Free A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands

to see you,” she explained, then added, “I’m Elspeth, and I wanted to talk to you about my cousin Lissianna.”
    “Ah.” Greg nodded, doing his best not to gape at all the pale ivory flesh exposed by her skimpy nightwear. It would seem rude if he were to ogle her, he was sure.
    “I gather Aunt Marguerite brought you here to treat Lissianna, but Lissi seems to think you’ll be so annoyed at Aunt Marguerite’s high-handed tactics, that you’ll refuse to help her, and she really, really needs your help.” Elspeth paused expectantly.
    “I see,” Greg murmured, to fill the silence, but when she continued to simply stare at him with quiet expectation, he asked, “What exactly is Lissianna’s phobia?”
    The brunette blinked in surprise. “You mean no one has told you?”
    He shook his head.
    “Oh.” She bit her lip. “Well, perhaps I shouldn’t tell you then. I mean, Lissianna claims she can’t read yourmind, but Aunt Marguerite apparently can, and if she reads that you know what the phobia is when she hasn’t told you, she might go looking for how you know and realize I snuck up here to—” Her eyes widened in sudden horror, and she stood abruptly. “Damn! She might be able to read that I came up here anyway.”
    Greg simply stared. Lissianna had mentioned something about not being able to read his mind the first time she’d been in the room, now this woman was going on about it. What was the matter with these people? Surely they didn’t really think they could read minds?
    Of course they did, he realized as he recalled that the mother had actually done so. Perhaps psychic abilities run in the family , he supposed. How fascinating .
    “Oh look, I’d better go.” The brunette was all in a tizzy now. “But please try to forget I was here. Just—Won’t you please help Lissianna? She’s really sweet and nice and funny and smart, and this phobia has been such a burden. You really should help her. You’d like her, too, if you got to know her, and if you helped her you’d get the chance to know her,” she said, backing toward the door. “Now, just forget I was here and try not to think about it when Aunt Marguerite comes to see you in the morning, okay?”
    Elspeth didn’t wait for an answer, but opened the door, stuck her head out to see if the coast was clear, then gave him a little wave and slid out of the room.
    Greg gave his head a shake and let it drop back on the bed. He felt like he’d entered an episode of The Twilight Zone , and one he hadn’t seen before.
    Treat Lissianna? They all needed treatment, he thought, then stiffened as he heard the door open again. This time he didn’t raise his head to peer toward the sound, but waited, eyes closed and listening to the hushedwhispers as the door was eased closed and there was the rustle of more than one someone approaching the bed.
    “Oh darn, he’s asleep,” one of the someones whispered with disappointment.
    “Then we’ll just have to wake him, Juli,” another voice whispered back pragmatically. “This is important. He has to help cousin Lissi.”
    “Yes. You’re right, Vicki.” There was a pause, then, “How do we wake him?”
    Deciding he didn’t want to know what they might come up with, Greg opened his eyes and found himself peering at the teenage twins with auburn hair. They stood on either side of the bed, and he glanced from the one in peach to the girl in blue, wondering which one was Juli and which one was Vicki.
    “Oh, Vicki, he’s awake, his eyes have opened,” the girl in blue noted with relief. Greg guessed that made her Juli.
    “Good,” Vicki said, then announced, “we were going to try to wake you.”
    “We told the others we were going to fetch a drink, but we really wanted to talk to you,” Juli added.
    “About our cousin,” Vicki finished.
    “Why am I not surprised to hear that?” Greg asked ironically and the twins exchanged an uncertain glance across his body, then shrugged as one and both