The fae stared out the wide swath of floor-to-ceiling windows stretching across the back end of the Summerlin house. Sunset lit the sky with brilliant orange and pink, all of it spilling across the valley behind the estate, over the veranda, and into what served as the living room. Cheyenne glanced at Ember and cleared her throat.
“Oh.” The fae blinked quickly and nodded. “Yeah, we just moved in on Friday. I thought our view was amazing, but this…”
“It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?” Bianca offered her guest the first cocktail of the evening in a highball glass. “I hope you don’t mind Nolet’s, Ember.”
The fae’s eyes almost bulged as she reached for the glass and nodded. “Uh, Nolet’s is perfect. Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure.” The woman’s smile widened as she watched Ember take the first sip of her gin and tonic a la Bianca.
Cheyenne’s friend closed her eyes and sighed. “Damn, that’s good.” The Summerlin women chuckled, and Ember’s eyes flew open. “I’m sorry. I need to watch my mouth.”
“Trust me, I’ve heard much worse. I’m happy to hear you enjoy the gin so much.”
Ember’s cheeks reddened, but she pushed through it gracefully and stared at the drink in her hand. “I haven’t had a drink since...well, since Gnarly’s.”
The halfling offered a small, reassuring smile when Ember looked at her. At least she’s not saying, “Since the night I got shot.” “So, like three weeks.”
“Yeah.” Ember gave a little chuckle. “Feels like forever.”
Bianca ignored the glance the young women shared and turned back to the bar beneath the grand, sweeping staircase. “You two met your freshman year in college, correct?”
Ember swallowed the much larger sip of gin and tonic and nodded. “That’s right. Haven’t been able to get rid of Cheyenne since.”
“Ha!” Bianca didn’t turn around, but the young magicals looked at each other again in surprise.
The halfling shot her friend a discrete thumbs-up and raised an eyebrow. Get Mom to laugh, and that’s like a thousand extra points.
“Well, I’d love to hear how you two came to the decision about the apartment. Your usual, Cheyenne?” The woman lifted a bottle of Elijah Craig toward her daughter and raised her eyebrows when the halfling nodded once. She set to making her daughter the next drink, playing the perfect hostess, as always. “I have to admit I never expected Cheyenne to live with anyone since she’s rather like me in that way.”
“Hmm. Well, you have a housemate too, don’t you?”
The small freezer door set in the top of the bar clicked shut, and Bianca paused. “I suppose you could say that.” One large, square ice cube clinked into the rocks glass, and the woman turned to glance at the fae again, her lips pursing in amusement. “And I’m starting to understand why you’re the friend with whom my daughter decided to share an apartment.”
Cheyenne almost laughed when her mom shot her another quick glance of approval before returning to the halfling’s drink.
“Beyond the fact that we get along pretty well,” Ember started swirling her cocktail, “Cheyenne’s been helping me out.”
“Really? It goes without saying, but I hope it’s all legal.”
Ember choked on her drink, and Cheyenne snorted a laugh before covering it by rubbing her mouth.
“All legal, Mom. Promise.” When the halfling caught her friend’s mortified expression, she shook her head and mouthed at Ember, “She’s joking.” That never happens.
“Uh, as far as I know, yeah,” the fae replied. “I just needed a little extra help, you know?” Then, realizing how much it sounded like she was using Bianca Summerlin’s daughter for her money, Ember quickly added, “The wheelchair’s new. Lots of adjusting.”
“I can only imagine.” A splash of purified water topped off the bourbon on the rocks, then Bianca handed the drink to her daughter and got to work mixing her own.
“Yeah, what Ember’s not saying is that she decorated the entire apartment by herself over the weekend. Better than I would have, honestly.”
The fae laughed. “Easy as point and click, pretty much. And it wasn’t by myself. Who knew you could pay people to come in and unpack all your new stuff for you, huh?”
Bianca pressed her lips together and dipped her head. “A lovely convenience. Where were you over the weekend, Cheyenne?”
“Oh. Uh, errands.”
Ember snorted and covered it with another long sip.
“While your new housemate took care of setting up the entire apartment, hiring movers, and putting things together the way they need to be?”
“Yeah, it’s a pretty good deal for both of us.” Cheyenne took a sip of her bourbon. Then she stopped and glanced at Ember with wide eyes. “Oh, man.”
“What?” Ember frowned above a confused smile.
“It just hit me, Em. You’re my Eleanor.”
Ember and Bianca burst out laughing at the same time. The sound surprised all three of them, and when the fae and Cheyenne’s mom looked at each other, they fell into another round.
“Don’t let Eleanor hear you say that,” Bianca muttered as she poured a large amount of vodka over a very small amount of ice.
“I’m flattered, really.” Ember grinned at her halfling friend and pointed with a warning finger. “Don’t expect me to cook your meals, though.”
“I’m good with leftover pizza, Em.”
“Despite how much that makes me want to cringe, Cheyenne, I’m glad the apartment’s working out, at least. Which apartments?”
“Pellerville Gables.”
“Oh, yes. Senator Berkley’s son has the second floor of one of the buildings there, I think. I heard it’s nice.”
Ember’s mouth popped open. Cheyenne hummed in agreement and raised a mocking eyebrow at her friend. “Very nice.”
“Now.” Bianca turned to face the young magicals beside the dining table and lifted her vodka soda with lemon toward the glass double doors. “Shall we move out onto the veranda?”
Ember stared at the wide stone terrace in front of them and took another sip of her gin before handing the glass to Cheyenne. “Best idea I’ve heard all day.”
“Excellent.” Bianca approached the double doors and pulled them open one at a time, then stepped outside into
