Page 62 of Deck the Skulls
Rissa laughed. She’d hung one Christmas decoration behind the bar and every person who’d come in had commented on it. Just like everyone had commented on their new furniture when they’d reopened last week.
It’d been almost three weeks since the fight and her officially joining Anatoly’s flock. Christmas was only a week away. Shifters, gargoyles, nagas, and pixies visiting Sanguine all welcomed her to their world with open arms. It was hard to imagine a time before, even though she was new to all of it. This life felt so right and comfortable that she knew it was only a matter of time before she would’ve met Zan and Anatoly.
Those two made her believe in fated mates.
Rissa finished pouring a beer and handed it to the waiting naga before responding to Luis. “I want to put up more, but I don’t want to ruin Zan’s aesthetic.”
Luis nodded. “It’s really Anatoly’s aesthetic. Zan would’ve been happy with folding chairs and card tables as long as he got to visit with people.”
Rissa laughed. “You’re probably right. Do you want your usual, or are you ready to try one of my cocktails?”
“You’re getting good at those mixed drinks. Almost as good as Zan,” Luis complimented her. “But I’ll stick to beer, thanks.” Rissa nodded and started pouring Luis’s favorite stout.
“Speaking of Zan, where is the big cat?” Luis asked, looking around.
Rissa rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. “He and Anatoly are doing something upstairs. It’s all very hush-hush.”
“Rissa!” Briar shouted as she charged through the door. “We’re having a birthday party at the Downward Dog this weekend and you’ve got to come!”
“That girl wouldn’t know how to be quiet even if she was reincarnated as Buddha,” Luis murmured as he took his beer and joined several pack members at a nearby table. It was true that Briar tended to be loud and larger than life, but that was one of the things Rissa liked most about the woman. There weren’t enough large, loud women in the world, so they needed to stick together.
“Who’s birthday?” Rissa asked as Briar hopped onto a barstool. Memphis and Tobias were right behind her, taking spots on either side.
Briar pointed at Tobias. “I’ve decided that it’s his birthday.”
Rissa raised an eyebrow. “Decided?”
“I don’t remember the exact day of my birth,” Tobais explained.
“Briar’s decided that any time she feels like throwing a party, it’s a good time for Tobais to have a birthday. He’s had three this year.”
Rissa barked out a laugh. “Nice!”
“Isn’t it!” Briar agreed with an unrepentant grin. “Now that I’ve got access to money, I’ve found out that I really like throwing big parties.”
“I can’t wait for you to find another hobby,” Tobais mumbled, making both Briar and Memphis laugh.
“I could get my private investigator license,” Briar said. “That would be a fun second career now that I’m only hacking for fun.”
Tobias’s expression turned panicked. “No!”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Briar taunted.
Memphis sighed, giving Rissa the impression this conversation had happened before. “Can we order drinks before Rissa throws us out?”
“I want that same drink you made Memphis last time,” Briar said.
Rissa consulted her tablet. It wasn’t long before she got tired of Zan’s notebook and created a database on a tablet with all his information. Now it was easy to search, and she pulled up Memphis’s drink without any trouble. Zan grumbled at first and kept using his notebook, but it was only a few days before he started using the tablet too.
“Found it,” she said, reading the most elaborate recipe for a gin and tonic she’d ever seen.
“I’ll take one too,” Memphis said. “It’s my special drink anyway.”
She looked over at Tobias. The brooding vampire shook his head.
“Right, two Memphis drinks coming up!” Rissa announced.
“So you’ll come?” Briar asked as Rissa put the drinks together. “You haven’t met Imani yet. She’ll be there!”