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Carter sat down in the chair next to me with his laptop. He typed in the numbers as I said them, opening account after account. The room was so quiet, you could hear every tap on the keyboard.
When he’d opened the last account, I sat back with a smirk on my face. I couldn’t help it. I might have been shy, but that didn’t stop me from basking in the stunned silence and wanting to say “I told you so.”
Carter’s fingers flew over the keyboard of his laptop, and I watched on the big screen as he worked on the accounts.
Gunner stood up, catching my attention and nodding to the door. I followed him out with a relieved sigh. I was grateful to escape all the testosterone.
“Have you had lunch yet? Freya is hanging out with Sofie, cooking. I’m sure they’d love some company.”
I’d been thinking about Sofie a lot. And now that I knew she was Lucius’s daughter, even more so. “That sounds great.”
But instead of his office, Gunner directed me to the elevator. He scanned his handprint on a panel by the door I hadn’t noticed before and pressed a button. “This will take you to the apartment. Have fun.”
The elevator took me to the motherload of all apartments. And I could do nothing but stare once I walked inside. It was a beautiful day outside, and for once the sky was clear, giving an uninterrupted view of Lake Michigan out of an enormous wall of windows.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
I turned at Freya’s comment and saw her standing in the kitchen with Sofie, both dressed in aprons. Sprinkles of dough covered Sofie from head to toe, and Freya had red sauce on her hair and face.
“Hey. I hope it’s okay I came up here. Gunner said something about lunch.”
Freya looked at Sofie, and they giggled. “Lunch was supposed to be homemade pasta with sauce. But after a few unsuccessful attempts, we’ve given up. You don’t happen to know how to cook, do you?”
“Sorry, no. My food either comes in a box or gets delivered.”
Freya waved me over. “Shame. Sandwiches it is, then. You want a drink?”
“Water would be great, thank you.”
Sofie jumped off her stool and took the glass Freya got down. I watched Sofie fill the glass from a tap on the fridge, her tongue sticking out, her forehead creased in concentration. She handed me the full glass with a big smile, leaving drops all along the way.
After Freya half-heartedly cleaned the kitchen, she looked at Sofie. “Don’t touch anything, little sticky monster. I’ll get changed and grab you new clothes, too. Lucky Carter remembered to bring your bag for once.”
She left me with Sofie, whose achingly familiar eyes studied my every movement. “Did you have fun cooking?”
She nodded, her braid swishing back and forth. She was a beautiful kid, her raven hair shiny, her doll-like features making her seem younger than she was.
Freya came back and helped Sofie change into clean clothes. We made sandwiches together, and I relaxed, finding myself feeling comfortable around a woman I barely knew and a child I didn’t know how to interact with.
But by the time we’d finished our sandwiches, and they’d challenged me to another Uno game, Sofie had warmed up to me. She’d even said a few words and was now leaning into me, helping me beat Freya so I wouldn’t come last again. Sofie had already won, much to her delight.
But Sofie’s joy when she won was a beautiful thing to witness, so I continued to lose on purpose.
“No, don’t play that one.” Sofie pointed to a different card than the one I was going to put down. “This one.”
Freya put down a card. “After we finish this game, it’s time for your homework, bug.”
Sofie let out a long-suffering sigh. “But it’s boring.”
“You want me to help you?” I offered.
Her face lit up, and she leaned even farther into me. “Yes, yes, yes, please.”
I laughed at her exuberant reply. “Well, then, let’s whoop Freya’s butt so we can get your homework done.”
It was after I’d helped Sofie complete her homework and watched a movie with her that Freya came up to me. “Dalton called. He’s your ride back to the safe house whenever you’re ready to leave.”
A yawn escaped, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. “I’m so sorry. How rude. I’ve had such a great time today.”
