e felt a lot better, but Cade still
felt a bit disoriented and confused. Between the soup and the steaks he'd put
away enough food for half a dozen people, but he didn't feel as if he'd had more
than an average meal. In fact, just thinking about that last bit of steak in the
other room made him wonder if Mandi could make do with an apology and a late
dinner after her show.
The room's hallway door opened and Mandi said, "Thanks for remembering to
tell the desk to give me a room card."
Moving to join her in the main room, Cade asked, "After last night, how
could I forget?" Indicating the covered tray, he said, "I saved you some dinner,
as requested. Are you going to tell me what you've done to me?"
Trying to look shocked and hurt, Mandi asked, "What? No hello kiss? Don't
you want to hear about my day?"
Cade took her in his arms for a kiss, then said, "Of course, milady. Tell me
all about your day, but tell me later. Right now I want to know what's happening
to me."
Mandi shrugged and said, "You're changing. It's nothing to worry about, but
the conversion takes a lot of energy and mass. That's why you were so hungry."
"I'm still hungry. Your dinner almost disappeared."
Smiling, she said, "But now the hunger's more manageable and you can get by
until after the show. Right?"
She stood by the cart as she sliced the steak and vegetables into bite sized
chunks and sprinkled salt and pepper here and there to her liking.
Unable to remember ever having read or heard anything about people changing
due to association with Mandi, Cade asked, "Just what kind of change are we
talking about?"
Without looking up from her efforts, Mandi said, "You're going to become
sort of like me."
With a deliberately noisy sigh at her seeming inability to release any
details, Cade replied, "Not blonde and stacked, I hope. That could take a
helluva lot of getting used to at this point in my life, you know. Could you be
maybe just a little more specific, Mandi?"
Glancing up with another chuckle and smile, Mandi said, "Nothing quite that
outrageous. You're being upgraded, that's all. You'll be bulletproof or close to
it. Stronger. Faster. Like that. Don't worry, you won't need a new wardrobe, as
much as that may actually be a good idea."
Her grinning gaze traveled from his boots to his shirt as he said, "I'm
going to let your sartorial commentary pass. What did you do to me to mak