“I could really go for a drink,” she confessed.“How about you?”
“Sure,” Ria replied enthusiastically.“I could use a little liquid courage so I don’t spend all day with my arms awkwardly trying to cover my chest.”
“Well, we definitely don’t want that.”At Ria’s blush, she added, “Because self-confidence is so important.”
And I’m out,her brain declared.Have fun screwing this up.
Hurrying over to the drink tent, Lissa exhaled a sigh of relief that the line was short.The parade had probably started, so she would just have to sacrifice getting a good spot this year.It would probably take at least a few drinks to calm the jumble of inappropriate thoughts bouncing around her head.
“What sounds good?”she asked Ria.
The witch chewed on her bottom lip, smearing the blue and indigo in her rainbow lipstick.“You know, I don’t drink a whole lot, so whatever you think is good.”
“Two strawberry margaritas,” Lissa told the bartender and forked over a wad of cash.She didn’t even care they were ten bucks a pop.She’d pay twenty if it helped slow down her mouth from saying stupid shit.
She needed to keep reminding herself this woman might be why her entire life fell to shambles, and not even the hottest body could make up for that.If she played that mantra on a loop in her brain, maybe she could focus on getting answers instead of wondering how many kisses it would take to mess up the rest of Ria’s lipstick.
The bartender handed over their plastic cups, and Lissa promptly downed half the drink in one go.The burn of the alcohol rolled down her throat and settled into her lower belly, numbing the annoying throbbing that stuck around long after she’d told herself to get it together.
“Wow,” Ria commented, eyeing Lissa’s half-empty cup.“I didn’t know I was drinking with a professional.”
“I’m not a pro.I swear.I’m just a little nervous right now.You know, because of the spell.I figured the alcohol might help loosen me up and go along with whatever mystical mojo might happen.”
Ria took a sip of her drink as they made their way toward the street for the parade.“Mystical mojo, huh?I take it you’re not really a firm believer in magic?”
Shit.Lissa’s brain really had vacated the premises.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said sheepishly.
“It’s okay.I’m used to it.It makes it that much more fun when the spell works, and I turn you into a believer.”Ria winked and Lissa’s knees wobbled just enough for her to lose balance.She threw out a hand to avoid crashing into the guy beside her, and Ria grabbed onto her.
“Looks like the margarita’s catching up to you already,” she remarked, laughing.
“Right, the margarita,” Lissa agreed, far too enthusiastically.“Like I said, I haven’t drunk much recently.My ex-girlfriend had a little issue with overindulging, so I tried to stay sober for her.You know how it is in a relationship when your partner’s problems become your own.”
Ria nodded solemnly.“I get it.My ex-girlfriend also had a problem.”
“Drinking?”
“Cheating.I think she slept with every woman in Portland except me.”Ria’s shoulders rounded as she sank into herself.“It was my own fault though.I worked really long hours.”
“Please don’t tell me you believe that?”Lissa could only assume Ria’s ex was blind and lobotomized to not recognize how incredible the witch was.
Ria shrugged.“It is what it is.She actually dumped me around Christmas last year and left me unable to pay my rent.I mean, who does that?Who breaks up with someone at Christmas?”
Lissa choked on her drink, the burn from the alcohol scraping down her throat painfully.
Ria thumped her on the back.“Hey, are you okay?”
“Sorry,” Lissa managed to get out between coughs.“Went down the wrong pipe.”
“Ooh, I hate when that happens.”
Lissa fished an ice cube out of her drink and sucked on it for a second, letting the chill soothe her raw throat.“So, not to be nosy or anything, but was that the reason you left your marketing job?”
She felt like an ass for leveraging Ria’s past heartbreak to sniff out exactly when she quit Mercer Marketing, but an opening was an opening, and she needed to stick to the game plan.
“Yes and no,” Ria replied hesitantly.“I did move back to Seacliff shortly after the breakup, but it’s complicated.As life often is.”
