Chapter 11

Sarah POV

I hid a smile and waited for Mr. Cavendish to correct the maître d’, but instead he just gestured to the colorful, kid-friendly wall map of the themed rooms and asked the girls, “Which one do you like best?”

It really was a great family concept, I thought as I looked over the map. There was a room for a snowy mountain, a jungle, a coral reef under the sea, a cabana on the beach, and more. The girls, already starting to agree with each other on everything, chose the forest room together without even conferring first. I laughed and agreed while Mr. Cavendish just smiled indulgently.

The maître d’ took some menus and led us through the restaurant to a green door, which he opened to reveal a very realistic forest room, complete with real plants, a blue ceiling, and a large table that looked to be hand-carved all from one piece. Huge floor-to-ceiling windows offered a beautiful view of an outdoor atrium.

There was even a tape playing bird songs. No, I realized. There was a parrot in a large cage against the wall.

Once the maître d’ had seen us all seated and left the room, Ella snorted angrily. “What an idiot,” she snarled. “Can’t even tell the difference between a human nanny and the wife of an alpha.”

My stomach churned but then calmed when Mr. Cavendish lightly waved a hand in the air. “He’s busy seating people, and it’s hard to make out scents in the middle of a busy restaurant. Don’t worry about it.”

He grinned suddenly, a mischievous look coming into his eyes I didn’t know he was capable of. “I’m just too lucky to care, having four lovely women to share my table.”

Grace and Chloe giggled, I smiled, and Ella looked like she was smelling something that had been in the fridge for too long.

“I remember the first time Mommy let me pick a restaurant,” Chloe said with a smile.

“McDonald’s?” Ella asked.

Chloe frowned and turned away from her to tell Mr. Cavendish, “It was the Moon Hunt Café. Have you been there?”

“I have not,” he said.

“You’ve missed out. They have over twenty varieties of mushrooms and all sorts of biolum, um.” She looked at me.

“Bioluminescent,” I supplied.

“Yeah, so the food glows. It’s really cool.”

“It sounds cool.”

A gamma waitress came in, followed by a busboy with a tray of waters. There was the usual fuss of ordering. The girls both got watermelon and pork belly tacos, Mr. Cavendish ordered a steak cooked rare, Ella asked for a salad with the dressing on the side, and I got roasted chicken with mushrooms, my stomach having liked the sound of them.

Ella looked ready to say something, but Chloe started laughing. “You know what this room reminds me of?” she asked me.

“What?” I asked back.

“That pirate ride at LunaWorld, the one with the fireflies.” She looked around. “They could use some of those fireflies in here.”

“I’ll let them know,” Mr. Cavendish said so solemnly I suspected he was laughing inside.

Chloe spent the next few minutes talking about the two times she and I had been to LunaWorld and our original plans to go there for her birthday. She asked Grace if she had been, and when Grace said shyly that she had, Ella shot her a glare, which made the poor child grow very quiet. She did it when Mr. Cavendish wasn’t looking, I noticed, wondering if Ella were part of the reason why Grace was such a withdrawn child.

“I’m so pleased to hear what a great job Sarah has done raising you,” Mr. Cavendish told her, then smiled at me warmly. “I really am most grateful.”

Fortunately, Chloe took this as another cue to speak, since I felt my throat tighten and my skin flush under his gaze.

“One time, I was very sick. I had a high fever, but it was really late at night, and there wasn’t a taxi, so she carried me all the way to the hospital. It was miles!”

“It was about a mile,” I corrected her gently, then gave her a wink. “And you hardly weighed anything at all.” I brushed my fingers over her cheek.

“I’m surprised you didn’t call an ambulance,” Ella said, her eyes a little sharp.

I shrugged. I wasn’t going to be embarrassed about not having had the money for emergency services. I glanced at my employer, but he was leaning close to Chloe.

“But sure to remember moments like that,” he was telling her. “Remember how loved you felt, how much you felt taken of. You have a rare person in Sarah. Don’t let yourself grow distant from her just because she’s human.”

“I wouldn’t!” Chloe protested. Then she explained how at the hospital they hadn’t wanted to let her mommy make decisions for her medical treatment because she was human, but I had her adoption papers on her, and they had to do what I said.

The waitress returned with the food, which smelled fantastic. Chloe continued to keep us entertained while the girls ate their tacos, Mr. Cavendish took care of his steak, I forced myself not to moan elastically at my chicken, and Ella picked at her salad.

At the end of the meal, Mr. Cavendish asked Grace and Chloe what they would like to do next before going home. Grace said it was only fair Chloe picked because Grace had always picked before, which I thought was adorable, as I’m sure my face showed.

“I want to go shopping for a dress,” Chloe said, an odd little look in her eyes.

“Back to Au Bon Marche?” Ella asked.

But Mr. Cavendish shook his head slightly. “Let me lead the charge for once, dear. Besides, you have an early shoot tomorrow, don’t you? You should get your beauty rest.”

Ella’s smile was obviously forced, but she bowed out easily enough, blowing little air kisses to the girls. Grace smiled shyly, but Chloe gave her stone face. I wanted to applaud but sent her a disapproving look instead.

Chloe gave Ella a polite smile, then announced she wanted to walk along Hacking Drive, which I knew she’d seen recently in a romantic comedy on TV. I laughed, thinking she’d be disappointed when she didn’t find any children’s stores there, but Mr. Cavendish herded his daughters and me into the car. Soon enough we were enjoying a lovely spring evening and walking past lavish shop window displays.

Chloe and Grace walked ahead of us, whispering secrets, and I walked by Mr. Cavendish’s side with a guilty thrill. He watched the girls with obvious pleasure, then stopped in his tracks when Chloe began to jump up and down in excitement, pointing at a lovely dress in the window.

It was a deep shade of blue with shiny trim at the arms and neck. Knee-length, it was the sort of dress one would wear to a nice luncheon or other daytime event. In short, it was all wrong for a little girl, if they even had it in her size.

My mouth was open to explain this when Chloe whirled around and beamed at me. “That would be perfect for you! You have to try it on!” She then turned in triumph to Mr. Cavendish.

“Chloe,” I began, more than a little embarrassed, but Mr. Cavendish held up a hand and smiled at me.

“It would be perfect for you. My daughter has excellent taste, like her mother.” His eyes went sad for a moment, but then he walked to the shop door and held it open.

The girls all but skipped inside, chattering while Mr. Cavendish laughed gently. The whole scene suddenly felt overwhelmingly domestic, and though I knew it was an illusion, for a moment I reveled in the feeling of belonging and being spoiled by loved ones.

“Ladies first,” Mr. Cavendish said to me with a little bow. “Now you’re the star of the show.”