Page 59 of The Hardest Hit

“I’m naked!” gasped Olivia.

“Sorry!” squeaked the girl, turning around.

Olivia rushed upstairs, still clutching the oven mitts, and slammed the door on Evan’s bedroom.

The girl downstairs was yelling for Evan. She was yelling? How did she get to yell? Shouldn’t Olivia be the one yelling? There was a murmur of voices and then she heard Evan yelling for her.

“Liv?”

Olivia tried to pull on her underwear but found herself tangling in the elastic straps of her bra. Evan walked into the bedroom.

“Liv?”

“I was naked!” she said.

“That is the problem with Naked Tuesdays,” he agreed.

The timer went off on the stove downstairs.

“Nika! Can you grab the bread out of the oven?”

“No, Liv took the oven mitts!”

Olivia picked up the oven mitts and hurled them out of the bedroom and over the balcony onto the floor below.

“Thanks!” yelled the girl.

Olivia stood in the middle of the bedroom, her bra still not fastened, and stared at Evan.

“Who did I just throw oven mitts at?”

“That’s my cousin, Dominique,” said Evan. He walked over, straightened her bra, and fastened it for her. “She brought back a suitcase she borrowed because I need it for Tokyo. You want to put on some clothes, try it again?”

Olivia thought about that. “No?” She thought about it again. “Maybe?”

“Up to you,” he said.

“Fine.”

He held up one of his shirts and she pulled it on and then the tights she’d been wearing on the plane. Evan pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and then he held out a hand. She took it, holding tight in nervousness.

Dominique, when Olivia wasn’t simply being horrified by her presence, did look related to Evan. She also looked like she was barely keeping in her laughter as she shook Olivia’s hand.

“Nika, this is my girlfriend, Dr. Olivia West.”

Olivia realized that it was the first time that he had publically stated that she was his girlfriend.

“Not like an actual doctor,” she said nervously. “A science doctor.”

“She has two Ph.D.’s,” said Evan, and she glanced up at him. He was looking very stern.

“Well, that’s two more than I have,” said Dominique. “How accomplished of you. It’s very nice to meet you. I’m very sorry about walking in on you. I was just planning on dropping off the suitcase. I didn’t think anyone was home.”

“That’s all right,” said Olivia, knowing that she was still bright red.

“I didn’t know it was Naked Tuesday,” said Dominique, and once again the laughter seemed to be bubbling near the surface.

“Nika,” growled Evan.