NICK
Ivy twirled her fork around her plate, taking a bite of the pasta and letting out a satisfied hum. It wasn't necessarily the best food for a date, but I hadn't been planning on her coming back here, so it was the best I could do with what I had in the fridge.
"This is good," she said. "I'm guessing you learned to cook while travelling around Europe?"
I chuckled. "No, it's a much more recent skill. I went through a cooking show phase about ten years ago. Before that I could make a stew, but not much else."
"That's funny, I went through that phase too. When I was in my early twenties and just starting out, I used to go to the supermarket with a fiver and buy what I could get from the clearance section. When I got home, I'd turn it into my own cooking challenge."
"That sounds like it would either create really nice dishes or disasters."
"Pretty much." She ate some more of her past. "But I was a broke marketing intern at the time, I didn't have much of a choice."
"Is marketing what you always wanted to do?" I asked.
"When I was a kid I wanted to be a dancer.
" She smiled at the memory. "Then I broke my ankle trying to do a very basic move and that was the end of that.
Marketing was actually an accident. I did some work experience while I was at university for a marketing firm and realised that I loved it.
Not the graphics part, I'm terrible at that and always have to ask the graphic designers at work to do even the most basic mock-ups, but I'm good at the rest."
"Even with a company in as dire a position as Cringle?" I joked.
She laughed. "It's not as bad as you think," she promised. "The re-engagement of your audiences has been going well, which is to be expected. You have great products at competitive prices for their quality, people want to hear from you and buy your products."
"Maybe we're going to have to get you to stay on full-time as the Head of Marketing," I suggested, and not just because it would mean that I still got to see her every day.
"No." She took a deep breath and set down her fork. "I mean, not yet. You can keep me on via Miracle Marketing Solutions, but if we're going to do this, then you can't be my boss."
"Of course, I'm sorry, I didn't think," I murmured.
"It's fine. It's just complicated because I'm not supposed to date you according to my contract, and working for Cringle would sort that out, but it would introduce so many other complications. What if we broke up? I know we're only just starting out, but it has to be a consideration here."
"It does," I agreed. I knew she was right, but I was still disappointed. "But the offer could stay open. You can accept it when you're ready."
"Thank you, that's very sweet. But maybe let's just see how you feel once I've got numbers and results from what I'm doing. You might like me, but you might not like my work."
"I'm sure I will."
"Nick," she said sternly. "You should judge my work based on what it does for the company, not on how much you like me. Or you should get Pieter to do it."
"Oh, he will. I'm surprised he hasn't given you feedback already."
To my surprise, she laughed as she picked her fork back up. "He has. We talk about it almost every day."
"Then he must be pleased about everything you're doing. I've known Pieter for a long time, and he's not the kind of man who stays silent when he's not happy about something."
She nodded and ate the rest of her pasta.
"But we shouldn't be talking about work," I said.
"Probably not. But I suppose that is how we met."
"Ah, not true. We met at a Jinx event," I reminded her.
"So we did."
"We should still go to The Cedar sometime," I mused.
"We shouldn't. Not until my contract is over. If my boss finds out..."
"We'll take Pieter," I suggested.
"That's a weird date," she responded.
"Hmm, true. We could go to the god realm. There are lots of good restaurants there, and unless your boss is a god themselves, or invited by one, they shouldn't be there."
A curious expression crossed her face. "The god realm."
"Yes, there's a portal not far from here. If you go through it, then you'll come out in the god realm."
"I know what it is," she assured me. "I just didn't think about the fact you'd be able to go there."
"Technically, everyone can go there," I said. "They just need to know how. And if you're not invited then it can draw the wrong kind of attention, which no one really wants."
"What's it like?" she asked.
"A weird hodge-podge of everything you can imagine," I said. "There are temples, restaurants, and all kinds of shops. It's hard to describe what it's like."
She reached across the table and touched my hand. "I look forward to it. But you know what I'd like before that?"
"Mmm?"
"A tour of your flat."
"That can be arranged," I said, pushing back my chair and picking up both of our dishes so I could put them in the sink. Normally, I'd load the dishwasher straight away, but I didn't want to miss a moment with Ivy when I didn't have to.
She got up and came over, putting a hand on my chest to stop me from moving. "And thank you for dinner. That was great." Her voice dipped lower, and I could see the sincerity written all over her face, along with some of the other emotions that were lingering there.
"You're welcome. It's the least I could do after you helped me today. I was in a tight spot when the elf-for-hire company we normally use had to cancel."
"Well, maybe if this goes well, you won't have to use an elf-for-hire service next year."
My heart squeezed at the words. It should terrify me, I hadn't gotten close to many people since becoming immortal, mostly for fear of losing them.
But Ivy was different. Probably because she was an elf, and that meant she had centuries of lifespan still stretching out before her.
There wasn't the same risk that there usually was.
And I liked that.
She went up onto her toes and kissed me. Her lips were soft at first, warm and inviting all the same, but she soon grazed my bottom lip with her tongue, sending a bolt of desire through me.
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer with a hand on her lower back. It was a different kind of kiss than the one we'd shared in the sleigh, but it was no less full of desire, and it made me want more.
She broke the kiss but didn't move away from me. "I've changed my mind," she murmured.
"Oh?"
"I don't need a tour of your flat, just directions to the bedroom."
I chuckled. "I think that can be arranged." I reached for her hand and led her away from the kitchen to where we both wanted to be.