“Oh, those days.” I groaned. “They were theworst.”
She cringed. “Quite rough.”
“Glad that’s over.” I motioned to her. “And look at you now. You blossomed into a beautiful butterfly.”
“Not without a lanky caterpillar transformation.” She tossed her silky dark hair over her shoulder and laughed.
I drank some more of my raspberry cocktail.
With a wistful expression, she asked, “Remember when I had that insane crush on Sully?”
Charlie Sullivan was a popular, athletic guy who Gianna had pined over for a solid two years. “Yes, you were crazy about him.”
She snorted. “Too bad I was invisible at the time—at least to him.”
“He’d probably kill for a chance with you now.”
“Ha, not going to happen. I smartened up.” She leaned back in the booth and took a sip. After putting her glass down, she said, “I saw him a year or two ago. That pretty boy did not age well.”
“Really?”
She tipped her chin down. “He doesn’t have kids, but he sure embraced the concept of dad bod. And all that hair he loved?” She motioned with a swipe of her hand. “Gone. Kaput.”
“No way. He was so into his floppy hair. Always running his hands through it and mussing it up.”
“Nothing to flop now.” Gianna arched her brows. “Not a strand.”
After more people watching, Gianna asked, “How are things at work?”
“Which one?”
“Whichever one you want to talk about.”
I thought about the Network. After the battle with demons and sirens, Gianna, Sebastian, and Diego had volunteered to help out on an as-needed basis. Fortunately, there hadn’t been a need since that incident.
“Things are pretty good lately,” I said. “After being thrown into the craziness when I moved here, it has settled down. I’m more comfortable in responding to calls and investigating smaller issues on my own.”
“You’re not overwhelmed with juggling two jobs?” she asked.
It wasn’t the first time she’d asked me about this, wondering why I just didn’t quit one.
“No, because they are so different. The work for the publisher I do in the quiet of my home. The work for the Network gets me out of the house, interacting with people. It’s kind of a nice balance.” With a wink, I added, “Plus, I have my trusty planner to keep me organized.”
She laughed. “You and all your stickers.”
“It’s fun and relaxing.”
I gave her a quick rundown of some recent calls. Nothing major. One involved a teen with a potion gone awry that turned her skin blue. It took significant spell work to reverse.
Gianna lifted her empty glass. “Hold on, I need to get some refills.” She stood. “Are you ready for another one?”
I still had a third left of this tall drink. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
She took her glass to the bar and returned with a full one.
“What about you?” I asked. “How’s things going here with the club?”
“Fine.”
