But then something wonderful happens.
Leon, this enormous, intimidating mountain of a man, leans over to help Maisie color on her kids’ menu with a crayon.
“What are you drawing?” he asks in his heavily accented English.
“It’s a castle,” Maisie explains seriously. “With a princess who saves herself.”
Leon’s weathered face cracks into what might actually be a smile. “Very good. Princesses should always save themselves.”
I watch in amazement as he helps cut her steak into bite-sized pieces when she struggles with the steak knife. Maisie is absolutely delighted, declaring him “the best grown-up ever” when he lets her steal a french fry from his plate.
“I think you’ve been replaced,” Eva murmurs to me with amusement.
“Possibly by a better candidate,” I answer with a grin, watching Leon patiently explain why she shouldn’t drink three big sodas in a row.
Meanwhile, Alicia and Dane have turned their attention to Eva with the relentless curiosity of teenagers who’ve discovered something exotic.
“You paid for Maisie’s surgery, right? Does that mean you’re rich?” Alicia asks.
“Alicia!” I hiss, mortified.
But Eva takes it in stride. “I am. Very rich.”
“What do you do?” Dane demands. “Whatever it is, I wanna do it too.”
Eva gives a slight smile. “I am a businesswoman. It means a lot of travel and very little time at home.”
Dane looks slightly less excited. “I don’t think I’d like to leave home all that much. I’d miss everyone too much.”
I busy myself with my meal and hope my rapid blinking isn’t giving me away.
“What countries have you traveled to?” Alicia asks, leaning forward eagerly.
“Mm…most of them,” Eva replies dryly.
“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten?” Dane chimes in.
Eva considers this seriously. “Fermented shark in Iceland.”
“Gross!” Maisie shrieks with delight from Leon’s side.
“It’s an acquired taste,” Eva admits. “I nearly crashed a motorbike trying to get the taste out of my mouth.”
The kids dissolve into giggles, and I catch the exact moment Eva’s practiced composure cracks. She actually smiles—a real one, not the polished version she uses in business.
“Do you really have a private jet?” Alicia asks. “Adrian said you were taking Robin away on a private jet.”
I glance at Adrian, who gives a slightly guilty shrug.
“I have a fleet, actually,” Eva says. At the dropping jaws around the table, she softens her tone. “I suppose that sounds rather excessive.”
“It soundsawesome,” Dane says with the enthusiasm only a fifteen-year-old boy can muster.
I watch Eva navigate their questions with growing fascination. She answers honestly but carefully, editing out the dangerous parts of her life while still giving them enough to satisfy their curiosity. She tells them about eating street food in Bangkok and getting lost in the Louvre, about the Northern Lights in Norway and cliff diving in Greece.
She makes her life sound like an adventure rather than an empire.
“You’re like a real-life Indiana Jones,” Alicia breathes.
