I add, casually, “Also, since I’ll be alone, you should send the staff home. There won’t be much for them to do.”
She starts toward the kitchen door; I fall into step beside her, heading toward their room.
“Already done. Wendy will handle your meals, the robos will handle the cleaning. Everyone else is on leave.”
Pa comes out with two suitcases. I wrap my arms around him. “Take care, Pa.”
“You too, sweetheart.”
I see them off to their chopper and head back inside. I reach the kitchen, where Wendy is cooking my breakfast.
I clear my throat. “So, Miss Wendy, I have an offer for you.”
She raises her brows, already smiling. “And what’s that?”
“You tell your mother you’re staying here with me while Ma and Pa are away. And—” I grin “—you go spend a week-long honeymoon with that tall, dark, and very handsome Jacob of yours.”
Her mother is very controlling. Wendy has spent her whole life under that woman’s thumb, until her grandfather, my Pa’s chef, took her in. Now that he’s gone, her mother is back at controlling her life. Wendy is trapped in a toxicrelationship with her that she can’t leave and can’t be happy in.
Avi and I have tried to convince her to walk away, but she carries so much baggage—guilt, pressure, responsibilities she believes are hers.
That’s why she was so reluctant to start a relationship with Jacob. But now she has, and I’m damn sure Jacob will lead her toward a life where she finally lives for herself.
She tilts her head, letting the offer settle. “And how do we explain this to your grandparents when they find out?”
I wave a hand. “Come on. Your man can make the cameras glitch, make it look like a security system error. No one will know except you, me, and him. And we’ll say you were with me the whole time.”
She grins. “I’d kiss you if you didn’t have that monstrosity all over your face.”
I laugh. “I’ll settle for a hug.”
She steps closer and wraps her arms around me.
“Thank you, Wen.”
“It’s nothing.”
“I’m still coming by to cook for you, though. I can’t trust you in the kitchen.”
I shake my head. “No need for that. I promise I’ll feed myself. I’ll send photo evidence of every meal.”
She laughs. “You’ll get me fired if you end up with food poisoning. Then I’ll kill you.”
I laugh, trying not to stretch my mouth too much.
“Don’t make me laugh—I’ll get wrinkles.”
She grins. “Let me ask Jacob.”
I chuckle. “He’ll be here to pick you up in five minutes.”
She rolls her eyes, but the blush still finds its way onto her palecheeks.
Chapter 44
Elowen
After Wendy leaves—which happens just five minutes after she calls Jacob—I head back upstairs to my room. Salvario is sitting on my bed, laptop open on his knees, and Rosie is staring at the screen like she understands what he’s doing.
