt before knocking quickly on the front door.
It opened, and Eleanor’s perpetually flushed, smiling face greeted her on the other side. “Well, look at you!”
The woman opened
