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“Well, maybe I should warm your bottom up a little. How about that?”
“Nah, I’m good.” Laughing, she darted away when he lunged for her. She snagged a piece of bacon from a plate on the counter and ran to the living room. James liked to listen to the news in the mornings, but she wanted to watch something fun. But before she could grab the remote, the story on the screen had her rooted to the spot.
“The body of Angela Winters was discovered this morning by the owners of a house she was in the process of selling. The police have ruled her death a homicide and are actively pursuing all leads. We will have more details for you as soon as they become available.”
Fear slithered up her spine. Feeling as though she was watching someone else in her body, she made her way back to the kitchen. “Do you have a copy of the magazine?”
Looking up from the stove, James frowned at her. “In my laptop bag, in my office. Why?”
“I just need it.” With a sudden urgency, she ran down the short hall to his office and grabbed his bag. She pulled the magazine from the bag and frantically paged through it. The sound that escaped her when she found what she was looking for wasn’t entirely human.
Two pages past her own story was Angela Winters, staring at her from the glossy pages of the magazine.
“Olivia? What’s wrong?”
“I met her.” The pages shook when she held the magazine up for him to view. “I met her when we all got together for our photo shoots. And now she’s dead. Somebody killed her, James.”
“Oh, Livvy. Come here.”
A sob bubbled up in her throat and burst out of her when his arms came around her. “Who would do this to her? She was so sweet.”
“I don’t know, baby.”
She wept into his chest, clinging to him while the grief poured out of her. “I don’t understand this,” she said with a soft sigh when she’d finally emptied herself out.
“I’m not sure this is the kind of thing that can be understood, baby. Come back to the kitchen with me, I’ll finish making you some breakfast.”
“Not hungry.”
He pulled away enough to gently tilt her face up. There was no anger or condemnation on his face, only concern. “You didn’t eat any dinner last night, little one. You need to put something in your tummy.”
It was so easy and simple to slide into her role. She could just be his little girl for a bit, before she had to deal with so many grownup emotions. “I want ice cream.”
Despite his obvious amusement with her request, her daddy shook his head. “You can’t have ice cream for breakfast, Livvy. Daddy’s making you a nice breakfast. If you’re really good all day, you can have ice cream after dinner.”
“‘Kay,” she said, with only a small pout. Ice cream was ice cream, even if she had to wait a few hours to get it.
“That’s my good girl. Come with Daddy.”
She let him lead her from the office back down the hall to the kitchen where he guided her to the little breakfast nook she loved so much. It didn’t take long for him to finish cooking, and he returned to the table with two plates, each carrying a huge waffle and a pile of bacon.
“Waffles!” Wiggling her butt on the bench, she grinned up at him. “We haven’t had waffles in ages!”
“I figured our celebration could carry over to this morning, and I know they’re your favorite.”
Grief and guilt gripped her, twisting her heart and stomach inside out. While they’d been enjoying each other’s bodies and celebrating her accomplishments, someone had been murdering Angela. Did she even have a chance to celebrate? Have a drink with a friend or kiss her husband? Or had she gone straight to that house after work?
Tears blurring her vision once again, Olivia poked at her waffle with her fork. “Thanks.”
“Livvy, I know you’re sad, but you need to eat something.”
She sighed, but did as she was told. After soaking the waffle with syrup, she cut off a small bite.
“It’s good, Daddy.”
His response was just to ruffle her hair and drape an arm around her shoulder while they ate. She finished half her waffle and a piece of bacon before she pushed the plate away.
“Is that all you want, Livvy?”
