“Downstairs, miss. Be right up.”
She looked around. He sounded close enough to be in the room with her. She pulled on Hugh’s robe to cover the bra and panties she’d fallen asleep in, went to the door and peeked out.
Stanhill was coming down the hall.
“Were you downstairs when you answered me?”
He nodded.
“Holy fudgeballs, this is weird. Good weird. But weird.” The wood grain on the door was so sharp she could count every line.
He grinned. “Good afternoon, rook.”
“Afternoon? What time is it?”
“After four. Sun’ll be down in a few hours.”
“What? I didn’t want to sleep that long. I wanted to make tiramisu.”
“It’s the change. Takes it out of you. The third night, you shouldn’t sleep nearly as long. You’re halfway there now.”
“Everything is so bright and colorful, and sounds are crystal clear. I could have sworn you were right next to me when you answered me.” She wrapped her arms around her torso. And went very still when she felt what was beneath her arms.
She glanced down at her body. “Are you kidding me?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I feel skinny. Skinny-ish.” She yanked the robe open for a better look. “Oh, that is not the waistline I went to bed with.”
Stanhill made a grunting sound. When she looked at him, he was staring at the ceiling. She pulled her robe shut while he spoke. “It’s the change, miss. Impacts the metabolism as well. It sharpens everything. Of course, tomorrow will be even greater.”
“I need a mirror.” She ran back into the room, stopped and ran back out, amazed at how fast she could move. “Also, I’m starving. Like I want to eat everything. What have we got?”
“In anticipation, I picked up a few steaks this morning, plus I’ve got some jacket potatoes in the oven—”
“Do we have sour cream and butter? And bacon bits? Oh! Cheese. I need cheese.”
He nodded. “All of that. Also, made some stuffed mushrooms and chilled some steamed jumbo shrimp. Will that do?”
“For round one, yes.” She ran to the bathroom mirror. And stared. “Wow.”
The body she now inhabited didn’t look like it had any issues with those last fifteen pounds. She was still curvy, but things had tightened up a bit. There was even a little visible muscle tone, which was amazing.
Her hair, which had always been on the wavy edge of frizzy, fell in soft, luscious waves. The color seemed more dark honey than boring brown.
She leaned in. The standard green of her eyes had taken on a sparkling clearness she’d never seen before.
Even her skin, which had always been decent, seemed to radiate with health. She looked at Stanhill, who stood by the bedroom door. “This is flat-out amazing. I mean, I always thought I was cute before, but now I’m actually pretty.”
“You’re beautiful, miss. You always have been. The change magnifies what was already there.”
She smiled, feeling a little heat in her face at his compliments. “Thanks, Stanhill.”
He pointed downstairs. “I’ll go fix you that steak while you get dressed.”
“I’ll be down as soon as I can.”
He turned to go and then stopped. “I took the liberty of feeding Captain this morning as well. I hope that was all right.”
“Thank you. That was nice of—what did you feed him?”
Stanhill suddenly seemed very interested in the cuff of his shirt. “Nothing much. There was a little crabmeat left over from the mushrooms, so…”
“You keep that up, and he’s not going to eat his kibble.” She shook her head as Stanhill left. No wonder Captain hadn’t been asleep on the bed next to her when she’d woken up. He was probably passed out in some hideaway, sleeping off the catch of the day.
She cranked on the shower. Hugh would be back from his brother’s soon. Which meant the last step in her transformation was only a matter of hours away. Anticipation tripped along her skin, the kind of feeling she used to get right before a big test in school.
Except this time, the consequences of failing were fatal.
She jumped into the shower. “That isn’t going to happen.”
Hugh had it all worked out. The extra magic would protect her. She’d be fine. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to do her any good anyway, and knowing Hugh, he’d be worried enough for the both of them.
Determined to put on a happy, confident face, she showered and got dressed, then went downstairs to see what Stanhill had fixed for her.
The meal he’d laid out was enough to feed two, but she ate it all and still felt like she had room in her stomach.