The straighteners swept through my hair for three more strokes before she answered. “We were in Syria together. Germany didn’t get involved officially, but the BND was there and Danny was over there with the SAS. We met in a bar, he was…”—she smiled, her eyes distant—” ...charming.``

She saw me looking at her in the mirror and shook her head dismissively. “It wasn’t love,” she said firmly. “It was…convenient. Just sex. It was a warzone, we were seeing atrocities every day. You seek out any comfort you can.”

I said nothing. There are some things even a spy can’t hide. After another few swipes with the hair straighteners, she finally met my eyes in the mirror.

“He never loved me,” she said. Her German accent made the confession sound even more brutal. “He cared for me. But he never loved me. I didn’t think he was capable of love.” She looked away. “Then I saw the way he looks at you.”

I felt my face flood with heat, embarrassed and thrilled and awkward.

“You’d be good for him,” said Katharina. “I want him to be happy.” And I believed her. But I could hear the twinge of pain in her voice, too. This woman I’d been so intimidated by…she was envious of me.

I shook my head. “We already ended it.” I told her about JD and what he’d been through, and the strong bond between him and Danny. “I can’t make Danny choose,” I told her.

“There’s going to come a time when he has to,” she said. She lifted the straighteners from my hair. “There.”

I hadn’t really been paying attention to what she’d been doing. My hair had become a golden waterfall that went most of the way down my back: I couldn’t get over how long it was, straight. Then Katharina mounted a two-handed attack on it with sprays and it became glossy and flowing, like something out of a shampoo commercial.

I stared at my reflection, stunned, and when she asked if I wanted some help with my make-up, I nodded: I was in good hands, here. She gently took off my glasses, then brought out eye shadow and lipsticks and a whole range of incredibly soft brushes she used to dust color onto my face. “There,” she said again. She gave me my glasses back and turned me to the mirror.

How did she do that?! My eyes looked bigger and my lips, my lips looked so full and soft. I had cheekbones! Where did they come from?

She helped me wiggle into the dress and strap on the shoes. I took an experimental step and teetered sideways. Katharina grabbed me before I fell. “You’ll be fine. A little practice.”