Page 32 of I Am Salvation

Her lips curve. “Look who’s talking.”

I offer her my arm—something I’m not sure I’ve ever done—and together we leave our rooms and head downstairs to the hotel restaurant.

The scents of cumin and cilantro fill the air as the host ushers us to a table. Flickering candles cast shadows around the room. A musician is playing a Spanish melody on a guitar in one corner of the room. I’m not a fan of music while I eat, but it’s so soft that I kind of like it.

Once we’re seated, Diana looks around. A server brings margaritas to the table next to us, and Diana smiles.

“That’s Donny’s favorite drink,” she says.

“You told me,” I say. “That’s hilarious.”

“I know. Dad with his bourbon and Dale with his wine—” She clasps her hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Dragon. I shouldn’t be talking about alcohol.”

I shake my head. “I’m good. I made it through the party last weekend without indulging. Made it through getting arrested, made it through talking with an investigator about?—”

“Hey,” she says. “I told you I would tell you what happened at work and why I had to leave.”

I nod, but before she can start telling her story, our server interrupts us. “Good evening. I’m Chanel, and I’ll be your server. Can I get you a drink to get started?”

“Do you mind if I have a margarita?” Diana asks.

I stop myself from rolling my eyes. She’s just being thoughtful.

“Why would I mind?”

She smiles. “A margarita, please.”

“Just water for me,” I say.

Once Chanel leaves, Diana smiles. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that. I don’t even drink very much, as you know. But for some reason, a margarita sounds good. Refreshing.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” I say. “The state of New Mexico allows you to drink, so you should drink if you want.”

“I know that. And I’ll only have one drink. I never have more than one or two anyway.”

“Diana, if you feel like getting drunk off that pretty ass of yours, you’ll get no judgment from me.” I shrug. “I’m a fucking addict. I accept that. I’m dealing with it. It’s not always easy, but I’m determined this time. And part of the process is being okay with other people imbibing in my presence. It’s something people do. I would never dream of asking someone to turn down any number of drinks on my account.”

She gives me a look then, tilting her head. And for the life of me, I think she can see right through me.

“I’ll tell you why I left after less than two days on my job.”

“Only if you want to.”

“I do.” She purses her lips. “I think it will help me to talk about it. I suppose I’ll eventually have to call my father and mother to let them know.”

“No, you don’t. You’re an adult. You don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to.”

She smiles. “You know what? You’re right.”

Chanel brings the margarita, and Diana takes a sip, wincing. “This will be my only margarita. It’s good, but way too sweet.”

“I never liked sweet drinks either.” I take a sip of water.

“There’s a shocker.” She wipes a grain of salt from her lips and giggles. “So anyway, there was this project with the firm I was interested in—this amazing mountaintop resort, the first of its kind. Yesterday, my boss gave me several files to look at and asked me to give him my thoughts. One of them was that dream project.”

I furrow my brow. “That sounds good, not bad.”

“Yeah, and I totally thought it was. The problem is, when I was going over the plans, I found an issue that could cause some major problems.”

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