“Ooh, so that’s what keeps you up at night?” Sophia’s eyes danced a mischievous pirouette, her laughter infectious. “Just trying to get a glimpse into that enigmatic mind of yours, you know.”

Sophia gestured for him to continue, chin propped on her hand like a child waiting for a bedtime story.

Daniel adopted an exaggerated serious expression, placing a hand over his heart. “Actually, I must confess…” he fought a smile, ”…I only struggle with two of the 7 sins.”

Sophia’s look said which ones? He offered nothing but his wine glass, raised in mock toast.

The playful banter was making it harder to remember why she’d been so determined to keep her distance. The winged moon cast strange shadows through the window, its mini crescent making the moment feel surreal as Juniper’s fingers tightened around her device, each word behind her landing like some kind of uchimata only it wasn’t her hips doing the ucheing this time.

Enough, she thought, a traitorous twitch at the corner of her mouth. She bit down on it hard.