“And that gorgeous lacy dress?” Sarah asked.
Alyx nodded. “Her name's Celia. She's a designer. And a swan shifter,” she couldn't help adding, loving the way Sarah's eyes widened in surprise.
“Swan shifter! I didn't know that was a thing.
”
“She's good, isn't she?” Alyx twirled around, adoring the way the silk of her dress spread around her. “It's not official yet—but we're working on something together.”
Sarah raised a brow. “I heard that they gave your job to someone else.”
Alyx grimaced at the reminder. “Lea.” Recent college graduate, model-thin, sharp as a whip and hungry.
“That little—”
“Oh, it's not her fault. Who wouldn't grab that chance? Ten years ago that was me. I was just as hungry.” Then Alyx bared her teeth, thinking of her boss. “Thomas, though—he's the real bastard. Who takes a job away from someone while they've been kidnapped?”
“That asshole,” Sarah said with feeling. “I've been telling you for years, he's overworking and underpaying you.”
“Yeah, well.” Alyx shrugged. “I worked hard to make my way to the top. It was what I wanted—that magazine, that column. I knew the price that came with it.”
“And now?” Sarah tilted her head at her. “Don't get me wrong, your guy—your mate—seems like a good one. But I've never known you to do well without something to get your teeth into. So this swan shifter—”
“Set to take over the world of fashion,” Alyx announced with a grin. “Well, baby steps first. She started out on Etsy. But I have contacts—lots of them. And she's got real talent. And it will be nice to set my own hours. Sooner or later, I want to have a family.”
Sarah's gaze instinctively dropped to her belly.
Alyx smiled and shook her head. “Not yet,” she said softly, then laughed. “Not for lack of trying, though. I hope you're ready to become Aunt Sarah!”
Sarah grinned back at her. “I hope you're ready to let me spoil all of your kids and feed them lots of sugar and chocolate whenever I visit.”
“That’s what an aunt is for.”
They beamed at each other, and Alyx felt another surge of disbelieving joy at finally getting to share everything that had happened with her best friend.
“So,” Sarah said after a moment, looking around. “Are you going to stay here? It's a lovely place.”
Alyx shook her head. “The house belongs to a friend. He offered it to us while we try to find out where we want to settle down.”
It wasn't that Alyx didn't enjoy Mountain View, the home of the storm dragon. And she'd become fast friends with his mate Naomi.
All the same, this town already had a dragon, and two alpha dragons in one town would be a disaster in the long run, or so Ginny had claimed.
In any case, now that her fashion business with the swan shifter was taking form, Alyx thought she'd rather live closer to Wing Island. Once she and Braeden had returned from Paris, they'd started looking—so far, nothing had jumped out at them, but they had time.
They were going to take their time, because it was going to be perfect.
It was going to be the home Braeden had never had. It was going to be a house they'd design themselves, with a huge walk-in wardrobe for her and a home cinema for Braeden.
And a large kitchen with countertops that would be able to withstand dragon fire.
“Next weekend we'll go out hunting again. There's a valley that looks lovely—and it's not far from the coast.”
Which meant that she and the swan shifter could easily meet up when their work demanded it.
“Anyway, you'll be the first to know when we find a place,” Alyx said and smiled at Sarah. “I promise. No dragon's going to keep me from my best friend again.”
Sarah hugged her tightly once more, and when she spoke, Alyx could hear that she was trying to fight back tears.