“Imogen!” she squawked, throwing down her rag and rounding the bar. “Oh my god, you’re here!”
“Sorry, I’m early.”
“Don’t be sorry! I’m so glad you showed up. I was worried we’d scared you off yesterday. Graham can be a bit…”
“Protective?”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure. We’ll go with that. It’s nicer than the word I would’ve used to describe him.”
I glanced beyond her, into the empty shop. “I’m surprised he isn’t here now. The way he reacted to my arrival yesterday, I figured he’d be waiting for me with guns blazing.”
“My bodyguards have the day off, thank the goddess.” A furrow appeared between her auburn brows. “My in-person ones, at least.”
“You havenon-in-person ones?”
“Cameras,” she explained, looking sheepish. “The whole shop is wired. The front and back exits are monitored 24/7 by the boys in the Gravewatch surveillance room.”
“Seriously?”
“I know it seems like overkill, trust me. But after everything that went down last week…” She shuddered, remembering something unpleasant. “I’ve learned not to fight Graham on this front. When it comes to taking the proper safety precautions, he does not mess around. Like…at all.”
“Clearly.”
“It annoyed me when we first got together, but I’ve decided to see it as charming, not completely overbearing. For my own mental health.”
“How long have you been together?”
“Just over a month.”
My eyes, which were already bugging out of my head, bugged out even more at this. A month? Graham and Gwen seemed like they’d been together for eons. Since the dawn of time. Maybe even before that.
“Though, we’ve known one another since we were kids,” Gwen added, no doubt seeing my skepticism. “And I’ve sort of been in love with him since I was eight.”
I felt my lips twitch up into a smile. “Ah. That explains it.”
“Granted, he was a bit more laidback as the teenage lifeguard heartthrob of my childhood fantasies. I’m hoping now that the dust is settling, he’ll calm down a bit with the macho-man antics. My best friend Florence — oh, you met her yesterday, actually!” Her eyes lit up. “Gorgeous, great hair, looks like the lead character of a k-drama?”
I nodded to confirm.
“Right, so, Flo keeps assuring me he’s going to mellow out after we’ve been together a few months,” Gwen continued. “I told her Graham’s personal dictionary doesn’t include the word ‘mellow’ and that I’d be lucky if he didn’t surgically implant a GPS tracker chip in my asscheek while I was sleeping rather than risk me getting almost-murdered again.”
My smile vanished at this admission. I wasn’t certain if she was joking or not and I didn’t know her well enough to ask. For her sake, I prayed she was joking. The thought of anyone having a precise lock on my location was enough to inspire a panic attack.
But Gwen seemed entirely unbothered by the concept of her man monitoring her every move. There was a dreamy, content look on her face as her thoughts drifted; a secretive smile playing at her lips. Her attention only snapped back to me when I shifted from side to side, my booted heels scuffing lightly against the heavy, historical hardwood floors.
“Anywho.” She grinned at me. “That’s enough about Graham Crackers.”
“Are you sure he’s cool with me working for you? He wasn’t too thrilled by the concept yesterday.”
“He’s cool.”
I must’ve looked doubtful, because she waved away my worries with a graceful hand-sweep.
“Seriously, Imogen, whatever Detective Hightower told him this morning really seemed to put his mind at ease.”
I felt my face drain of blood. “Cade spoke to Graham about me?”
Gwen’s eyes widened. “Oh, shoot. I don’t think I was supposed to tell you that part.”