“I guess you’re really tired.”
“Yeah.” I ate another forkful, then, “How did it go today?”
“It was good. We had fun.”
I caught the edge in her voice. “But?”
“But nothing. The girls were great.”
“Emily.”
She hesitated for a moment, considering her words.
“Whatever you’re thinking, you can tell me.”
“Okay, here goes. I met Natascha today.”
Tension oozed into my system. “Right.”
“She is… quite something.”
“She is.”
There was a long moment of silence while Emily looked down at her hands, picking at her nail.
“Did something happen that I should know about?”
Her eyes flicked to mine, then away. “No, not specifically.”
“Not specifically. How about unspecifically? You’re stressing me out a bit, Em. Please just be straight with me.”
Her shoulders rose and fell as she dragged in air. “I don’t want to overstep, so please stop me if I’m out of line.”
She was being so careful, so cautious, that I relaxed a little. “Go ahead.”
She pulled in another breath, seemingly bracing herself. “So, um, I got the vibe that you’re not a huge fan of the girls wearing make-up.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, um, I guess Natascha is, uh, really pro make up for the girls.”
“She is.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I fucking hate it.”
“I see. I got the sense today that the girls really didn’t like it either. They seemed pretty upset when she dropped them off.” Something flared in her eyes, too quick for me to catch.
The penny dropped. “That’s the reason for the onesie party.”
“Yes.”
I blew out a breath, more grateful than she would ever know. “Thank you.”
“No problem, it was fun.”
“It worries me.” Fuck, I did not expect to say that.
