They dutifully clapped every time, and I was proud of Dad for at least putting in the effort to fake being excited about it, even if Old Man Morris looked like he was very much over these kinds of performances.
Lu, on the other hand, hadn’t moved from the dining table since dinner had started. She just sat there like a sullen judge presiding over a courtroom, watching everyone like she was collecting evidence.
Yeah, pizza would definitely have been better. Much more casual. Easier for her than a sit-down meal.
Dad had nixed that idea, though. He’d said that if we wanted fun and informal for our family dinner, he would have his private chef set up a buffet. Loud and chaotic as it was, Lu hadn’t touched a single piece of food on her plate, just staring at the family-friendly fare the chef had prepared like she wasn’t sure if it was poisoned.
I watched her for a moment, noticing that she wasn’t participating in any of the merriment, and then I let go of Adeline’s hand, but not before lifting it to my lips to brush a kiss across her knuckles. “I’ll be right back. I just want to check on Lu.”
Adeline glanced at her and nodded. “I tried earlier, but she didn’t want to talk. I think she’s feeling a bit left out. I was hoping if we just let her have some time that she’d settle in, but she doesn’t seem to be relaxing at all.”
“Leave it to me.” I pushed my chair back and went over to her, weaving around Cameron and Emma. Lu was watching them intently, starting a bit every time they nearly took out a side table. I smiled when I reached her. “Don’t worry about them. No one is going to let them get hurt.”
Her gaze flicked up to mine. “They look happy.”
I glanced over just in time to see Emma squeal when Cameron fell behind. “They are happy, but they come here at least once a week. They’re comfortable here. How about I show you around the house, huh? I should’ve done that the other day, but I couldn’t really move then.”
She blinked up at me for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay. So the babies don’t live here? They look like they live here.”
“No, but their daddies used to. My whole family lived here once upon a time.” I waited for her to stand and then led her away from the noise.
“What was it like?” she asked curiously. “Having so many brothersanda sister?”
I chuckled. “It was fun. Mostly. For a while there, it was also really busy, really loud, and really intense. Seven kids in one house, no matter how big it is, can get crazy at times.”
We drifted along the hallway, strolling side by side as we passed another dining room, Dad’s study, and a sitting room upstairs. Eventually, we wound up in the library. Lu stopped in the middle of it and looked around slowly.
“This is the best room,” she decided out loud.
I smiled. “I thought you might like it.”
She wandered closer to one of the shelves. “Is this house haunted?”
“I’m not sure,” I said honestly. “Maybe.”
For some reason, she seemed vaguely crestfallen. “It should be haunted.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said. “You know, if you like the house, you guys could eventually move in here with me. Or we could find a different house.”
I’d already spoken to Jennifer about the fact that Adeline and I would be getting married. Explaining things to her hadbeen surprisingly straightforward. She’d tilted her head, thought about it for a moment, and then told me she was good with it.
Apparently, she’d been rooting for the first prince all along.
Lu was different, though. She’d been a lot quieter this week, more distant than before. Finally turning away from the shelves to face me again, she crossed her arms over her chest, like she was trying to protect herself as she looked me up and down.
“Does this mean you’re going to be my dad now?” she asked, her voice so small and uncertain that I dropped into a crouch rather than towering over her for this conversation.
“You’ll always have your dad, Lu,” I said gently. “I’m not trying to replace him.”
She scoffed and looked away from me. “I never had a dad.”
Surprise snaked through me, but so did pain. Louis doing this toher,the little girl who was basically named after him, physically hurt me. It was fucking awful, but I didn’t want her to know how bad I felt about it. She needed support, it seemed, not sympathy.
“Why do you say that?”
She just stood there with her arms folded and her expression stormy. “I know everyone wanted me to be a boy, but I’m not. I’m a girl and it’s not my fault.”
“No, it really isn’t.”
