Her cell phone rang. “What do you want, Richard?”

“Is that any way to speak to your favorite brother?”

“I’m hanging up now – ”

“Wait, wait. Can I come over?”

Lex’s alarm bells went off. “Why? You don’t do sickrooms of any kind.”

“Well, my friend and I – ”

“A friend? Richard, I’ve kind of had surgery.” She tried to stretch out and ease the pain in her back.

“You’re okay, right? Not bleeding?”

“I’ve been puking for three days.”

“Oh.” He paused. “Can I still bring him over?”

Lex snapped her phone shut.

Venus punched the microwave touchpad. “He’s been introducing you to a lot of guys the past few weeks.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why. Maybe Grandma got to him.”

“But she doesn’t have anything on him. Why would he do what she says?”

“Good point.”

Lex was halfway through her tepid chicken noodle when the doorbell rang. “Mimi already?” She finished another spoonful.

Venus opened the door.

A very short Asian stranger stood in the doorway. His polite smile brightened when he caught sight of Venus. His eyes glazed over. “Hey, baby – ”

“What do you want?” Venus’s hand went to her hip.

“If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put U and I togeth – ”

“Oh, come up with something original. Who are you?”

“Ben Shue.”

Venus glanced over her shoulder at Lex, who shook her head and shrugged. Ben never took his eyes off of Venus.

“Sorry, we don’t know you.” Venus started to close the door.

“My mom told me to come here.”

Venus just stared at him. Lex wished she could see her face.

Ben’s gaze grew dazed again. “You have such beautiful eyes – No, no, don’t close -!”

His voice came muffled through the door. “I’m supposed to help Lex Sakai with her surgery recovery.”

Venus whipped it open. “What?”

“I live at an apartment building down the street. Lex, your grandma told my mom you needed someone to help you.”

What? “No thanks.” More like, No way. Lex took in his expensive clothes and the way he didn’t even turn his eyes from Venus when he spoke to Lex.

Then another figure appeared in the doorway. “Is Lex here?”

“Hi, Aiden.”

In contrast to Ben, Aiden’s eyes barely skimmed over Venus before he peered inside and smiled at Lex. “How do you feel?”

“Come in, Aiden.” Venus grabbed his arm and yanked him inside.

“After all, you guys have been dating awhile.”

Both Lex and Aiden stared at Venus, who gave him a meaningful glance with a quick motion at Ben, still standing in the doorway.

“Boyfriend?” Ben finally looked somewhere besides Venus’s face.

“Lex’s grandma didn’t say anything about a boyfriend.” His eyes narrowed.

Lex put every ounce of desperation in her look to Aiden.

He turned to Ben. “Uh… yeah. We’re dating.” He stepped into the apartment, maneuvering around boxes, and handed Lex the small bouquet of flowers he carried. Ben’s dark scowl followed him.

Lex smiled and murmured through her teeth at him. “Give me a kiss.”

He obliged with a hand on her shoulder and a peck on the lips. She had to concentrate not to flinch. It wasn’t too bad, really. He smelled like soap, fir, and musk.

He immediately released her shoulder, but his voice sounded low and deep in her ear. “You really don’t like being touched, do you?”

His words relaxed her. Maybe because he’d gotten it and she didn’t have to explain it to him. “Just by men.” She swallowed. “Nothing personal.”

His look told her he understood and didn’t need to know anything more.

Venus blocked Ben’s view. “We’re good here. You can leave now.”

“Hey – ”

Venus shut the door in his face again.

“What – ”

Venus cut Lex’s words off. She peeked out the window near the door. “So, Lex, good thing Aiden’s here because he can remove all your ingrown toenails.” Venus’s voice boomed in the tiny room.

Aiden’s face had gotten rather rigid, as if he were trying to decide how to answer that politely. Perhaps, Is that so? Or How interesting.

Venus jabbed her fingers at the closed door, eyes wide and meaningful, mouth moving silently in words Lex couldn’t exactly decipher, but that she could understand. Ah. Lex picked her jaw up off her lap.

“Yes, thanks, Aiden. And I’ll need you to pop these blood blisters.”

His expressionless mask cracked as he shot her a bug-eyed look.

Venus rummaged through one of Lex’s boxes and pulled out what looked like a miniature tennis racket – oh, perfect. Dad would be so proud of the way they were finally using the electric bug zapper he’d gotten for her.

Venus pressed the battery button to charge up the metal strings lacing the head. “And Aiden can help you lance that bleeding mole on your butt.” She stepped into position behind the closed door. “But I think that maybe that third hand growing out of your head needs professional surgery.”

She cranked the doorknob and whipped open the flimsy door. The charged bug zapper racket came sailing down on Ben’s head, where he crouched on her doorstep. Crack! Fizz! Pop! The scent of burning hair reached Lex’s nose.

“Aaaiiieee!” Ben zipped away, hands grabbing his head.

Venus closed the door with a click and a triumphant wave of her racket.

Lex applauded her. “You are so evil.”

Venus’s smile reminded Lex of Catwoman. “I know.”

“Good thing you didn’t really hurt him.”

Venus lifted a delicate eyebrow. “You don’t know much about men and their hair if you think that.”

“Huh?”

“Honey, he probably goes to Lana’s or Vertigo every three weeks for a sculpted head like that. I just caused him abject pain.”

The doorbell rang. Venus charged the zapper and opened it.

“Hi guys.” Mimi sashayed into the room, then froze as she saw Aiden. Her slow smile would have put Jezebel to shame. “Well, helloooo there.”

Lex had to stop herself from growling. Then she had to ask herself why she felt the need to bristle in the first place. Maybe she was still upset from when Aiden touched her. Shouldn’t she not care that Mimi’s hands were all over Aiden as they chatted?

“So, Aiden, where’s your physical therapy clinic?”

“It’s a combination clinic and fitness gym…”

Lex stared at her bowl of soup, cold now. Her stomach burped. She set the bowl down before the sight of it did more weird things to her digestive system.

Venus cleared her throat sharply. “Mimi.”

Mimi snapped out of vamp mode mid-sentence. “Oh. Right. I brought all my stuff.” Then she glanced at Lex’s leg, exposed only as far as her warm-up pants would go. “Um… we’ll need to take your pants off.”

“My cue to go.” Aiden turned rather effortlessly from Mimi to Lex. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Thanks. And thanks for that… thing with Ben.”

“No problem.” Aiden let himself out.

Mimi loosed a long, low breath. “What a hottie. He’s cuter than Orlando Bloom.”

“What is it with you stealing every man in my vicinity?”

Mimi blinked at Lex. “You mean Kin-Mun?”

“George. Crustaceans. You were even there with a date of your own.”

“Ooooh.” Mimi stifled a laugh. “Actually, I’m sorry about that, but I had to meet George so he’d ask me out. I had him drive me to Shoreline, and then I stole his car and stranded him there. Revenge for when he did that to one of my girlfriends.”

Lex looked at Venus and saw her mouth open as well. “You’re kidding.”

“So, you see? It was for a good cause. You weren’t enjoying your time with him anyway. I could tell even from across the restaurant.”

Lex cleared her throat. Couldn’t argue with that.

Mimi dropped her bag near Lex’s bed. “Take off your pants and the bandages. Let’s see.”

Lex obliged.

Mimi seemed genuinely distressed as she saw the blisters. “Ouch. Okay, first of all, pump your foot up and down. Yeah, like that. You need to get your lymphatic system going to drain the swelling and the fluid.”