Meg blurts out, “But you’re beautiful.” Immediately, her face colors. Usually, she is far more reserved.
Alec swoops in and links arms with Gianna, turning her toward the bar. “Are you here with Wilder?”
“We came together, if that’s what you mean. Wilder’s with my best friend.”
“The queen?” Gianna confirms with a nod.“What’s she like?”
“I . . .” Gianna glances back at me, and I shrug. “I don’t know, she’s Leigh. She’s a combination of confident and suspicious.”
Alec’s eyes glimmer. “She’s so pretty. Like a model.” Gianna offers a noncommittal noise, and Alec slaps the bar to get the bartender’s attention. “Yo, get my new friend Gianna whatever she wants. On the house.”
“Where’s Phe?” I ask Meg.
“With her husband.”
I quirk a brow. “She’s married?” Before I left, Phe hadn’t had a boyfriend.
“Whirlwind romance,” Meg answers. “She’s a romantic.”
I nod but notice how Meg keeps watching Gianna. It’s hard to hear them over the commotion. Gi smiles at Alec while Meg plays with her hair. If Gi can get along with my friends, having her around will be easier. After Elio’s arrest and subsequent death, followed by her mom’s swift departure, Gianna has only Leigh. If she could make more friends, maybe she’d realize she’s not so alone in this world. Plus, if she can talk to Stellan and learn more about her biological dad, she might lose some of that attitude.
“Is Brigid here?” I ask Meg.
“No,” she says with a scowl. “But she’s on the way. So is Ry.”
Good. I’d like to see them both.
The bartender offers an awkward smile to Gianna, who finally orders for the both of us.
Drinks in hand, we head back to our table with promises from Meg and Alec that they will join us soon. However, it’s their bartender’s first week, so they can’t leave him alone behind the bar for long, especially while it’s busy. Due to the blackout, many patrons are out of work, causing the bar to be more packed than usual.
I sip my drink as the person on the microphone asks, “What’s the rarest gemstone?”
The table next to us debates if it is a diamond or an emerald, and Gianna rolls her eyes with a mumbled, “Painite.”
“Huh?” I ask.
“The answer,” Gianna says a little louder, drawing attention from the party beside us. “It’s painite. Only one thousand have ever been found. Mama has one.”
I laugh. Of course she does. “You should sign up to play. You’d be an asset to any team.”
Gianna sips her soda through a straw. “I find that hard to believe.”
I open my mouth to ask her how she feels about uncovering her past. However, before I can voice my thoughts, Gianna voices hers. “What was it like living. . .” Her question hangs unfinished as two hands suddenly cover my eyes from behind.
I tense up.
A girl’s voice teases, “Guess who?”
“Ugh, Brigid?”
“Yes!” Brigid squeals in delight, and drops into my lap, disregarding the empty chair beside me. “I knew you’d be back! I missed you so much. Did you miss me?”
Gianna’s expression darkens at the sight of Brigid clinging to me, though Brigid seems oblivious to the tension her closeness creates. She flings her coarse, waist-length brown-black hair, which she usually has up in a topknot, over her shoulder. I resist the urge to drop her onto the dirty floor.
“I just ran into Papa, he said you were back. I checked your old room, and when I didn’t find you there, I knew you’d be here.”
“You went into my room?” I shift uncomfortably, aware of Gianna clenching her glass tight enough to suggest she’s fantasizing about dousing Brigid with its contents.
