Fighting a wave of misgiving because it felt like this white lie would rapidly spiral out of control, Leanne slipped on a little black dress from her “dress to kill” closet. She even took the time to sort her hair, getting ready as if this was, indeed, a date with the love of her life. Finally, she closed her eyes and focused, drawing threads of glamour toward her so she’d seem wreathed in beauty. Frankly, the spell work was over the top for the occasion, but for reasons she couldn’t articulate even to herself, she wanted to take his breath away.

Leanne winked and blew a kiss to her reflection.

***

Trev filled his gas tank on the way to Leanne’s place.

Thankfully, he’d done some work for Titus recently, pet sitting and painting, so he had some cash on hand, though he hadn’t brought it with him to the party. Since he didn’t contribute to household expenses—a fact he wasn’t proud of, whatever his old man said—any income lasted him a long time. He’d dressed carefully in a pair of navy Dockers and a blue-and-white striped button-down, clothes his mother had bought back when she still held out hope of him getting a day job. And it wasn’t that he hadn’t tried. He’d interviewed until failure made him nauseous every time he’d put on his professional clothes and tried again.

Maybe the problem lay with Trev, just like his parents said. Sometimes he made it to the second round, but he never got that final callback. No matter what he was trying to do, he always fell a little short. And at this point, his resume was essentially useless because no company would be satisfied with his explanation for why he’d been underemployed for almost ten years.

Stop thinking about it.

Leanne had left word at the gate, so the guard waved him through. There were assigned spaces for visitors, well away from the building. If he had been thinking straight, he would have brought…something, but he’d rushed right over, more concerned about being on time than making a good impression. And hell, he didn’t even know what he should get anyway. Wine or flowers, maybe? He’d flubbed meeting Sarah’s parents. They freaking hated me.

Don’t think about that either.

He took the elevator to the top floor. Leanne’s text directed him to 407, and he took a moment to gather his courage. Why am I so nervous? This is a good deed. I’m not meeting her mom for real. It’s more like I’m helping out a friend. A singularly unhelpful voice added, A friend you banged in someone else’s bathroom.