Page 2 of Night Wedding
Less than an hour later, Gianna and I held our sandals and trekked barefoot around the crowd through the hot sand of the beach. Seagulls circled above, swooping lower in search of food to steal. They called to each other like football players signaling their next play. When a school-aged girl on a red towel ahead spilled some potato chips into the sand, three swooped down like vultures and darted to catch the fallen food. Startled, the girl dropped the bag into the sand, but her father saved it before the inquisitive gulls could sneak in. Gianna and I walked around the sneaky birds and squeezed into an available patch of sand a couple of dozen feet from the shore and spread our towels.
When she stripped off her wraparound dress, gazes snapped over faster than a highway pileup. Gianna in a dress was stunning. In a bikini? Forget it. Her purple bikini with black bats showcased her abundant assets.
I might as well have been her invisible sidekick. If I stripped naked and did cartwheels down the beach, would anyone notice? Doubt it. I’d gotten used to the rubbernecking at Gianna a long time ago. Fortunately, Diego appeared to be into petite, auburn-haired types like me.
She tossed her glossy, dark hair over her shoulder, leaned her head back, and inhaled. “Nothing like the sea.”
I settled onto my towel and drank it in. The heat caressed my skin with pleasant warmth, but I wasn’t fooled. The summer breeze was a tease, a whisper of reprieve against the balmy heat. Within half-an-hour, I’d likely need to cool off in the ocean.
I glanced down at the amethyst heart-shaped pendant that Diego had given me on Valentine’s Day. Sunlight glinted on it. I squinted up at the sun. My relationship with this glowing orb had changed dramatically since I’d started dating a vampire. While Gianna basked beneath the sunshine, claiming it rejuvenated her, Diego shirked from it. It would destroy him—burn him to ashes. Its difference between two people I loved was vast.
I pulled out a paperback of a local cozy mystery, ready to unwind. Yet, after my mind wandered, and I reread the same few pages multiple times, I gave up on it. My best friend was here with me. If there was anyone I could share my troubles with, it was Gianna. She was great at helping me talk through my problems.
I rolled over on my towel to face her. “Something’s up with Diego.”
She turned her head to peer at me. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure how to describe it.” I twisted my hair into a knot as I tried to make sense of my growing concerns. “He’s been acting weird.”
Gianna nudged down her sunglasses and peered at me over the top. “Good weird or bad weird?”
I trailed my fingers through the heated sand. “Definitely not good. More like anxious and jittery. It’s not like him.”
Gianna sat up and her eyes blazed wide. “Do you think he’s cheating on you?” She raised her index finger. “Because if he is, I’ll shred his balls and feed them to guppies.”
A few of the guys nearby who had been stealing glances at Gianna turned away. One adjusted in his beach chair, appearing to shield the goods between his legs.
“Easy, tiger shark.” I motioned to her with a slow gesture to calm her. “No, I don’t think it’s that. I trust him, and I don’t think he’d ever betray me.”
“Then what do you think it is?” Gianna asked in a more reasonable tone. “Something at work?”
I took my water bottle out of my beach bag. “I don’t think so. He usually tells me if something’s stressing him out.” I took a swig of water before I formulated my concern. “Maybe it has something to do with us. I’m worried he’s having second thoughts.”
“No way,” Gianna denied with a wave. “He’s crazy about you.”
I chewed my bottom lip and voiced the trouble that had been gnawing at me. “What if he wants to break up with me and is trying to work up the nerve to do it?”
“Wha-a-at?” Gianna’s mouth opened wide as a whale’s. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s this sense.” I fluttered my fingers. “He gets skittish and then distant. It’s not a good sign.”
“I’m sure it’s something else,” Gianna attempted to assure me.
“Like what?” I arched my brows.
She turned to face the ocean and sighed. “I don’t know, but we all have things that make us act out of character or are hard to talk about.”
“I hope that’s all it is.” I followed her gaze to the shore. Kids laughed as they jumped at the waves rolling in. They appeared so carefree. I longed for that ease of mind. “Are you going to swim?” I asked Gianna.
“Yeah, when I get too hot.” She fanned herself and then motioned down the front of her body. “It’s not as much fun in this form anymore,” she muttered in a lower tone.
Gianna had discovered this past winter that she could shift to her siren form, and now preferred swimming with her tail and fins. I’d seen her during a skirmish with demons and sirens, and it was beyond impressive. Her long, sleek tail wasn’t just beautiful, but powerful. She’d kicked ass with it, including thwacking a demon.
Gianna had seen me fly on a broom for the first time that night, so it was one of many mind-blowing firsts. Since our side had won that battle against demons and sirens trying to seize control of Salem, our lives had settled down to be less eventful. Less chaotic.
Less exciting?
Wait, maybe that was it…
