Visions in Death (In Death 19)
Page 56
“Couldn’t be better.” He beamed at Mavis. He was a giant of a man, with skin of coppery gold. A wide face with dark eyes that were currently accented with a sweeping line of silver studs at each corner.
He wore boots as well, pale blue that rode up his calves. There his loose sapphire pants sort of poofed into them, reminding Eve of pictures she’d seen of—she thought—Arabia.
“Oh, boy, here’s food!” Mavis made the dash over as Summerset rolled out a two-tiered trolley, laden with trays of fancy appetizers and sweets. “Summerset, if it wasn’t for Leonardo, I’d scoop you right up and make you my love slave.”
He smiled, a wide, toothy smile. Fearing nightmares, Eve turned away and stared into her wine.
“I believe I have several of your favorites here. You’re eating for two.”
“Tell me! I’m like an oinker every five minutes. Oooh, that’s the salmon thingy with the stuff! This is just mag.”
She popped it into her mouth. “I just love eating.”
“You sit down now, honeypot.” Leonardo walked over, rubbed her shoulder. “I’m going to fix you a plate.”
“Cuddle bear,” she cooed. “He totally spoils me. This pregs business is the top deal of the day. You gotta look.”
Even as Mavis reached for the hem of her shirt, Eve was curling into herself and wincing. “Oh, Mavis, I don’t . . . oh well.”
There was the belly, in all its glory and accented by an interlinking trio of belly-button rings.
“Now check this.” Still holding the shirt up, Mavis turned to the side. “See? It’s poking. I know I said it was poking before. You know like five seconds after I found out I was knocked up, but now it completely is.”
Eve tilted her head, pursed her lips. There was a little bit of a slope in that area. “Are you pushing it out?”
“No. Feel.”
Eve wasn’t quite quick enough to whip her hand behind her back. “I don’t wanna. Don’t make me touch it again.”
“You can’t hurt it.” She pressed Eve’s hand to her belly. “Solid baby.”
“That’s good, Mavis.” Her palm was going to go damp any second. “Really good. You’re feeling okay?”
“At the summit. Everything is totally uptown.”
“You look beautiful,” Roarke told her. “And cliché or not, you glow.”
“I feel like I’m sending off waves.” She laughed and bounced to a chair. “I still get the weepies sometimes, but they
’re happy weepies mostly. Like Leonardo and I were talking a couple days ago about how Peabody and McNab are moving into the building soon, and we’re going to be neighbors, at least until we get a bigger place, and I just flooded.”
She took the plate Leonardo brought her and cuddled up with him on the padded love seat. “So what do you think they want for, like, a housewarming?”
“Don’t they have regulation temp control?”
“Jeez, Dallas.” With a giggle, Mavis popped something else in her mouth. “Housewarming. You know, where people move into a new place and you get them a gift.”
“Hold on. You have to give them a gift for moving?”
“Uh-huh. Plus they’re shacking, so it should be a couple thing.” She ate another canapé, fed one to Leonardo.
“Why does there have to be a gift for every damn thing?” Eve complained.
“Retail conspiracy.” Roarke patted her knee.
“I bet it is,” Eve said darkly. “I just bet it is.”
“Anyway.” Mavis waved it all away. “We really came by—and we’re all pumped that you’re both here—because we wanted to talk to you about the baby.”