Page 20 of Not So Very Sensible

Ellie returned to gazing around the room, checking out the lovely attire, as servers approached with glasses of champagne or other drinks.

“I’m happy with a mocktail, thank you.”

“A mock appletini, perhaps?”

“Sounds great.”

He passed over a glass that was decorated with an apple slice on the rim, and she sipped it. “Thank you. That’s delicious.”

He nodded, his attention quickly shifting to Chris and Katie, even while the couple on Katie’s other side loudly complained they hadn’t been served yet. The server ignored them, then shot Ellie a wink, which drew her smile. She appreciated his understanding of the matter, even if he wasn’t exactly her type, looking a little too young and handsome for his own good.

“That’s a beautiful dress,” another voice said.

Her attention swung up to meet the gaze of a man who was exactly Ellie’s type. Her heart stuttered. A man with dark floppy hair and whose brown eyes behind glasses held kindness, whose lips were quirked at an angle that suggested wryness.

“Th–thank you.” She coughed to clear the frog in her throat. “I’m Ellie.”

“Ethan.” He held out his hand.

She grasped it. And instantly felt tingles shimmer up her arm. Oh, what was this?

“Hi, I’m Katie.” Her sister held out her hand expectantly.

Ethan shook her hand, then turned to the man seated between them.

“Chris.”

Another handshake, a smile for Katie, and one for the rude couple, who—surprise, surprise—ignored him; then he sat next to Ellie.

She caught a whiff of something sea salt–like, something that made her long to get closer and sniff him more thoroughly. But that would be weird, so she didn’t.

“This place looks great, doesn’t it?”

“They’ve certainly gone to a lot of trouble.”

A server approached, offered to take more photos, and she smiled. How fun was this?

She swapped details with Ethan and learned that he worked as a lawyer in the city and was working towards being made partner. It seemed that he and Chris had some mutual connections, which Ethan nodded at, then quickly changed the subject. “So, Ellie—is that short for Elinor?”

“My mum named me after Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility.”

He nodded. “One of Jane Austen’s best heroines.”

He knew Austen?

“Most underrated,” Chris agreed.

He knew Austen too? Miracles did happen, it seemed. Her smile twisted. “That makes a change from what I usually hear. People like to tell me I’m too sensible for my own good.”

“Aw, come on, that’s not what we say,” Katie objected. “It’s just good for you to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while. For ‘none of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.’“

“Persuasion, right?” Ethan said.

“You really do know your Austen,” Ellie murmured.

Ethan leaned a little closer. “My mum loved all the movies and forced me to watch them more than a few times.”

“Brave man.”