I didn't want to be one of those girls whose life completely revolved around her boyfriend, but I was glad I'd have some time to spend with Ryan.
Another question occurred to me. "And what should I wear?"
Flo shrugged. "We don't have a dress code here. Obviously."
I glanced at her T-shirt, which had WOMEN WHO PAY THEIR OWN RENT DON'T HAVE TO BE NICE on the front. Obviously, indeed.
"Just wear the kind of thing you usually wear," Flo said. 'And Slim will give you an apron."
A minute later, the entire football team walked into Slim's. The jukebox stopped and suddenly went into "Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las. Very funny.
Ryan's face lit up when he saw me. "I was just going to call you to see if you wanted to meet us here for lunch. Samantha and some of the other cheerleaders are on the way."
I explained that I'd be working there, and then got busy taking their orders.
Bane Paxton's little brother, Wolfgang, grabbed my arm. "Hey, cutie, what's your name?"
Ryan growled low in his throat, but I sent him a look to let him know I could handle a freshman.
"Let go of me if you want to keep that hand," I said, smiling politely.
Bane's brother said, "Hey, I saw the way you were looking at me. You like what you see, right? Wanna taste of lupine love?"
He said it under his breath, but Sean heard him. "In your dreams, Wolfgang," Sean said. "She's Ryan's girlfriend, hairball, so I'm guessing she was looking at him, not at some freshman squid who isn't even on the football team."
Wolfgang had a mop of bushy black hair, which stood up in every direction and smelled musty like he'd been left in a damp room too long. Not my type at all, even if I wasn't so into Ryan.
The tension ratcheted up a notch.
Ryan said, "And if you don't take your hands off her—"
"What?" the guy said, but he removed his hand from my wrist. A minute later, he got up and went to the jukebox.
I stared after him for a moment." When did Bane's little brother turn into such a pain?" I said. Bane Paxton was in Poppy's graduating class and dated Elise Wilder. Like the Wilders, the Paxtons were shifters. I knew from my experience with Ryan that teenage werewolves could get a little aggressive sometimes, but Wolfgang seemed to be extra jerky. My wrist ached where he had grabbed me.
"He's got a chip on his shoulder," Ryan said. "He didn't make the team. If he tries anything..."
"He won't," I said. "Besides, I can take care of myself."
A group of Nightshade High cheerleaders came into the restaurant. They pulled up a table next to the football players, and suddenly the rush was on again.
Flo took pity on me and helped me out. My classmates were not going easy on me just because it was my first day, although Rachel was gentle when she pointed out that she had ordered the salad and Sean was the one who'd ordered the double-deluxe extra rare cheeseburger with fries.
Wolfgang had disappeared, so I decided it was safe to invite everyone to the party. It would save me making a bunch of phone calls. "Hey, Samantha," I said. "We're having a beach party on Saturday."
Rachel's head swiveled around. "Everyone's invited," I said, and smiled at her. I really liked Rachel, even though we had the same taste in guys.
The diner emptied out a couple of hours later.
Finally, the day was over and I grabbed an iced latte and sat on a stool at the counter. It had been hours since I'd had any caffeine or chocolate, two dietary essentials in my book.
"How do you do it?" I asked Flo.
"You get used to it," Flo replied. "Go home and soak your feet. And buy some shoes with good arch support."
I went home and soaked my feet as Flo had suggested, but I didn't know that it would be my last moment of peace for the next few weeks. My life was about to get much more complicated. So complicated that aching feet were the least of my worries.
CHAPTER FOUR
It was finally the day of the beach party. I'd spent a couple of hours cooking the night before, and Poppy and Candy were going to pack the food and take it to the beach while I was at work.
At the diner, I went back to the kitchen, but there was a stranger there with Slim. She was a short, curvy young woman with horn-rimmed glasses and blond hair, which was dyed with purple stripes.
It was clear, from her flirtatious giggles and Slim's low laugh, that I was interrupting, so I headed for the front.
"Who is that with Slim?" I asked Flo.
"That's Natalie, his new girlfriend," she replied. "She's a witch."
