“So, don’t tell the woman I just met for the first time last night my darkest secrets? Right. Thank goodness I have you to advise me.”
Her face scrunches in wary amusement, then resumes its interest in feeding her enough calories for the rest of the day.
Or week.
Forget her not having a cooked breakfast for a long time, it looks like it’s a long time since she had any breakfast at all. She’s so tiny, I assigned her delicate bone structure and general air of fragility to nature.
Watching her now, I feel a pang of worry that she’s gone without. I remember what it’s like to wake every morning with an empty belly and fall asleep the same way. How sometimes it feels like your stomach’s eating itself, just to feed on something.
The overwhelming urge to nourish her, protect her, care for her makes me lightheaded, my inner gorilla roaring as it pounds its chest.
I blink and she’s staring at me with a twisted smile, like I’m a puzzle she’s trying to figure out.
Jinx.
“Is Sophia okay, this morning? I asked that big man there”—she points to Feliks, who’s guarding the door—“if she was, but he talks even less than Yuri.”
“She seems fine.”
“Good.” There’s a ferocious bout of chewing, then she frowns. “Um, there’s also… I don’t know if anything…” Her words trail off, and this time, instead of stuffing her face with food, she chews on her thumbnail.
“A complete sentence would help.”
“Mm. It’s probably nothing. It’s just I have a… a blank spot last night. Obviously, I’m fine and everything but…” She turns bright red. “After the doctor left, I don’t remember…”
“You were exhausted. Sophia was desperate for you to read her a bedtime story, then you both conked out before it was finished. I woke you long enough to guide you back to your room, but you were dead on your feet.”
“Oh.” Her face immediately brightens. “Oh, good. That was very… Your scotch was lovely, but I think it might also have been an awful idea.”
“Noted.”
“Good. I’m glad someone’s keeping track for next time.”
I raise my eyebrows and she blushes again.
“Not that there was… and I’m not…”
“More coffee?” Nora asks, bustling through the door with a silver pot large enough to serve a dozen people.
“Yes, thank you,” Isabelle says with palpable relief. “You must be Nora. I was just saying to Baxter this is absolutely divine. If I lived here, I swear I’d be the size of a house in no time.”
Nora demurs while Isabelle continues to gush at how delightful, tasty, superb, and delicious everything is, plus or minus a few adjectives. By the time my cook returns to the kitchen, each woman has a new admirer.
“Is my car, okay?” she asks next, buttering more toast. “I hope it’s not still blocking your driveway.”
“My men towed it into the garage.” I glance over to Feliks, and he gives me a nod. “Apparently, it’s in working condition.”
“Oh, good. My cousin warned me not to drive it during the day since it doesn’t have a warrant, but I guess there aren’t that many cops this far out of town.”
“You won’t need to drive it.”
“Hm?” She glances at me, can’t read my expression, and turns to Feliks before giving up on him when he’s even more inscrutable.
“You’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future.”
“No, I won’t.” A tiny crease appears in her brow, almost identical to Sophia’s favourite frown. “I have to drive the car back to town anyway, since it’s not mine. Then I need to find a new job and rent’s due and—”
“We can return the car to your cousin. You’ll stay here. Later today, someone will walk you through the house and you can pick out which suite of rooms you’d like to stay in. You’re welcome to remain where you are, of course, but some others have more amenities.”
