Taken In: Part Two. Taken In, #1

Valentina Cruz has a job that is not Daniel Mercer's kitchen. He has a callback for a widower in a play that tries too hard. The pale squares are still on the walls. The pink bike is still in the grass. Then he takes her to dinner, says "my date" in front of a man who signs checks, and does not flinch. Vale is so all right it becomes a problem. She gives him two minutes and the men's room. He has to go to work in the morning.
She wants him to remember the table he sat her at. Friday, Claire comes home. Vale sleeps in the spare room on purpose. The not-crossing the hall is the most adult thing she has ever done. When the house goes quiet, she wants his eyes, not a performance.