"You don't like her?"
Flo laughed. "No, I mean she's a real witch. She goes to grad school in Oregon, but she spends summers at her grandma's house in Nightshade. You'll be seeing her a lot this summer."
I nodded. "Need any help out here?"
Flo gave me a list of jobs and I started with the ketchup bottles, which needed refilling every morning.
I cheated a bit, when no one was looking, and used my powers to clean the coffee urn and to scrub the stainless steel.
I stared out the window as I worked. The sun was shining, and it was shaping up to be a perfect beach day.
A few minutes later, Slim's girlfriend came to the counter. "Hi, I'm Natalie Mason. We didn't introduce ourselves earlier. I was a little preoccupied." She let out a breathy laugh that made me glad my boss was invisible. Whatever they'd been doing in the kitchen, I didn't want to see it.
"I'm Daisy," I replied. A thought struck me. "Are you related to Mrs. Mason? I think her first name is Matilda?" I asked her. Mrs. Mason was the president of my mom's garden club. She always wore orthopedic shoes and a jogging suit. Mom had often wondered how Mrs. Mason managed to grow roses the size of a bread plate every year.
I finally figured it out when I saw her with her wand at a Nightshade City Council meeting. The city council was made up of members of Nightshade's thirteen founding families—all paranormal beings. They kept tabs on any weirdness in town.
"She's my grandma," Natalie replied. "How do you know her?"
"She and my mom belong to the same garden club," I said. "She grows beautiful roses."
Natalie paused, then said, "Yes, she really has a green thumb. She can make anything grow."
Of course she could, since she was a wand-carrying witch; and according to Flo, Natalie had the same talents.
"I didn't catch your last name," she said.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I held out a hand. "It's Giordano."
She grabbed it and shook my hand vigorously. "You're Daisy Giordano?"
Natalie dropped my hand and gave me a hug. "Oh, it's so great to meet you. I've heard so much about you and your family."
My mom's psychic powers, especially, were notorious even outside Nightshade. "Uh, that's great," I said. I didn't know what else to say. Natalie's enthusiasm made me squirm, so I changed the subject.
"What's your grandma planting right now? Do you help her in the garden?" I didn't know very much about gardening, but I needed a topic of conversation.
She blinked and I noticed that her eyes were brown rimmed in yellow.
"That's difficult to explain," she said, then quickly changed the subject. "How do you like working here? Isn't it great working for Slim?"
Natalie sounded a little hero-worshipy about Slim. She looked to be in her twenties, about Flo's age. I wondered briefly how old Slim was, but then we were slammed by the breakfast crowd and I had no more time for idle romantic speculation.
When my shift was over, I felt slightly grubby and smelled like sweat and scrambled eggs. I changed into a bathing suit and cover-up, braided my hair, and slathered on sunscreen, then headed back to the kitchen.
"Slim, can you spare a couple of strawberry pies?" I asked. "I'll pay for them, of course. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't leave you short."
"Take as many pies as you need," he said. "And make sure Flo gives you the employee discount."
"Thanks, Slim!" He was pretty cool for a boss. Maybe working a
t the diner all summer wouldn't be so bad after all. I paid for the pies and got a 50 percent discount. A definite perk.
When I made it to the beach, almost everyone we'd invited was already there, plus several tagalongs.
It looked like there was plenty of food, even though I hadn't counted on such a big crowd. There were pyramids of hamburger and hot dog buns, jumbo containers of potato salad, and chips. Ryan was busy manning the barbecue, which was already covered with huge slabs of meat. From the amount of food I saw, it looked like we were expecting the entire town.
Poppy bounded over wearing the new pink skull bikini she had gotten at Tete de Mort, the store where Samantha worked. "Guess what, Daisy?" she said. "On the way over here today, I got a job!"
I looked my sister over skeptically. "You must have made quite an impression at your interview," I said.
"Very funny," Poppy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "It wasn't a planned thing," she explained. "Candy and I stopped by that little concession stand by the boardwalk to get her a candied apple and noticed that they had a Help Wanted sign. So I got to chatting with the owner and she hired me on the spot. I start tomorrow."
