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As I sent her a stern glance, Dad added, “Give the guys my best, will you?”
“Sure thing, Dad. Thanks.”
I hurried out the door with my bottle of juice, and Raina rushed out behind me.
“Well, at least it must be reassuring to know you have good genes,” she announced, trailing my steps. “If you take after him, you’ll ageverywell.”
I glanced back at her with a telling look.
“And I’m utterly shocked you didn’t snag one of those blueberry muffins off the table,” she went on, ignoring my reaction. “I mean, they looked delicious.”
“Outside of pizza, I don’t eat a lot of carbs,” I said as I jogged around my truck to open the driver’s side door.
When I found her already inside and sitting in the passenger seat, I hissed out a breath to abate the surprise, still not used to that yet.
All the while, Raina rattled on, “Well, if you could eat one for me next time, I’d really appreciate it since food consumption is apparently off the list of things I can do at the moment. I’m going to have to live vicariously through everyone else for a while. And seeing your teeth sink into that muffin—mmm.” She shook her head. “I’m just saying, it wouldn’t be as good as watching you come out of that bathroom in nothing but a towel, but I bet it’d rank up there in my top ten favorite Foster visuals.”
Glancing at her as I started my engine, I shook my head. “You are so weird.” Then, I had to chuckle because I liked her weird.
Raina merely pointed. “But I made you laugh,” she charged. “See. It’s a good weird, isn’t it?”
I merely kept shaking my head as I sighed and pulled away from the curb, refusing to answer.
She folded her arms over her chest and fell back in the seat. “Yep, it’s a good weird,” she reassured herself, looking satisfied.
13
FOSTER
At Archer House, I parked at the curb.
“Whew.” Raina sat up straighter in the passenger seat and wiped her hands over her stomach. “I’m kind of nervous for some reason. And I’m not sure why. Think it’ll freak Oaklynn out to see me as a—whatever I am?”
I shook my head slowly. “I’m not sure why it would.”
“Does she even know we’re coming?”
“Nope.” I opened my door.
At the sidewalk, Raina appeared at my side, and this time I didn’t even bat an eyelash.
“I wish I could at least change clothes.” She tried to iron down her jumper with her hands as she started up the walk barefoot beside me. “It’s really embarrassing to show up wearing the exact same thing I wore the last time I was here.”
I glanced over, but when my gaze lingered a little too long on her legs, I tore it away, clearing my throat. “Under the circumstances, I doubt she’ll mind.”
“Yeah, but she’s just so freaking beautiful. I always feel second-rate around her. And now I’m going to be all self-conscious from wearing the same outfit three days in a row and—oh!”
I looked at her again, only to flinch in surprise when I found her in a peach spaghetti strap and jeans with sandals on her feet.
She looked at me and nodded, as if completely impressed. “Well, is that cool or what? I had no idea I could just poof anything I wanted on me.” And then she changed her outfit again, popping into black shorts and a cream long-sleeved shirt, one side hanging off her shoulder. “Wicked.”
I laughed. But it was nice to see her enjoying the little things.
She’d changed twice more by the time we made it to the back door. Pausing with my hand on the handle, I glanced over with my eyebrows arched sternly. “You ready to go in now, or do you need to try on another dozen outfits first?”
She popped back into the peach top and jeans she’d originally willed into existence. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
Shaking my head with an amused smile, I opened the door and let her go first. She looked so real as she passed by; I swear I could just reach out and touch her.
