He chuckled and went back to his tablet.
I made sure my smile was locked in place before heading over to the corner booth. “Hey, y’all. What can I get you today?”
Deirdre ordered her usual grilled cheese and sweet iced tea. Finn and Bria both opted for fried chicken salads topped with honey-mustard dressing.
I started to turn away, but Deirdre grabbed my arm. Even though she wasn’t actively using her power, invisible waves of her Ice magic still rippled off her fingers. The cold, frigid sensation soaked through the fabric of my long-sleeved T-shirt and chilled my skin underneath. But I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that a simple touch of her hand was enough to make me hiss with pain, so I ground my teeth even tighter and kept my blank smile fixed on my face.
Bria winced in sympathy, though, since she could also feel Deirdre’s magic. Like me, she avoided touching the other Ice elemental as much as possible. Bria had warned Finn about his mother’s Ice power, about how she was much stronger than she was letting on, but he’d ignored my sister the same way he ignored me.
“Oh, Gin, I’m so glad I ran into you today,” Deirdre chirped.
I shifted on my feet so that her hand fell away from my arm, which had already gone numb from her touch. “You’re glad that you ran into me in my own restaurant?”
Bria snickered. Finn looked at her, and she covered her laughter by gulping down more lemonade.
Deirdre ignored my sarcasm. “I wanted to remind you that tomorrow night is the opening of that little jewelry exhibit I put together to benefit my charity foundation. Of course, you and Owen are invited. And on the VIP list.” She winked at me.
“Of course.” I ground out the words through my fake smile. “We wouldn’t dream of missing it, especially since this is only the third time you’ve invited us now.” Finn frowned at me, but I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “Let me go put your order in. I’ll be back with your food in a jiffy.”
“Thanks, Gin, honey.” Deirdre winked at me again. “You’re a real peach.”
I turned, stalked back over to the counter, and handed the order ticket to Sophia. The Goth dwarf gave me a mulish look, not liking Deirdre any more than I did, but she fixed their food in silence. I handed the plates off to Catalina to take over to the booth while I wiped down the counter, even though I’d just finished doing the same thing when Bria had first come in.
“Chicken,” Silvio teased, realizing that I was avoiding going back over to the booth.
“I’m not chicken,” I muttered. “Just trying to keep my homicidal rage in check. And the best way to do that is by staying as far away as possible from Mama Dee.”
“If you really want to stay away from Mama Dee, then maybe you should take a break and actually keep your appointment today,” he replied in a chiding tone.
“What appointment?”
“That meeting you have scheduled with Mallory Parker this afternoon. The one you were supposed to have the day after the bank’s cocktail party. The one I’ve rescheduled three times so far.” He turned his tablet around so I could see it. “See? I have it right here on today’s agenda.”
I opened my mouth to tell him to cancel again, that I was staying put so I could keep an eye on Deirdre, but Silvio beat me to the punch.
“You should really go see Mallory,” he said. “She’s been calling every day, wondering when you’re going to show up, and she said she had something special to give you.”
I frowned, wondering what that could possibly be. But then I remembered the dwarf’s odd words at the party and how she’d told me that I’d better go check on Finn. Jo-Jo and Sophia hadn’t known anything about Deirdre, but Mallory was older than both of them. Oh, I doubted that Mallory knew anything about Fletcher and Deirdre’s relationship, but she might know something about Deirdre herself or maybe even the Shaw family. It was worth a trip to find out.
Deirdre busted out laughing at some joke Finn had made, her hearty chuckles bouncing from one side of the restaurant to the other. The happy sound sliced through my last nerve like cheese on a grater. Bria wasn’t the only one who was sick and tired of Mama Dee. Maybe Silvio was right. Maybe I should leave before I broke my promise to Finn to play nice.
“All right,” I said. “Appointment it is. Thanks for reminding me.”
Silvio blinked. “You’re actually going? Just like that? Without me having to nag you?”
“When do you ever have to nag me about anything?”
“When don’t I have to nag you?” he muttered.
“What was that, oh assistant of mine?”
He plastered a big, fake smile on his face. “Nothing, boss. Nothing at all.”
“Uh-huh.”
Silvio promised to call if Deirdre did or said anything interesting. With his vampiric hearing, he could stay put on his stool at the counter and listen to every word she said over in the corner booth.