"And why do I have to waste brainpower on this?" She gave him an unimpressed look. "Do I look like a mindreader to you?" Sadly but fortunately, that wasn't an ability she had.

"Riiight," she drawled. "And you say you aren't thinking too highly of yourself. Uh-huh." Did Rowan tend to his ego like he tended to his plants? Lucia wondered sometimes. Just sometimes.

Lucia's laughter came out in sharp bark before it abruptly quieted into something soft and hoarse. "You're going to make me choke on my drink, d--" Oh, nope. Not in this kind of public area. "You'll kill me by laughter. I see through your plan!"