"Congrats!" I said. "Can you get me an employee discount on chocolate bars?"
"Is chocolate all you think about?" Poppy said, as she headed off to continue her volleyball game.
Chocolate most certainly was not all I thought about. I smiled to see my boyfriend coming to meet me.
He took the pies out of my hands and gave me a quick kiss. "How was work?" he asked.
"Okay," I said. "Slim said he might let me do some prep work in the kitchen next week."
"What's Slim like, anyway?" Ryan asked.
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say anything about Slim's being see-through.
"He's..." I floundered with my words. "He's ... different. Sometimes I don't even notice he's there."
Elise Wilder and Bane Paxton came up to where Ryan and I stood. I was wiggling out of my cover-up, although not without some misgivings. We'd eaten lots of delicious desserts in Italy and I wasn't sure my body was exactly beach-ready. But I shrugged and tossed the cover-up to the ground. I wasn't going to let a few extra pounds stop me from having a good time.
"Thank you for inviting us," Elise said.
"I'm glad you could come," I said.
Elise's eyes focused on something behind me. She stiffened. "You invited Penny?"
"No, I didn't." Penny Edwards, Nightshade High's number one gossip, was here? I turned and looked. Penny wasn't easy to take, except in very small doses. Normally, I'd rather stake a vampire than talk to her, but I'd seen another side of her at prom.
"Daisy," Penny said. "I hope it's okay that I came." Gone was Penny's usual garish clothing. She wore a swimsuit in a subdued color, and her normal nasally tone was sweeter than usual.
I summoned a smile. "Of course."
"Can I help with anything?" she continued. "I brought you a cake." She held out an enormous bakery box.
"Thank you, Penny." She continued to stand there docilely. I exchanged a look with Elise. "Why don't you put it on the picnic table with the other desserts?"
Why was Penny being so nice? We'd had a little moment of friendliness at prom, but this affable Penny was unexpected.
I waited for a snarky comment, but she just beamed at me.
"Great. I really like that suit you're wearing, Daisy. It looks really cute on you."
What was going on with Penny? She was a social climber, for sure, but she had never considered me worth her time.
Elise and I exchanged glances as Penny bounced over to the table with her cake. A minute later, she had cut an enormous slice of it and had shoved it in her mouth. I knew for a fact that Penny hadn't let carbs touch her lips since the sixth grade. She noticed my gaze and grinned at me. A little dribble of frosting ran down her chin. She certainly was happy. Creepily happy.
"Penny's acting ... a little unusual," I said. "Will you keep an eye on her?"
Elise frowned. "Yes, yes, I will." Penny had moved on to the chocolate brownies. I was dumbfounded by her table manners, or more accurately, lack thereof.
Poppy's friend Candy came up to where we all stood. "What is there to drink?" she asked. "I'm parched!"
"Let me get you something," Ryan said.
"After that," Poppy said, "I want to say hi to the guys. The single ones."
For a minute, she sounded like the old Poppy.
There was a cooler full of sodas right behind us. Ryan handed me a soda—one with caffeine, of course—then gave Poppy and Candy the diet sodas they requested.
"I just remembered," I said. "I brought fresh lemonade."
It was in an insulated container, but it wasn't quite cold enough. While I was adding some ice, Wolfgang made a beeline for me.
"If it isn't my favorite waitress."
I ignored the leer that accompanied his comment, but he moved closer until he was definitely invading my personal space. My bikini suddenly felt entirely too revealing, so I grabbed my cover-up and threw it on, hoping he'd finally go away.
He didn't. Instead, he poured a glass of lemonade and gulped it down. He threw the plastic cup on the ground.
I glared at him. I hate people who litter.
"You're thirsty today, little Wolf," Ryan said.
Wolfgang wiped his forehead. "Yeah, it's a hot day. What of it?"
The air suddenly felt a lot denser. Ryan bared his teeth. "You're right," he said reasonably, and poured a glass of lemonade for himself.
