Page 4 of Helsing: Demon Slayer
Dianne sighed. What was she going to do about her friends? It wouldn’t be so tricky avoiding Jasmyn and Tessa, who’d long been the dedicated party girls of the group and lived in Boston where they worked rather generic jobs at large employers and spent many nights at clubs.
But she and Germaine, who worked near many of Dianne’s clients, often grabbed lunch on less-busy workdays and sometimes had dinner and a girls’ night hanging out in one of their apartments. They actually did more than drink alcohol and engage in shallow talk about guys, fashion, social trends, and the immediate gratification of their desires.
If Germaine found her, she’d want to have a real conversation about what bothered Dianne, which she fully knew.
Dianne didn’t want to play the game anymore. The game where she still had time to find the right man and settle down. Start a family. Germaine understood Dianne’s growing restlessness with their group’s lifestyle but didn’t agree. She said they were both young and needed to focus on their careers—a sentiment Dianne had stopped echoing, though she hadn’t yet dared to contradict it aloud.
But Dianne’s older sister Olivia had left a career to get married and start a family.
Which meant that she must have fallen hard. And Dianne’s brother-in-law must be out of this world in more dimensions than just the physical.
Dianne had met Mihàil Kastrioti only a handful of times in the past four years. That’s what happens when people pursue international-business careers, like her sister Olivia. They tend not to return home very often. Even before Olivia got married after a whirlwind courtship in a small ceremony on Mihàil’s Albanian estate with only their parents and aunt and uncle able to attend on such short notice, she’d rarely been home. Not since the summer she’d survived a terrorist attack on Ibiza. She’d dropped out of Brown and moved to Bethesda before eventually going to Vienna for a master’s degree where she’d met her husband.
Mihàil Kastrioti was exceptionally handsome, tall and muscular, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to read Dianne’s soul from across the distance of time and space. The way he looked at her—like he could see through her carefully constructed defenses—left her heart racing and her skin prickling, a mix of fascination and the urge to flee.
Where in the world was she going to meet a man like that, one able to knock her out of her current trajectory and rock her whole world?
An image of The Beast rose in front of her mind’s eye, his presence in that sunlit library as vivid as a scene caught in amber. Their impromptu kiss surged to the surface of her memory, heat blooming through her chest as if it had just happened.
Even hours later, it still had the power to make her feel as if she’d had an entire bottle of wine at dinner.
“Hiding?” Germaine’s voice dissolved the pleasant fantasy. “The ship’s not that big, Di. Here.” She sat down across from Dianne, sliding a frozen concoction across the table toward her. “I know you’re not trying to see how many drinks you can consume with the included open bar, but these frosés really are more like slushies than cocktails. Trust me, I’m a scientist. I know you can’t suffer impaired judgment from one.”
Dianne hid her sigh and accepted the drink as it was meant: a peace offering. “Thanks.” She took a sip. The icy, sweet liquid tasted like spring break. “Did you know that Jasmyn brought marijuana gummies on the cruise?”
Germaine tilted her head. “No, but I’m not surprised. She’s become quite addicted to them. She’s high most of the time these days. Or haven’t you noticed? It’s part of why she’s so obnoxious and has no filter.”
Dianne felt a little sheepish. Only a little. “No. She just seemed to be, well,moreof herself these days. She’s never had a filter.”
Germaine nodded. “Her job has turned into a real drag. One of her friends at work has been accused of sexual harassment. She knows he’s innocent because she knows the female employee involved as well as the details of the claim, but what with ‘MeToo,’ her company wants to be seen as taking a tough stance. Jasmyn’s been put in charge of handling the case for HR. She’s been trying to keep both employees from suing. If that’s not enough to tie her into knots, her friend also blames her for his forced leave of absence during the internal investigation.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Well, you’ve missed a few girls’ nights in Boston. Plus, I noticed her efforts to self-medicate and took her for a big breakfast of chocolate-chip pancakes at The Toast.”
Dianne rolled the melting frosé between her palms, changing the subject. She set the cup down so she’d be less likely to finish it quickly. “Did I tell you that Olivia had a baby? A daughter named Luljeta Emily.”
“Named after your cousin Emily?” asked her friend, a thread of understanding running through her voice. After Dianne’s answering nod, she asked, “Is ‘Lewl-yeta’ an Albanian name?”
Dianne nodded. She twisted the silver ring on her middle finger. She’d had the key to her cousin Emily’s diary embedded into it. “Apparently my mysterious brother-in-law was married when he was younger and his first wife died. That was her name. When they sent out the birth announcements, they said it means ‘Flower of Life.’”
“Still, it’s a little weird, don’t you think, that Olivia agreed to name her baby after her husband’s first wife?”
Dianne shrugged. “I seriously doubt that Olivia stands in the shadow of a dead woman. She’s always been clear about who she is and what she wants. She’s big enough to honor someone that her husband loved before she was even in the picture.” As she said this, Dianne knew it was true.
Germaine sipped her own drink as she studied Dianne before dropping what their friend group had dubbed a ‘truth bomb.’ “It’s the baby, isn’t it? That’s why you’re fixated on finding someone.” She tilted her head. “Wait. When was she born? It must’ve been around Christmas. I thought it was just a New Year’s resolution that hadn’t yet lost steam, but now I think you’re trying to be like Olivia. But you’re not Olivia, not by a long shot. You’re much more fun, and you don’t take yourself too seriously.”
That stung a little, despite what her best friend highlighted as her good qualities. Germaine had an unerring sense of others’ sore spots.
Dianne shifted in her seat to cover her discomfort before saying, “Well, maybe I can be. I’ve spent my life thinking ‘WWOD. What would Olivia do?’ And then doing the opposite. Maybe it’s time to take a different approach.”
Now Germaine let another truth bomb fly.
“Our friend group won’t survive losing you. You’re the one we all watch, you know. If you’re pulling away … the rest of us won’t pretend it doesn’t change things. Jasmyn and Tessa already have enough trouble keeping their eyes on the career prize, but I know that you inspire them to keep trying. The rest of us … well, let’s just say it won’t be long before Caroline and Mercedes settle down.”
Both of their friends had steady dates who seemed serious about them. It was one of the things that Dianne admired about the other women. She’d never been able to find any guy compelling after half-a-dozen dates. Lately, it took only two.
She shook her head as she dipped a fingertip into her drink. “It’s not only my new niece. I’m just not having fun anymore, Germaine. Work’s good, but … I don’t know. Something’s missing. It’s getting harder and harder to motivate myself.”
