I saw a small draft fly through Ellery’s hair, but he didn’t seem to say anything. “Hey, sorry I called you and you weren’t answering and I was getting worried. Are you almost ready?”
I was holding the front of my dress up, trying to calm myself.He didn’t see. He couldn’t have. If he did, he would be freaking out.
The only time I’d been caught using magic was in high school. A guy I was dating walked in while I was using my magic, and he lost it. Calling me a witch in a derogatory way and a lot of other things my mother has since forced me to deal with in therapy.
She managed to remove his memory of it ever happening, so we didn’t need to move. My mother was a much more powerful witch than I, because both of her parents were magic users.
Since then, I’d been very careful, but I’d gotten comfortable around Ellery, which was something I couldn’t afford to do.
“Sorry,” I said. “The hair dryer was loud.”
He nodded, not questioning me about it. “Okay, sorry. Do you need help with your dress?”
“Please.”
I turned and felt more than heard him approach. For some reason, I seemed to always be aware of him. He touched the small of my back, grabbing the bottom to hold it taut then pulling the zipper up to the top.
He released me and I turned back to him. “What do you think?”
I’d gone with a simple black dress. It clung to my body with a gather on my right hip and a slit that ran all the way up to mid thigh. I had the earrings on along with the bracelet. It really was a beautiful set.
“You look… perfect,” he said.
Something about that warmed me deeply. “Thanks. You look pretty perfect yourself,” I said.
He was wearing a crisp, black suit with a black undershirt, and black tie. All black could look cheesy, but he looked clean cut and put together as he always did.
“We should go,” he said.
“Right.” I grabbed my purse, then followed him to the car.
I gasped as we looked at the city at night. It was completely lit up with Christmas lights. One house looked like a candy cane lane, with red and white stripes everywhere. The florist had glittering flowers all over their storefront. Another had moving rainbows everywhere. It was truly beautiful.
“I thought you would like it,” Ellery said. “I meant to bring you down earlier, but it seems this was the perfect night.”
“It really is.” The air was crisp enough for a coat, but not too cold that it was uncomfortable.
We pulled up to the restaurant right afterward. While they didn’t have any crazy lights—sticking with a more traditional spiral of white up the two pillars at the entrance. It was a white building with a simple ‘Selina’s’ in a black, cursive font on the top.
My door opened and I hadn’t realized Ellery had already come around to help me out of the car. I took his hand and stepped out. He held it, leading us inside.
The interior wasn’t what I expected either. It was classy for sure, but it was small and intimate, with every table full.
“Welcome, Mr. Scott,” the host said. “Your brother said you were coming.”
Ellery nodded. “Yeah, they had to cancel last minute, but I promised them bread.”
The host smiled. “We will be sure to provide.”
I was confused when we were led out the side of the restaurant, but gasped when I saw where we were. It was a large, clear igloo with a single two person table in between. Soft fairy lights covered the top, bathing the entire space in a light glow.Poinsettias were arranged in the middle of the table, along with a tall flickering candle.
We sat and he handed us our menus. “Your waiter will be here soon,” he said before retreating back inside.
“You see why they need to make this reservation a year out?” Ellery asked.
I nodded. “It’s beautiful.”
“It is. I don’t understand why they come here, though.”
