Ugh, Kevin. She could just imagine his reaction to recent developments.
She shook her head. That was irrelevant. Because today or tomorrow, Kevin was going to call and then she would send the e-mail that would make the rats scurry. Kevin would compile a list of names. He would go after his rats, and if she didn’t act simultaneously, her rats would go to ground once they realized the danger. So she would have to leave Daniel here and embark on her retaliatory strike, knowing full well that there was a good chance she wouldn’t be coming back. How would she explain that? How long did she have? Two days, at most? What truly hideous timing.
It didn’t feel right to go into the day anticipating all the hours together with Daniel. It was dishonest. He’d heard the plan, but she was positive he hadn’t thought it through enough to realize what it meant. So soon, she’d be leaving him here alone. Their time would be much better spent training him in the art of hiding. Some more shooting-range practice wouldn’t hurt, either.
The feeling of anticipation turned to a sinking dread as her thoughts wound to a conclusion. Her behavior last night had been irresponsible. If she’d had any idea of what Daniel was thinking, she might have been able to work all this through before it had gotten out of hand. She might have been able to keep the appropriate distance between them. But she’d been taken completely by surprise.
Trying to understand a normal person was not her forte. Though, truly, someone who found the real Alex attractive was not a normal person at all.
She heard barking outside—it sounded like the dogs were coming back from the barn. She wondered if it was still morning or already afternoon.
She grabbed a set of clean clothes, disarmed the door, and snuck to the bathroom. She didn’t want to see Daniel until her teeth were brushed. Which was stupid. She couldn’t be allowed to kiss him again. That wouldn’t be kind to either of them.
The hall was dark, the bathroom empty. The door to Daniel’s room was open and the room beyond was empty, too. She ran through her ablutions quickly, trying not to spend too long at the mirror, wishing her face were further along the road to healing. Her lips were worse than yesterday, swollen again, but that was her own fault. The superglue had fallen off in her sleep and the darker welt down the center of her bottom lip showed some promise of changing the shape of her mouth permanently.
She heard the TV on as she came down the stairs. When she walked into the big front room, she saw Daniel bending over the console beneath the flat-screen. The front door was open, a warm breeze blowing in through the screen. It ruffled the curls on the back of his head
He was grumbling to himself. “Why does anyone need five different input options?” He ran a hand through the hair that was falling into his eyes. “It’s a DVD. I’m not trying to launch the space shuttle.”
His Danielness stopped her where she stood, and a wave of cowardice made her want to turn around and sneak back upstairs. How would she tell him the things she needed to say? The thought of making him unhappy was suddenly more repugnant than she had been prepared for.
Lola yelped from outside the front door, looking hopefully through the screen at her. Daniel spun around and when he caught sight of Alex, a huge grin lit his face. He was across the room in four long strides, and then he lifted her up in an exuberant bear hug.
“You’re up,” he said excitedly. “Are you hungry? I’ve got everything for omelets.”
“No,” she said, trying to extricate herself. At the same time, her stomach growled.
He put her down and stared at her with raised eyebrows.
“I mean yes,” she admitted. “But first can we talk for a second, please?”
He sighed. “I thought you might wake in an analytical mood. Just one thing before you start…”
She wanted to duck away. The guilt was very strong. But it wasn’t as strong as her need to kiss him back. She didn’t know if she would get another chance. It was a very gentle kiss, soft and slow. He’d noticed the condition of her lips.
When he broke away—him, not her; it was like she had no self-control at all—it was her turn to sigh.
He let his arms fall but took her hand as he led her to the couch. Little zings of electricity buzzed up her arm, and she silently castigated herself for being such a sucker. So what if this was the first time he’d held her hand? She had to get a grip.
Lola yelped again, hopefully, when she saw Alex nearing the door. Alex shot her one apologetic look. Khan and Einstein were both curled up on the porch behind her, Khan creating a massive boulder of fur.
Daniel grabbed the remote out of his way, muting the TV before dropping it onto the ground. He pulled her down next to him, keeping her hand. He was still smiling.
“Let me guess. You think we are being unwise,” he said.