"We're both wearing leggings and an oversized T-shirt, both of our hair is up in a ponytail, and we're both barefoot. Yet, somehow, I look like a slob, and you look like you just walked off the cover of a freaking magazine." Ro scowled down at her outfit. "It's even worse because we have the same face, and you're still prettier. I think you're a witch."
It took a moment to realize Ro was teasing her. When it clicked, Evie grinned and walked over to pluck a blueberry from Ro's bowl of fruit. "A good skin care routine is the next best thing to magic, darlin'."
"I told you those weren't potions on the sink," Teagan put in, laughing.
"I'm not convinced," Ro argued, shaking her head. "One of them was actually green. Green! Who puts green goop on their face?"
An idea blossomed in the back of Evie's mind. Studying Ro's hair, which was normally tipped with purples and blues and pinks, she considered it. "Tell you what. I'll teach you my witchy ways, if you do my hair."
Laughing, Ro popped another berry in her mouth. "Yeah, sure. Ms. Evelyn Berkshire wants me to dye her hair purple."
"Pink, actually."
Ro's laughter faded away and her eyes went wide. "You're serious?"
"Yes. Let's do something crazy with it. I've had the same hair color since I was sixteen. Please, Ro?"
Lifting her head, Ro looked across the kitchen at Jason, who held his hands up. "Her hair, her call."
Grinning, Evie turned and blew him a kiss before focusing on Ro again. "Please?"
"Okay. Yes! Oh my God! This is going to be so much fun." Ro paused in her excitement, her eyes searching her sister's face. "You're sure about this?"
"I'm not." Evie laughed and slid an arm around her sister's waist. "I'm actually a little terrified. Let's do it anyway."
If she hadn't known any better, she would have sworn there were tears in Teagan's eyes when she rolled them. "You're both crazy; you know that?"
Evie shrugged. "I never got to have that rebellious teenage phase. Now seems like the perfect time to have one." She waited for Jason to take a sip of the coffee he'd poured for himself during their conversation. "Maybe I'll need a Daddy to help me be a good girl again."
As she'd hoped, Jason inhaled so sharply, he choked on his coffee. Laughing wildly, she and Ro leaned on each other as Octavius handed him a towel so he could pat himself dry. The fire she'd seen blazing in his eyes on the deck came flaring back to life when he lifted his head again. "Careful what you wish for,tesoro."
The barely-veiled promise sent a lovely little shiver down her spine. Jason winked then set his coffee cup aside and rubbed his hands together. "Who's hungry? How about pancakes?"
Everyone cheered, and Evie smiled at the ridiculousness of it all as she picked at the fruit in Ro's bowl. Jason and the men busied themselves making pancakes, handing them off to the girls as they finished. Ro and Teagan ate at the island, laughing and teasing each other as they ate stacks of fluffy goodness drowned in what looked to be a gallon of maple syrup each.
"Order's up, Evie." Jason held a plate out to her, stacked high with three perfectly golden pancakes.
Evie raised the half-finished bowl of fruit. "I'm good with this. But thank you."
Frowning, Jason placed the pancakes in front of her. "You didn't eat dinner last night. Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm fine, really. I don't eat pancakes."
"You don't like them? We can make you something else," he offered.
"No, I like them. But I'm not supposed to eat so many carbs."
The gravity of her words didn't quite register until the kitchen went silent. Everyone, even Trident, stopped to stare at her.
It was Teagan who broke the silence. "Evie. Honey, look at me." She waited until Evie looked up at her to continue. "You are allowed to eat whatever you want. There are no rules about pancakes or any other carbs in this house. Okay?"
Dropping her hands into her lap, she began twisting her shirt around her fingers. "I know that."
"How about one pancake, to start? If you're still hungry, you can have another one. If not, that's okay, too. Sound good?"
With everyone watching her, she didn't feel like she really could say no. "Yes. One pancake wouldn't hurt anything, I suppose.
Octavius put an empty plate in front of her, and Jason transferred one of her pancakes to it. Ro passed her the bottle of maple syrup, and Evie drizzled some on top. Picking up her fork, she stared down at the pancake, her stomach in knots.