In a Badger Way (Honey Badger Chronicles #2) - Shelly Laurenston Page 0,67

find those mascara tutorials very helpful.”

Stevie was analyzing the ramifications of a tsunami slamming into this area, so it took a few seconds for that last comment to get inside her head.

“Wait . . . what?”

Shen chuckled. “My sister is editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine in Manhattan. She has her own fashion channel on cable. She hosts a fashion party each year that every celebrity wants to be invited to. People have tried to bribe me for thousands of dollars for tickets. So when I say style is her business, I mean—”

“Your sister is Kiki Li?”

Shen nodded. “That’s her.”

“The Kiki Li?”

“I have to admit, I didn’t imagine you being a fan. You seem to have your own style.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment—”

“It was.”

“—and just say that your sister’s write-up of my opera La Luna Destructo put me on the map. Took my work out of rich-people-who-like classical category and into the movie-producers-and-ad-companies-calling-my-agent-everyday category.” Stevie had to chuckle a little herself. “Actually, your sister is the reason I got out of music.”

Shen jerked around to face her. “What?”

“What I mean is I didn’t want to be a star. I didn’t want to be famous. I just wanted to do my music. But once your sister noticed me . . . she practically made me a household name and I couldn’t handle it. The pressure was too much—so I bailed.”

Shen scratched his head. “I feel like I should apologize for her, or something.”

“For what? Doing her job? She was just breaking out then anyway. It’s not like she did it on purpose. She was still learning her power,” Stevie teased. “And I was only ten. It was too much pressure already.”

“I can’t imagine doing any of that when I was ten.”

“What did you do?”

“Run around screaming with my friends, falling from things . . . usually trees. And eating. I was constantly eating.”

“Are you still close to your sister?”

“Sisters. And, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your sister’s famous. That, sometimes, gets between siblings.”

“Not ours. But we’re pandas. None of that fame shit means anything to us.” He glanced at her. “And it doesn’t seem like your fame has gotten between you and your sisters.”

“Well, these days, my fame is science-based. I mostly have geeky guys wearing T-shirts with Bill Gates as a Star Trek Borg coming up to me to challenge a recent paper I’ve just had published. And, honestly, my sisters and I didn’t really have the luxury to cut each other loose. We don’t have anyone else.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t sell yourself short. You have Kyle!”

Stevie glanced at Shen. He was gazing out over the channel again, but she could see the smirk on his face.

“You’re an idiot,” she said around her laughter.

“But we both know I’m right.”

* * *

Shen paused the baseball game on his sister’s giant screen TV in the living room and answered the front door.

“Mr. Li?” the young man asked.

“Yeah?”

“Hi. I’m from Chung Grocery. Ms. Li called in an order to be delivered.”

“Oh, sure.”

Shen stepped back, expecting a guy with one or two bags of groceries. He should have known better.

What traipsed into his sister’s house was an entire crew of delivery people. About eight. And they each had to make several rounds. They didn’t just bring in a fresh supply of high-end bamboo direct from Shaanxi, China, but bags of groceries, champagne, wine, and flowers in vases that were placed strategically around the home.

It was clear this was not the first time these people had performed such a function for his sister.

What confused Shen was why. He was here for one night, not a week. Not even a weekend. He texted her.

What is this?

Thought you could use a little glamour.

Since when?

When Shen didn’t get an answer, he rolled his eyes and began typing.

Okay. What did Steinberg tell you?

Leonard Steinberg was his sister’s neighbor. The old man had lived in his house for about thirty years and adored Kiki. Watched her house for her, kept her apprised of local gossip, and made sure that the place was locked down anytime there was a hurricane or bad storm. Kiki, in turn, had a handyman that helped out Steinberg whenever he needed it. He was on a fixed income, making Kiki’s assistance really important. Shen was sure the old man had told his sister that Shen had not come here alone.

Now his sister had ideas. Kiki with ideas was never a good thing. Like Stevie, she was brilliant, though in a different way. She couldn’t