“I don’t know. I probably must sometimes, right?”
“Do you even own a scale?” she demanded.
“I’ve got one that weighs milligrams,” Alex answered, confused.
Val blew out a puff of breath that ruffled the waves of hair over her forehead. “People with naturally high metabolisms piss me off.”
“Seriously?” Alex said, looking her up and down. “You’re going to complain to me about our relative genetic heritages?”
Val stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled and shook her head. “Well, I suppose a girl can’t have everything.”
“And you’re just the exception that proves the rule?”
“I think I like you, Ollie.”
“Thanks, Val. It’s actually Alex, though.”
“Whatever. You know, you’ve got a lot of untapped potential. With decent hair, some makeup, and a midsize boob job, you could do all right.”
“Er, I do fine as is, thanks. I have lower expectations out of life. It makes things easier.”
“Seriously, you cut your own hair, don’t you?”
“I don’t have another option.”
“Trust me, there’s always another option to this.” She stretched across the counter and tried to touch the hair hanging in Alex’s eyes, but Alex flinched out of her way. It was true that it was time for another trim.
Val turned to Daniel, who was trying to be unobtrusive, leaning against the counter directly behind Val as he finished his food, almost like he was hiding from her. Well, Alex could understand that. And she completely understood why Daniel had found Val frightening on their first meeting.
“Back me up, Danny. Don’t you think Ollie could be pretty if she tried?”
Daniel did the blinking thing he always did when taken by surprise. “But Alex is pretty now.”
“What a gentleman. It’s like you’re Bizarro Kevin.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is a compliment. Maybe the best I’ve ever given,” Val agreed.
“How long have you known him?” Daniel wondered.
“Too long. I don’t know why I keep opening the door when he comes begging. I guess it’s that power thing.” She shrugged, and one shoulder of her silk robe slid down her arm. She didn’t fix it. “I like watching someone so strong have to do what I say.”
A key jangled in the front door. Alex slipped from the stool to her feet, muscles tensing automatically. Val watched as Daniel looked to Alex, tensing, too, ready to follow her lead.
“You two are funny,” she murmured.
Einstein ran panting into the kitchen, and Alex relaxed.
Val eyed the dog, his tongue lolling out and his eyes eager. “Does it want something?”
“He’s probably thirsty,” Alex told her.
“Oh.” She glanced around the kitchen, then grabbed a decorative crystal bowl from the center of the island and filled it in the sink. Einstein licked her hand gratefully and then started lapping up the water.
“Smells good,” Kevin commented as he came around the corner.
“You can finish mine,” Val said without looking at him. “I’m done.” Experimentally, she stroked one of Einstein’s ears.
Kevin leaned comfortably against the island, looking very at home as he started cutting into Val’s food. “Everyone getting along?”
“You were right,” Val answered.
Kevin grinned triumphantly. “I told you she wouldn’t bore you.”
Val straightened up and smiled back. “Anyone who’s chained you to the floor is bound to get along with me.”
Kevin’s grin disappeared. “It was a draw.”
Val threw back her chin and laughed, her long neck looking even more swanlike than before.
Daniel turned the sink on and rummaged for dish soap. Alex joined him automatically, comforted by even just the opening chords of their usual routine. Once again she was in an unfamiliar place, well out of her league, unsure and unsafe, but with Daniel there, she could handle it. He was like a gas mask—a touchstone of refuge. She smiled to herself, thinking how little he would care for that comparison. Well, she wasn’t the romantic one.
“Oh, don’t bother with that, sweetie,” Val told Daniel. “The housekeeper comes every morning.”
Alex shot Kevin a loaded glance, which Val caught. “I’ll leave a note on the counter, and he’ll stay out of the bedrooms,” Val assured her. “I know this is all very cloak-and-dagger. Don’t worry, you won’t be exposed on my account.”
“I don’t mind,” Daniel said. “Dishes relax me.”
“What is this brother of yours?” Val asked Kevin. “Can I keep him?”
Alex smiled when Daniel’s eyes widened in panic, but he kept his face down over the sink so Val didn’t see. He handed Alex a clean pair of tongs and she dried them with a dish towel that felt like silk and was probably meant to be ornamental. She had a feeling Val didn’t care about things like that.
“He’s not your type,” Kevin answered.
“I have many types, though, don’t I?”
“Fair enough, but I don’t think he’ll hold your interest long.”