I pushed both kids into the kitchen. “As soon as we wash our hands, we’ll be back.”
Greta looked on as the kids touched her sink and frowned. “There are many bathrooms in this house, Miss Autumn. My sink is not for germs.”
Forcing a smile, I nodded. “Got it.”
Jones stomped back to the table and settled in his seat, while Caroline dawdled and then pouted when I steered her to her chair and helped her into it.
“You can eat with the rest of the staff in the back dining room.” And just like that, I was dismissed by Griffin.
I was furious. To be treated like trash because I was doing a job that he needed done poured gasoline on my hatred of the uber-rich. I marched back into the kitchen and met Greta’s gaze. “Back dining room?”
She must have sensed that I was just another lowly staff member. Her gaze softened and she smiled. “We are but peasants here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You said it, sister.”
She pointed me through the door at the far side of the kitchen. “Through there. Jeremiah and Helen should already be there. And as soon as I serve the family dinner, I’ll join you.”
I nodded and went through the door, finding a handsome middle-aged man sitting across from a woman who had to be older than Granny Lane. I smiled at both of them and took one of the two empty seats. “Hey. I’m Autumn. I’m the new nanny.”
“Jeremiah. Groundskeeper.”
The woman frowned. “Helen. I’m the housekeeper.”
I looked at the pot of stew on the table and my stomach growled loudly. I’d skipped breakfast because of my nerves, and the sandwich that Greta had brought to the playroom hadn’t been enough. “This smells amazing. Greta is quite the cook, huh?”
“She’s quite the woman, all right.” Jeremiah grinned. “We’ve been married for ten years.”
“That’s amazing. Do you like getting to work together?”
Helen made an unhappy noise. “I think I’ll take my dinner to my room.”
I watched the woman leave and frowned. “Did I say something?”
With a snort, Jeremiah shook his head. “If you were Mother Theresa, she’d still have a problem with you. You’d still be too young and dressed too sexy for her liking.”
I laughed. “Well, at least I know not to waste my time baking her friendship cookies.”
“Is that a thing? Because I love cookies.”
Greta walked in and sent a warm look to her husband. “The one thing I can’t give him. I’m not big on making sweets. There are too many rules and too much precision. I like the art of making food the way I want it.”
A shrill scream pierced the air, the same scream I’d heard all day long. Sighing, I looked longingly at the stew and groaned. “That’s my cue.”
It was going to be a long summer.
Chapter 4
***Autumn***
I was dreaming about mermaids. The sounds of the beach coming in through the window I’d left open the night before were spurring beautiful images of Ariel and Flounder. It’d been years since I’d watchedThe Little Mermaidbut sleeping so close to the ocean was filling my head with thoughts of dinglehoppers and handsome princes. I rolled over in my new bed and sighed happily as I was lulled awake by the call of seagulls.
The bed was a cloud, and it held me better than any lover ever had. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get up when my alarm went off. It was hard not to notice the differences between the homes I’d lived in and the mega beach house I was pretending to live in for the summer. I’d never heard the beach from an open window at my parents’ house growing up, or my apartment. I’d also never slept in a bed that probably cost more than my college degree. Some things the Phoenix family could provide with their billions of dollars were pretty nice; I’d give them that. Too bad the bullshit that came with the money wasn’t nearly worth it.
I curled up even tighter and sighed. The gentle crashing of the waves couldn’t distract me from the household I’d signed up to be a part of. The brothers weren’t great. Con was the biggest asshole from my past, putting it nicely. Zeke hadn’t bothered to speak to me, and Griffin was rude and so out of touch, it was sad. Not to mention how terrible his kids acted. Kids were just little products of their raising, so I couldn’t hold it against them, but they really were pains.
I rolled back over and opened my eyes to see a cherub of a little girl staring down at me with the biggest blue eyes I’d ever seen. I gasped and yanked my blanket up even higher.
“Hi! I’m Grace.”
