Alex woke at seven, well-rested and restless with energy in the particular way only a full night's sleep could produce. She got through her usual morning routine : a workout, a shower, breakfast half-started — before she heard the front door creak open with the careful quiet of someone hoping not to be noticed.
She was already standing in the hallway, arms crossed, by the time Fidelia stepped through it.
"Hello, baby girl. Why are you standing there like that, you scared me half to death."
"Waiting for my wild cat to come home," Alex said, smiling.
Fidelia laughed and beelined straight for the kitchen, entirely too hungry to deal with an interrogation before she'd eaten something. Alex followed anyway, unwilling to let her off that easily.
"Well?"
"What?" Fidelia's head was already buried in the fridge.
"Was that Versace dress on someone's bedroom floor all night?" Alex nodded toward the state of it — thoroughly rumpled, clearly slept in rather than simply worn.
