Alex's stomach growled.
Loud.
Unmistakable.
All three of them froze for a moment.
Then burst into laughter.
"Well," Catherine said, stretching languidly against the silk sheets. "I think someone needs to be fed."
Victoria grinned, still catching her breath.
"We barely ate anything this morning," she pointed out. "And that feels like a lifetime ago."
"It does," Alex agreed, realizing that time had become strangely fluid... everything before this afternoon felt distant and unreal, like it had happened to someone else entirely.
She turned to Catherine with that look... the one that said she'd spotted an opening and wasn't about to waste it.
"So much for the famous Catherine Blackwood hospitality. You lure us here and starve us for hours."
Catherine raised an eyebrow but decided to let that particular jab slide... for now. Instead, she propped herself up on one elbow and turned her attention to Alex, amusement dancing in her eyes.
