He’d used some frozen shredded zucchini he’d found in the freezer—because of course Jacqueline had something so random stocked—as a base for the muffins, so they were healthy in the overall scheme of things, but he was really there for the cheese. His mum had taught all her boys to cook, but it had taken Danny a while to get into it.

When he had finally hit his groove, he’d discovered that while he enjoyed cooking well enough, he absolutely loved to bake. His next challenge was pastry from scratch—that stuff was fricking hard, especially since he wanted to make these particular pastries that he’d eaten once in Paris.

Frowning, he kept himself occupied with thoughts of how to refine his recipe as he finished up his run, then decided to do a cooldown. Since, according to the weather report, he’d be stuck in this apartment for today and tomorrow at least, there was no need to push it all in during one workout. He could pepper things in through the day.

His phone rang just as he was finishing up.

Seeing his coach’s name on the screen, he felt his gut twist.

Catie came out of her bedroom, dressed in her beloved velour sweat suit; a designer item, it would’ve been ridiculously rich-girl OTT if she hadn’t found it on special at an online retailer that was trying to get rid of excess stock. She tried not to spend her money frivolously—and she never touched Jacqueline’s money for anything private beyond her prostheses.

The latter she could justify because what she saved on those, she could pass on to other amputees, and she was often a guinea pig for various new prosthetic developments and adjustments for which she had to give detailed feedback and go in for multiple fittings and tests. It felt like a fair exchange.

“You’re just a money hoarder,” her father had said more than once with a cheerful laugh. “Baby girl, your mother is filthy rich. Tap that well.”

And that was the difference between her and Clive.

Sniffing the air, she headed unerringly to the delicious cheesy smell coming from the kitchen. A set of perfect golden muffins sat on a cooling rack that she hadn’t even known was in the apartment. She reached to grab one, snatched back her hand. She did have some manners.

Since Danny’s door was closed, he was likely in the shower after his own workout. She’d taken a bit longer because she’d wanted to wash her hair and shave her legs. You’d think the tasks would be quick enough, but with getting into different legs for the shower and all the rest, it was a bit of a mission.