Fantastic Hope by Laurell K. Hamilton & William McCaskey

Author:Laurell K. Hamilton & William McCaskey
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Tags: Magic, Anthologies (Multiple Authors), Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 9780593099216
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

The woman’s face grew grimmer the closer Asil got to her table. She glanced at the rose in his hand, folded her arms, and looked away.

Amusement fought with pique—he had dressed carefully for this “date” his Concerned Friends had arranged for him from the Platonic Plantophiles—a Meeting Place for Plant Lovers site. His shirt was silk, yes, but it was a dusty brown a few shades lighter than his skin, a most ordinary color. Nothing romantic. The shirt a friend would wear going to dinner with another friend.

Maybe she hadn’t wanted a platonic friend? The restaurant was more romantic than he had expected. But he thought that even in a brown silk shirt he wouldn’t make a bad date. Her reaction reminded him of . . . the very first of these dates, actually.

Ah, of course. The problem was that he was too beautiful. That reaction was something he was used to dealing with.

He sat down, thanked the host, set his rose down gently, then folded his hands on the table and waited. It was better to make her speak first. He took the opportunity to look at her.

The dim light didn’t hinder his sight except that it made colors a little harder to determine. Her hair was light brown and her eyes another light color—blue or hazel. She had a face that showed signs of smiling a lot, which he liked. Her jaw was stubborn, which might be mostly a result of the current situation, but he liked that, too. She appeared to be somewhere in her early thirties.

“You are Mr. Moreno?” she asked.

“I am,” he responded. “You were expecting someone different?”

“Yes.” She considered him, her body stiff. “No.” She finished the dark wine in her glass, and said, “Did Phoebe set this up?”

“No,” he told her. “Who is Phoebe? And why would she want to set you up?”

She ignored his question, and instead waved a hand in his general direction and said, “Why would you need a dating service?”

“Yes, I agree,” he said, stating the obvious. “But we are not on a date, yes? This is to see if we might become friends.” He smiled at her gently. “I am set in my ways, and tend toward isolation. Some friends of mine thought it would be good for me to socialize.”

“This is a bet,” she said flatly.

“Not at all,” he said. “It is a gift—one that I cannot return if it doesn’t fit.” He lifted an eyebrow, inviting her to appreciate the awkwardness of such a gift. “They set both of us up. I don’t know who they are, yet, these generous friends of mine who have been corresponding with you. Because of that ignorance, I cannot vouch for their pure intent. But spending time in a restaurant with good food with someone who also loves to garden doesn’t seem like such a terrible thing.”

She smiled faintly, but it was a real smile. Ah, good. She was warming to him.

“So,” he said. “I brought you a rose from my greenhouse.

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