Page 93 of Wicked Nightmare

Rose's lips parted, like she might say something, but then she clamped them shut again. Damn. So close.

I heard Cam's chair scrape against the floor as he stood up. "Lakey," he said, his tone a warning.

I flashed him my sweetest smile. "What? Just making conversation."

He rolled his eyes, but there was curiosity burning behind them. Oh, he wanted to know just as badly as I did.

"You know what?" I said, clapping my hands together. "I think it's time we all sat down for a nice, family dinner. What do you say, Rose? How does tonight sound?"

Rose looked between Cam and me, gauging if I was being serious or not. After a long moment, she gave a tiny nod.

"Great!" Clapping my hands together, a giggle escaped. "Now, let's go get on with the day and I'll whip us up something later tonight, yeah?"

Cam rolled his eyes and started moving towards the bedroom. It was going to be a wonderful day indeed.

"Okay you two, I'm starving." My eyes burned from pouring over more notes, more timelines, more locations. Cam had been non-stop all day and it was grinding my gears. Rose was just sitting quietly in the corner of the living room, watching some stupid show on TV about unsolved murders. "I'll get started on the cooking. Hope you like your meat rare, Rosie. It's the only way to eat it, if you ask me."

I twirled around the kitchen like a ballerina, grabbing pots and pans. I was truly an awful cook, but I spent enough time trying that one day I'd get the hang of it. Cam always told me just to follow the damn recipe, but where was the fun in that? One clove of garlic? Pfft, try 37 and get back to me. Instant improvement. The knife gleamed as I chopped veggies, my mind drifting to other, more entertaining uses for the blade. But no, not tonight. We had a guest to impress.

"Cam," I sing-songed, "be a dear and set the table, would you?"

He appeared behind me in a flash. His hand brushed my hip as he reached for the plates, grabbing three before he leaned down and stared at me.

"What's your angle here, Lakes?" he said.

I turned, pressing myself against him. "Can't a girl just want a nice family dinner?"

His eyes searched mine, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "You've never wanted anything 'nice' in your life."

I giggled, trailing a finger down his chest. "True. But I do want to crack open our little Rose and see what makes her tick. Don't you?"

"Always."

We moved around each other easily, grabbing this, salting that. Making sure everything was as good as it was gonna get.

Finally, we settled at the table, Rose perched across from us. The silence was thick enough to choke on, broken only by the clink of forks against plates. Rose pushed her food around, not eating a bite. Rude, considering all my hard work. I mean, I'm not the best cook, but at least there's something to eat, which honestly, is a vast improvement on the starvation diet the nuns probably had her on.

"So, Rosie," I chirped, unable to bear the quiet any longer. "Ever hear the one about the nun, the serial killer, and the pyromaniac who walked into a bar?"

Rose's fork clattered to the plate. Cam choked on his wine, shooting me a look that was exasperation and amusement.

I grinned. "No? Well, I guess you had to be there."

Cam rolled his eyes at me. "Lakes, that doesn't even make sense."

"It's not supposed to." I scoffed. I wasn't exactly queen bee of comedy, but you know what? I tried. Which is more than what I could say for his conversational skills at the moment.

I watched Rose carefully, waiting for her to bolt or burst into tears. But something unexpected happened. The tension in her shoulders eased, just a fraction. Her lips twitched upward in some weird version of a smile.

Rose didn't speak, no surprise there, but she picked up her fork again. She took a tentative bite, then another. My chest swelled with a weird sense of pride. Who knew playing house could be so damn satisfying?

I caught Cam's eye across the table. His gaze was fixed on Rose, that calculating focus softened by something I couldn't quite place. This whole family thing was kinda working out.

"You like it, Rose?" I asked, leaning forward. "Bet it beats whatever slop they fed you at that orphanage."

Rose's eyes flicked up, a flash of anger in her gaze. Curious. Before I could parse it out, Cam's hand found my thigh under the table, squeezing hard enough to bruise.

"Easy, babe, Jesus," he said. "Let's not scare off our guest just yet. Give her a minute."