Fake Dating the Dragon (A Date with a Demon Novellas #3)

Chapter 1

ONE

Penny

Christmas is truly one of my favorite holidays.

I’ve got nothing against Halloween, it had a good run, but the way the city of Madison transforms during those weeks in December is nothing short of magical.

From the bright green wreaths and garland that begin to appear around every lamppost, to the stores blasting holiday music from their speakers loud enough to filter out into the streets, and finally when the ice rink opens up in the center of Harrington Park.

I’d rather be spending my lunch hour anywhere else than standing outside the ritzy Bleu Valentine, the restaurant my siblings picked out to hold our pre-holiday meeting. Which, from the minimalist silver Christmas decorations alone, looks well out of my budget.

“Here we go,” I say under my breath, hefting open the large glass door.

As I enter, the expensive speakers play a slow jazz rendition of Frosty the Snowman which nearly drowns out the low hum of conversation and silverware clinking in the main dining area. Above me, single white LED bulbs hang from the ceiling, twinkling like stars.

“Can I help you?” A tall woman appears from the dining room and takes her place behind the host stand.

“Yes, I’m here to meet my family.” I cross the small space and watch as she swipes through her tablet. “The reservation should be under Woodhouse.”

“Of course. It looks like your party is already seated. Right this way.”

The dining area is a true marriage of modern and rustic design with an exposed wood beam ceiling and the same LED drop lighting from the lobby to create a warm and inviting ambiance, in stark contrast to the plain white tablecloths and metal chairs against the hardwood floor.

“Penny,” my twin jumps up from their seat and pulls me into a hug, much to the chagrin of the hostess, who leaves without saying another word. You’d think one of us had recently returned from war.

Hazel and I are nearly identical, except Hazel has their honey blonde waves dyed black, cropped short and slicked back. At least now Mom can tell us apart unshifted. We have the same green eyes, the same stout and curvy frame, mine a bit more than theirs, and the same love of campy science fiction.

“Hey,” I nod to Marigold and eye the fourth chair, “Where’s Violet?”

“You’d think she’d be here since she called this little family meeting,” Mari says, looking down at the menu.

Mari is younger, with bleached blonde hair and blue eyes, which reminds me of old noir films, with smoky hallways and clandestine meetings. She works a few blocks from here downtown, at Faraday’s, one of the largest department stores in Madison.

I sit down next to Hazel and open up the menu. Yep, it’s out of my price range, and the place is way too fancy to have a children’s menu. Iced tea and complementary breadsticks sound good.

“Hey, sorry,” Violet says, slipping into the last chair. “The meeting ran late, I swear my boss just loves to hear himself talk. Where are we?”

She looks the most like our father out of all my siblings, her long dark brown hair secured with an expensive claw clip and stormy gray eyes lined with a deep brown pencil.

Violet followed in his footsteps and went into accounting, and being the eldest, she set the bar pretty high for the rest of us.

Not to mention, she ended up marrying rich.

“We were waiting for you,” Mari smiles politely.

“Great.” Violet’s voice takes on its authoritative tone, which reminds me of a mix of sitcom mom and politician. “I guess I’ll get right to it. I’m being transferred to the New York office in February.”

“That’s great! You’ve always wanted to move to New York.” I reach over and touch her shoulder.

“I know it’s a huge change, but we’ll also be closer to the boy’s grandparents. Since the Christmas Eve party at Mom and Dad’s will be the last time we’re together for a while, I figured we’d drive up and stay over the holiday like old times.”

The table erupts in chatter, plans are made and everyone’s excited about spending the holidays with the entire family under one roof. Well, everyone except me and I feel horrible about it.

For the last few years, it’s been a quick family lunch on Christmas Eve before heading back to the city in time to enjoy all the holiday movies on TV. A few hours of talking to the extended family and having to defend my single life while hearing the usual ‘inspirational’ phrases.

Don’t worry, Penny, you’ll find someone. Don’t worry, Penny, I was lost when I was your age.

They act as if being 32, single and happy with an hourly position is something to be ashamed of.

I’m not lost, I am right where I want to be, in my lovely rent-controlled apartment downtown, living with my best friend, Shae.

Okay, so my relationship status isn’t really ideal, but I’m not desperate or in a rush to settle down because my other siblings have.

“Who all is going to be there?” Hazel asks.

“Family and friends and maybe some women from Mom’s book club.” Violet shrugs.

“And Roger.” Mari teases.

My heart sinks. “Roger? As in my ex-boyfriend Roger?”

“He got a job at daddy’s firm a few months ago. I thought Mom would have told you.”

We dated when I was in high school. He was great on paper, came from a good family, had all A’s, and was respectful towards my parents. In theory, Roger was a great prospective husband, but not for me.

We wanted vastly different futures. He was going to go into finance, while I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do.

I felt so much pressure from him to choose a path, which ultimately soured the relationship.

It took years for my mom to let me live down the breakup.

Though she still likes to bring him up from time to time whenever she needs to prove a point.

“Why would she invite him?” I fail to hide my scowl.

“Probably wants to rekindle something between the two of you.” Hazel teases.

It looks like we’re going to have to have ‘the talk’ where I let her know I’m not planning on having kids. Ever. A fate absolutely unheard of for a rabbit shifter.

“She’s probably trying to look out for you.” Violet says, “She’s worried you might be lonely.”

Sure, her single daughter must be lonely. My worth is decided based on whether I have a man in my life. The entire conversation is enough to make my blood boil.

“I was actually thinking about bringing my boyfriend,” The words spill out before I can stop them. I stare down at the menu, the aftershock of my lie making me sick.

There is no boyfriend. No one has gotten past the first date in over six months. Not for lack of trying on my part, it’s how dismal the dating pool is these days.

“Did you finally get the courage to ask him out?” Hazel asks, cutting through my anxiety to feed the flames.

“Who?” Mari chirps, looking up from her menu. She’s practically vibrating with excitement to tell our mother about my new ‘boyfriend’.

“Anakin,” Hazel teases. I nudge their sneaker with my own, and they straighten.“Maybe I’m wrong.”

Hazel means the hot guy across the street, Asher, who looks a lot like Anakin Skywalker from Attack of the Clones, earning him the affectionate codename I’ve only mentioned to Hazel and Shae in the strictest confidence. Until now.

Sure, I take a twenty-minute detour out of my morning commute to walk in front of Dragon’s Lair, the game store Asher owns, hoping to glimpse him in another of his natural habitats.

It’s an innocent crush. It’s not like I’m trying to position myself so we could strike up a conversation and fall madly in love or like I’ve had elaborate dreams of our rom-com worthy meet-cute. No, I am completely normal about Asher.

“Well, Anakin or whoever he is. We cannot wait to meet him, Penny,” Mari says, resting her hand on my shoulder.

Me too.