“Burn!” Donovan clapped. “No! Get that thing off there. Put it somewhere else.”
Kayla picked it up again and put it out of the way on the ground. She stopped by the island, waiting for a comeback.
Bria narrowed her eyes in thought.
“No?” Kayla asked. “Nothing?”
“It’ll come to me…” Bria bit her lip.
Donovan chuckled as Kayla relieved Bria of the cutting board. “I assume this is waiting for a home.”
“Yup.” Bria inclined her head.
Kayla enjoyed chopping, cutting, slicing—anything involving a knife. She said it gave her practice. Which…it probably did. Daisy still hated cooking.
Tarian entered the kitchen with a smile, holding a couple bags. As usual, his gaze hit Daisy before anyone else, lingering on her and sending butterflies throughout her middle.
“Hey,dewdrop,” he said softly, stopping behind her.
She leaned back into his warmth. “Hey. How’d it go?”
He snorted. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“Told you! Did you get anything for her?”
“We did.” The bags crinkled. “I just need…to figure out…what…”
Bria and Daisy both erupted in guffaws.
“She has good height,” Daisy said, “a good bust, average hips—clothes off the rack should fit her. Yet…somehow…”
“She always looks like a clown,” Bria finished. “Itshouldfit her, but stuff always ends up looking like Bobo’s painting frock and you have no idea how or why the transformation happened.”
“Oh my god, are you serious?” Lexi asked, walking in with a couple bags. “Are you talking about me? Listen, he has goodtaste, I’ve said that. We all know that. And yes, the stuff he picked out was nice, but it just… I wasn’t…”
“It was Bobo’s painting frock,” Bria helped. “We get it.”
“We’ll find more,” Tarian said, not leaning away from Daisy. “We’ll get it. Some tailors, maybe…”
Bria and Daisy started laughing again.
More of theFallenfiled in, Lennox with a very impressive suit, trimmed hair, and still all that shit in his beard.
“I really wish you’d shield more of your thoughts,” he groused as he passed through the kitchen. He lifted a bag-laden hand and pointed at Donovan. “I’ll be back in a minute to help out. I need to change.”
“He’s hot,” Bria said when he was out of earshot.
“You always say that.” Kayla grabbed a peeler. “Why don’t you do something about it?”
Bria shrugged, pushing off the stool and going to the fridge. “I’m just noticing, is all. I’m…seeing someone. Kinda.”
“Wait, what?” Daisy turned to her. “Who?”
Bria put up her hand, grabbed an invisible chain, and tugged. “Toot, toot.”
She’d boarded the train of bad decisions. The person she was seeing was bad news. Obviously, that wasn’t stopping her.
Zorn and Boman entered, freshly showered and in casual clothes. They’d all be staying in tonight for a big family dinner. They couldn’t all fit at the table anymore, so they did buffet style and roamed around the house, eating and talking and having a good time.
