of his clientele. You’ll see.”
The place looked pretty ordinary from the outside, a white-washed front with an elegantly painted sign in the middle of a solid block of three to four-story row-buildings. A glow seeped out into the evening through the broad front windows; the smaller panes of the apartments on the two floors above were curtained. The diners in view wore collared shirts with jeans and casual summer frocks. The poppy-pattern shift dress I’d picked for this occasion was silk but thankfully a simple enough cut that I wouldn’t stick out.
We entered to a cool tickle of air conditioning and a mild din of cheerful conversation and clinking cutlery. Emeric made some signal to the hostess, who led us toward the back of the restaurant and through a narrow doorway that appeared to lead into a small private alcove. As soon as we’d stepped over the threshold, though, a staircase solidified in front of us.
“The magical guests get the second floor,” Emeric explained in a satisfied tone as we followed the hostess up the steps. “The Naries don’t even know the restaurant has another level. It’s a different menu with lots of ‘enhanced’ options if you’re so inclined.”
I’d eaten plenty of magically augmented dinners over the years—Dad had a particular taste for conjured texture effects that only a select few fearmancer chefs could pull off—so that feature wasn’t all that impressive in itself. But establishments that offered that kind of meal tended to be pretty pricy. When the hostess had left us at a small corner table with our leather-framed menus, I skimmed quickly over the list and winced inwardly.
The cheapest main dish was over a hundred dollars. I hadn’t gotten the impression that Emeric’s family was all that wealthy—which had probably contributed to his iffy status among the other fearmancers. I could pay for my own meal, obviously, since as I’d made clear to Noah, this wasn’t any kind of date, but even for him to foot his own bill…
“You didn’t have to take me somewhere this special just to talk strategy,” I said quietly. The only other tables occupied at the moment were a couple at the opposite corner and a family of five next to them who all appeared occupied with their meals, but caution still seemed wise. “Isn’t there more risk that we’ll run into someone we don’t want overhearing the conversation in a place like this?”
“More risky in certain ways, less risky in others.” Emeric said a casting word under his breath with a vague motion of his hand, I assumed to partly shield our voices. “We want to be seen together, after all, and this is one of the best places in town for that. And no one will blink at us enhancing the atmosphere around the table for some additional privacy.”
Was everyone around us going to think we were on a date? I couldn’t see how to ask that without turning this dinner incredibly awkward from the start, so I glanced back at my menu instead. “Well, I can cover the bill. It’s the least I can do after all the help you’re giving me getting settled in.”
A shadow crossed Emeric’s face, turning his gray-green eyes stormy. “I wouldn’t have brought you here if I couldn’t take care of it myself. All that help is part of the deal in bringing you out here in the first place.”
Crap, I’d turned things incredibly awkward in a totally different way. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to imply—” Except I totally had.
He shook his head, the shadow lifting but his usual gruffness remaining. “Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t going to bite your head off. Just assume I can take care of myself.”
He’d probably had a lot of people assume otherwise, either over his family’s status or the loss of his hand later on. Just like Rory couldn’t fully conceive of what fearmancer life for someone like me looked like, I really had no idea what this guy had been through either.
I winced inwardly and shifted in my seat, unsure of my footing with him now. “I am going to pay for my own meal. Consider it a matter of honor that I stay reasonably self-sufficient even without access to my family’s bank accounts.”
His mouth twitched with another flicker of emotion, this one too fast for me to even try to read. “If you insist. I wouldn’t want to impinge on your honor.”
Okay, I was fairly confident he was teasing me this time. I decided not