A trickle of sweat inched down Wolfgang's face.
Ryan took a long drink, then he very elaborately threw his cup into the trash, where it belonged. He looked at Wolfgang levelly. "You know what to do."
Without another word, Wolfgang deflated. He bent over and picked up his trash. He started to retreat, until one of his cronies snickered.
I thought a scene had been averted, until I heard Ryan's next words: "Who invited you?" I was startled by his pugnacious tone.
Wolfgang bristled. "It's a public beach. We have as much right to be here as you do."
"Look out,"Elise said. She took me by the arm and led me a few feet away.
"What?"
"Werewolves are territorial," she explained.
"But the full moon is weeks away."
"Doesn't matter," she said. "Remember, they are both young Weres and still learning control."
But Ryan managed to control himself, saying, "Whatever." He then shrugged and walked away, but Bane's little brother tackled him when he wasn't looking. Ryan and Wolfgang instantly became a pile of snapping, snarling testosterone.
Although Wolfgang had the element of surprise, Ryan was bigger and stronger. And seriously angry.
Sean and Bane managed to pull them apart, however, and Bane hustled his little brother toward the parking lot, presumably to send him home.
Meanwhile, Sean was guiding a still-seething Ryan away from the party, but Ryan twisted away from him. "Stay out of it, Sean," he snapped.
"Oh, that's how it is, is it?" Sean replied, and took off down the beach.
In a split second, Ryan had regained his calm and realized he'd hurt his best friend's feelings.
"Sean, I'm sorry, man," he said, but Sean kept walking.
Ryan trailed after him, still apologizing as they went out of sight.
Samantha appeared by my side. "I hope those two work out their differences," she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "Sean and Ryan are best friends."
"Yeah," Samantha said. "But, Daisy, even you can't deny Ryan's been secretive these past few months." She paused, seeing the offended look on my face, then explained, "Sean just feels like Ryan is shutting him out or something."
That's exactly how I felt before Ryan told me that he was a Were.
"I'll talk to him," I said, then sighed.
I thought about what Sam had said, while I toasted a marshmallow over the fire pit. There had been major drama leading up to
the prom, and even though Ryan was gaining more control over his wolflike tendencies, he could still be really moody sometimes. His behavior must have been puzzling to people who didn't know he was a Were. But it was up to Ryan to tell people when he was ready. And apparently he still hadn't let Sean in on the big secret.
Ryan and Sean were gone a long time, but when they finally made it back to the party, Ryan was smiling and laughing with Sean, his dark mood evidently forgotten. Ryan sat down next to me and slung an arm around my shoulder.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine. I just needed to cool off a little."
"What was that all about?"
"I lost my temper," he admitted. "Wolfgang has been bugging me. And I don't like how he looks at you. But it's all good."
"Hey, Ryan," I said softly. "Did you happen to tell Sean..."
"Nah," he said. "This is a party. Didn't want to ruin it with anything heavy. I'll tell him soon, though."
I looked across the fire. Sean was sitting next to Samantha and looking happy enough, but a shadow fell on his expression as the firelight flickered. I knew how it felt when someone you cared about was hiding something from you. I just hoped Ryan wouldn't keep his best friend in the dark for much longer.
CHAPTER FIVE
On Monday night, I was surprised to get a call from Natalie. "Daisy, I have a big favor to ask you," she said. "Could you teach me to cook?"
"You want to learn to cook from me?"
"Yes," she said. "I want to surprise Slim by cooking him a special meal, and I've never cooked anything more complicated than Top Ramen."
I laughed. "Sure, do you have something in mind?"
"Beef Wellington," she replied. "It's Slim's favorite dish."
It was a little ambitious for a beginning cook, but I'd try to walk her through it. We made plans to meet at her grandmother's the next evening. I'd never been inside Mrs. Mason's house, although I'd seen the enormous garden and greenhouse in her backyard plenty of times.
Natalie met me at the door. "I went shopping in San Carlos at that gourmet food store and got everything we need," she said. "And while I was there, I saw this." She waved a piece of paper in my face.