"It absolutely does not—" She stopped herself. Her voice had gone sharp and high, which was undignified. She put the dish down on the clean side with more care than was necessary, buying herself a breath, and tried again. "Nothing about it is loose."
Viktor tilted his head the other direction. He was still looking at the same place with the thoughtful expression of a man trying to make an honest assessment.
Her face was entirely on fire.
"I apologize." He said it with complete sincerity, which was somehow worse than if he'd smirked. "I'm still—" He uncrossed his arms, running one hand through his hair, and for just a moment he looked genuinely uncertain, like a man genuinely fumbling. "I'm going to be a father. Soon. So I find myself thinking about these things more than I used to, and I don't actually know—what does a woman's body look like after birth? How does it change? I haven't been one."
Vivian looked at him.
He looked back. Dark eyes, patient, entirely open.
