Chapter 9

Zane POV

All three women in my bed, two wolves (to my joy) and a human (to my confusion), fell deeply asleep before I had finished the first page of Grace’s favorite story. I had intended to leave, but even in her sleep Grace had reached over to grab my arm and ask me to stay.

In fact, I rather suspected she hadn’t been asleep at all. But then she and Chloe smiled at me, and it was a harmless thing to pretend to sleep and then leave when they went under for good. Unfortunately, I fell asleep for real myself.

I woke up to sunshine, an oddly sweet smell of sage, and only one woman in my bed. Or rather, I was in hers, and she was in my arms. Even with her rare (for a human) blue eyes closed, she was still quite pretty, with her long black hair splayed out over the pillow and her unblemished skin a little flushed with sleep.

She truly was a confusing person. She seemed to accept her humanity well enough but didn’t cow-tow to werewolves or openly despise them, both of which I was used to. I’d had her thoroughly investigated, of course, but nothing the detectives had found contradicted a thing she’d told me.

I couldn’t help wondering if someone had left a little human baby on my doorstep, would I have given up my very promising career to care for it? Would I have studied human ways and learned just how to raise my human child?

Well, no, I admitted. I wouldn’t. And it wasn’t about humans being inferior. I had too many responsibilities to the pack, among other things.

But that didn’t lessen my admiration for what Sarah had done. It made me uncomfortable to think about how I had treated her when we first met, accusing her of stealing Chloe and dragging her like a criminal to the police station. She was five years younger than I. I should have been gentler.

Absently, I noticed her eyelashes were fluttering, then springing open. Blue eyes stared at mine.

“Ack!” she said as she fell off the other side of the bed after a full-body jerk away from me.

“Are you all right?” I asked, not moving, not even to laugh.

Her hair, her forehead, and then her eyes peered over the edge of the bed. “What, er.” She blinked. “What?”

“We all fell asleep in your bed,” I explained. “My apologies.”

“OK.”

I smiled. I couldn’t really help it. “I assure you this does nothing to violate your contract.”

I could see enough of her face to see her flush with what was doubtlessly embarrassment but probably also a little anger. And then, yes, I heard her hiss just slightly.

“I can think of some other clauses I should have put in that contract,” she muttered, standing up and smoothing out her slept-in clothes.

I smelled familiar perfume a moment before I heard stiletto footsteps and Ella’s voice calling for me in the hall. I would need to let Ms. Liesel—no, Mr. Elliot know I didn’t like being surprised in my own home.

I put on the robe I’d worn last night but rolled out of while asleep because I hadn’t tied it properly. I saw Sarah putting on a robe as well as I walked out into the hall.

Ella was standing there, looking absolutely stunning and the mirror image of my late wife. I know my eyes were sad as I smiled at her. She smiled back, then looked past me as Sarah emerged. I knew neither of us smelled like sex or particularly like the other. Besides, I had always admired how Ella wasn’t one to jump to conclusions.

“Good morning, Miss Ella,” Sarah said, then nodded and headed for the kitchen, from which the smell of coffee was doubtlessly calling her.

“Good morning, Sarah,” Ella said, and then walked up to me to buss me cheek. “And good morning to you. I hear there was some unpleasantness at the academy?”

“Indeed.” I gave her the bare details as we joined Sarah and the girls in the kitchen.

“What a bother,” was Ella’s response. She smiled at my daughters. “Well, their loss, and I’m just talking about your father’s money.”

The girls giggled, if a little dutifully. I knew they were feeling proud of the trick they’d pulled on me and Sarah. I’d have to be more careful of their schemes in future.

I didn’t blame them for wanting to “parent trap” Sarah and me. They couldn’t understand how inappropriate the whole thing would be. To them, it was just trying to get two people they loved to love each other.

I assumed Sarah felt the same way, as she watched the girls with indulgence. I couldn’t help but smile watching as she obviously savored the coffee, a blend of some expensive something or other that Ella had insisted on years ago.

“I insist on taking you all to lunch to celebrate getting rid of that old school,” Ella said, smiling sweetly. She turned to Sarah. “You were my maid for over two years, and yet I know so little about you. As you’re now the nanny of this household, I will have to get to know you better, and you me.”

There was an edge of command in her voice, but Sarah just smiled and nodded. “Of course, Miss Ella.”

“No, no. I insist. Just call me ‘Ella’ now.”

“If you like.” Sarah smiled again, topped up her coffee, and excused herself to her bedroom. The girls put their bowls and glasses in the sink and followed her.

As Ella made the choice for lunch we ended up at some ridiculously stuffy French place for which everyone but Ella was severely underdressed. Sarah took it calmly enough, and the girls didn’t seem to notice.

I wanted the girls, who had so effortlessly become friends, to sit together, but somehow they were sitting across from each other, Chloe was sitting with Sarah to my left and Ella with Grace to my right. Chloe seemed oddly out of sorts with Grace, who was her usual quiet self.

“All of which just goes to show you get what you pay for,” Ella was saying over her bowl of consommé. “I mean, pay for cheap, you get cheap, you know?”

I hummed in agreement.

“So we ended up having to do the whole shoot over, if you can believe that. I told them from the beginning to go with Céline Auberjonois, but did they listen to me and save $200,000? No, of course not.”

No one spoke as she took a delicate sip of her soup.

“Are you familiar with her work?” she asked Sarah, who looked surprised to be addressed.

“Only her work you’ve been in,” Sarah said with a sweet smile.

For a second, Ella looked annoyed, then she laughed. “You’ve reminded me! Grace’s birthday is in three days, which means it’s little Chloe’s birthday as well.” She looked at me. “You know I’ll throw them the most magnificent party.”

She smiled around the table. “As Grace knows, Zane loves my parties. I could make my living as a party planner, if it weren’t for my face, which earns me considerably more.” She laughed again, then looked at Sarah with concern. “Oh, dear. I’m afraid I don’t have any humans to invite, and werewolf parties, well, considering the prevailing attitude among our kind toward yourself, I’m sure you would be most uncomfortable.”

Sarah looked uncertain how to respond. Chloe’s face was thunderous, and Grace looked ready to cry.

“Of course, you can come,” Ella said soothingly. “I just want you to have a good time, and I wouldn’t want anything spoiled for the girls.”

“Sarah will be at the party,” I said.