“I know. She is persuasive.”
“That is one word.”
“I love my sister, but she avoids hard things until they become emergencies.”
My gaze moved toward the kitchen. Dani was attempting to read my lips from across the apartment. Tessa placed herself between us and began talking with exaggerated hand gestures.
“I’ve noticed,” I said.
“I’m not asking you to manage her.”
“I would not agree to that.”
“Good.”
Gloria’s voice softened.
“I also don’t want you thinking she treats people carelessly. She doesn’t. She just sometimes believes hiding fear is the same as protecting everyone.”
The unfinished marathon. The incomplete explanation.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome. And for the record, Lola invited you because she likes you. Not because of the competition.”
“I like her too.”
“I know. You answered ankylosaurus.”
“That was a basic question.”
“Not in our family.”
When the call ended, I returned to the kitchen. Dani stood.
“What did she say?”
“That your family evaluates people through dinosaur preferences.”
“A sound system.”
“What else?” she asked.
“Private conversation.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You hate privacy when it’s mine.”
“I respect appropriate privacy.”
“What did she say about me?”
“That you are persuasive.”
Dani smiled.
“I knew she respected me.”
