“We could go out for dinner,” I told Alden after we got dressed again. “Go to that pub you mentioned yesterday.” “We could, but I’d feel bad about leaving Lisa at the mercy of Vandal.” “Oh, I meant that we’d take her, too,” I lied, feeling immediately guilty that I hadn’t even thought about what Lisa was going to do for dinner. Here I’d been selfishly thinking of having Alden to myself, and he was being a considerate and thoughtful host. He rubbed his face, his whiskers rasping in a way that sent a shiver down my arms. “We could do that if you like.” “Sure.” I slapped a cheerful smile on my face. “Do you think we should invite Fenice and Vandal, too?” “Why?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on me. “You don’t . . . er . . . you’re not . . .” He made an oddly abrupt gesture. “You pick the weirdest times to get tongue-tied,”
