"Well, I did once make one of those mug cakes in the microwave," she said, eyes dancing. "I, ah, I broke the microwave. And the mug. And the cabinet it was sitting on in frustration," she told me, smiling when I laughed. "Do you think I can get away with buying some at the bakery."
"I think Ayanna—" I started, getting cut off by the woman herself.
"Can spot a bakery cupcake a mile away?" she said, shooting Sass a "don't even try it" look. "She sure can. Maybe Che can help," she suggested.
"Do you bake?" Sass asked, brows furrowing.
"I think I could manage not to blow up the oven," I told her, chuckling when she shoved her shoulder into me.
"See, there you go," Ayanna said. "It's important to find yourself a partner who can do the shit you can't do. Like clean out the shower drain," she said, pressing a hand to her chest, making a gagging face. Speaking of partners, where is my man?" she asked, looking around.
"He's out by the pool taking a phone call," Sass supplied, seeming to miss the look that crossed Ayanna's face.
It was one I hadn't seen from her before. At least not when someone was talking about Booker. It looked suspiciously like frustration and disappointment.
By the time we all finished the food, Ayanna's gaze was fixed on the back door, glaring holes through it. Almost like she could see Booker out there, pacing along the side of the pool, talking on his phone.
There was a nudge at my side, making me turn to find Saskia looking at Ayanna, brows knitted, then shifting her gaze to me, confusion clear on her face. My hand went under the table, giving her knee a squeeze, a silent cue that I would explain later.
"Alright, well. That's it for me," Ayanna declared, voice fake-cheery as she got out of her seat, grabbing her purse, and making her way toward the front of the house. "If Booker ever stops working long enough to realize I exist, go ahead and tell him I went home."
"Oh," Sass said, grimacing as Ayanna left, slamming the door behind her. "I get it now," she said, reaching for her soda.
"They never fight," I supplied.
"Everyone fights," Sass insisted.
"Do you two fight?" McCoy asked, ignoring the hard look I shot him.
"No."
"Yes," Sass corrected. "I mean, we used to. I was always very, ah, opinionated," she admitted.
"Was?" I asked, chuckling when she shoved my shoulder as she got to her feet.
"I hope Arty got enough to eat. Huck kind of whisked him away before he finished his last slice."
"He probably ate more tonight than he has in a week. You did good, Sass," I told her, helping clear the table. "Did he say anything about our case?"
"No. Huck was too busy babbling about Ukrainian organized crime. It sounds like I showed up at a bad time," she added, turning to lean back against the island, looking over at me, chewing her lower lip.
"We're still in the early stages of taking over the arms trade in the area. There are hiccups. It was never going to be a good time. And that's fine. I can handle both."
"You don't know that."
"Well, if I can't, then at least I can keep you safe and hidden while we handle our thing, so we can get back to your thing."
I expected her to look unhappy about that, possibly being put on a back burner, having her life on hold. But what crossed her face almost looked something close to relief.
"You can think of it like a mini-vacation," I pressed on. "You have a pool, good people, a chance to browse car ads," I added, smiling.
"Ugh, it still hurts to have lost my baby," she admitted, pressing a hand to her chest. "But, yeah, I will have to look eventually. Until then, I get it if you need to handle your stuff. It's not like it's a hardship to be here. And, apparently, I have a baby shower to co-plan," she said, still looking amazed that she'd somehow gotten wrapped into that. "I've never helped plan any kind of party," she admitted.
"Ayanna has already handled the bulk of it, don't worry. Now, she's just going to bounce ideas off of you."
"That makes me feel better," she admitted. "I like your people, Che," she added after a long moment.
"Me too," I agreed. "They like you too. Even McCoy, and he's not the easiest of us. He thinks you have a good heart," I added, dropping the extra napkins onto the center of the island behind her.
"I don't know about all that," she said, chin dropping.
"I do," I said, snagging her chin, drawing it back up.
"You haven't seen me in years," she insisted.
"I don't think you could change that much," I said, my finger starting to stroke up her jaw.