them.
“That’s what he said,” Elvi acknowledged, her gaze still on Stephanie who—much to Mirabeau’s surprise—had shifted rather close to her, like a shy child attaching herself to a parent’s or older sibling’s side on meeting strangers.
“Well…” Mirabeau hesitated, but then glanced back toward the SUV, wondering if they were to head out right away to report to Lucian in Toronto. She doubted they were to risk calling from the house, and the sooner she got it done, the better. The minute she’d made her report, she would be free to do what she wanted…or whom she wanted, she thought, her eyes sliding to Tiny. At least she could until another assignment came up.
“You aren’t leaving already, are you?” Stephanie asked, sounding alarmed.
“Of course, she isn’t, dear,” Elvi said at once, slipping between them to put an arm around each female and urge them toward the house, leaving Tiny to follow with Victor. “Mirabeau and Tiny need to check in with Lucian. And then we’ll have a nice meal, and they can rest after the long journey before deciding what they’ll do next.”
Mirabeau felt her eyebrows rise at the words “deciding what they’ll do next.” It seemed such an odd thing to say considering the woman didn’t know them or the situation they were presently in.
“Lucian said not to call using anything but Tiny’s cell phone, and we lost that in New York,” she explained quietly, as they crossed the deck to the back door. “It’s why we couldn’t call ahead to explain that we’d be late.”
“We have a safe phone,” Victor assured her, pulling the door open and holding it for all of them to troop inside.
Mirabeau followed Elvi through an open kitchen with a breakfast counter, then into a large dining area with a beautiful fireplace.
There were three people seated at the table—a very pretty blond woman, and two men, one dark and one blond. All three rose at once to greet them as Elvi said, “This is my best friend Mabel, her life mate DJ and a dear friend of ours, Harper.” She gestured to each in turn as their group came to a halt and spread out a bit in the dining area. “And this lovely young lady is Stephanie, who will be staying with us for a while.” She beamed a smile at the girl, then added, “And Mirabeau and Tiny, who were kind enough to see her safely here and miss out on the wedding party after the ceremony.”
“You didn’t miss much,” DJ, the darker male, assured them as he moved forward to shake hands. “There was no drunkenness or bawdy jokes, just a bunch of dressed-up people wishing they could go home and get naked.”
“DJ” Mabel shook her head, but she was smiling at the man, obviously not really upset by his words.
“Well it’s true,” DJ said, unrepentant. “What’s the first thing we did when we could finally leave and go back to our hotel room?”
“Dear God, they’re everywhere,” Stephanie muttered.
Knowing she was talking about new life mates who couldn’t seem to do anything but “lust after each other or do it” as she’d put it earlier, Mirabeau turned her back to the group to give a warning look to the girl and heard a horrified gasp behind her.
“Child, what happened to your hair?”
Mirabeau turned back around, a hand going self-consciously to the back of her head at that exclamation from Mabel, but the woman hurried forward and immediately turned her around to get a better look at it.
“What on earth,” Elvi’s friend breathed, and Mirabeau felt her plucking at the hair left on the back of her head.
“A homeless guy ripped some of her extensions out,” Stephanie said helpfully, and Mirabeau didn’t miss the amusement in her voice as Elvi and Mabel crowded around to examine the damage.
“Well, we’ll have to fix that for you,” Mabel decided firmly.
“Yes,” Elvi agreed, and began to urge both Mirabeau and Stephanie out of the dining room and toward a winding staircase in the front foyer.
“That’s what he said,” Elvi acknowledged, her gaze still on Stephanie who—much to Mirabeau’s surprise—had shifted rather close to her, like a shy child attaching herself to a parent’s or older sibling’s side on meeting strangers.
“Well…” Mirabeau hesitated, but then glanced back toward the SUV, wondering if they were to head out right away to report to Lucian in Toronto. She doubted they were to risk calling from the house, and the sooner she got it done, the better. The minute she’d made her report, she would be free to do what she wanted…or whom she wanted, she thought, her eyes sliding to Tiny. At least she could until another assignment came up.
“You aren’t leaving already, are you?” Stephanie asked, sounding alarmed.
“Of course, she isn’t, dear,” Elvi said at once, slipping between them to put an arm around each female and urge them toward the house, leaving Tiny to follow with Victor. “Mirabeau and Tiny need to check in with Lucian. And then we’ll have a nice meal, and they can rest after the long journey before deciding what they’ll do next.”
Mirabeau felt her eyebrows rise at the words “deciding what they’ll do next.” It seemed such an odd thing to say considering the woman didn’t know them or the situation they were presently in.
“Lucian said not to call using anything but Tiny’s cell phone, and we lost that in New York,” she explained quietly, as they crossed the deck to the back door. “It’s why we couldn’t call ahead to explain that we’d be late.”
“We have a safe phone,” Victor assured her, pulling the door open and holding it for all of them to troop inside.
Mirabeau followed Elvi through an open kitchen with a breakfast counter, then into a large dining area with a beautiful fireplace.
There were three people seated at the table—a very pretty blond woman, and two men, one dark and one blond. All three rose at once to greet them as Elvi said, “This is my best friend Mabel, her life mate DJ and a dear friend of ours, Harper.” She gestured to each in turn as their group came to a halt and spread out a bit in the dining area. “And this lovely young lady is Stephanie, who will be staying with us for a while.” She beamed a smile at the girl, then added, “And Mirabeau and Tiny, who were kind enough to see her safely here and miss out on the wedding party after the ceremony.”
“You didn’t miss much,” DJ, the darker male, assured them as he moved forward to shake hands. “There was no drunkenness or bawdy jokes, just a bunch of dressed-up people wishing they could go home and get naked.”
“DJ” Mabel shook her head, but she was smiling at the man, obviously not really upset by his words.
“Well it’s true,” DJ said, unrepentant. “What’s the first thing we did when we could finally leave and go back to our hotel room?”
“Dear God, they’re everywhere,” Stephanie muttered.
Knowing she was talking about new life mates who couldn’t seem to do anything but “lust after each other or do it” as she’d put it earlier, Mirabeau turned her back to the group to give a warning look to the girl and heard a horrified gasp behind her.
“Child, what happened to your hair?”
Mirabeau turned back around, a hand going self-consciously to the back of her head at that exclamation from Mabel, but the woman hurried forward and immediately turned her around to get a better look at it.
“What on earth,” Elvi’s friend breathed, and Mirabeau felt her plucking at the hair left on the back of her head.
“A homeless guy ripped some of her extensions out,” Stephanie said helpfully, and Mirabeau didn’t miss the amusement in her voice as Elvi and Mabel crowded around to examine the damage.
“Well, we’ll have to fix that for you,” Mabel decided firmly.
“Yes,” Elvi agreed, and began to urge both Mirabeau and Stephanie out of the dining room and toward a winding staircase in the front foyer.
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