Zach
Westwood Manor was full again. It was family dinner night and even Dad had returned from
the tropics to celebrate the un-unraveling of his very important deal with Clark Morris.
Adeline’s grandfather was also in attendance, both him and Dad appropriately grouchy over
the noise levels in the house as they sat at one corner of the table, surrounded by laughter and
shrieking kids.
Cameron and Emma were racing through the corridors like they were taking part in the
Olympics, much to Alex’s delight and Nate’s visible frustration. Jesse and Jacque were loudly
trying to convince Theo to start a conga line while Jane and Kate were at the buffet spread,
picking out things they felt their children might actually eat.
Everyone was here exc ept Will, Charlotte, and their families. Adeline, Lu, and Jennifer were
the new additions to our personal brand of chaos, and while I still hadn’t fully adjusted to the
fact that they were now my family, it felt damn good to have them with us.
I sat next to Adeline at the table, my hand on her thigh as I watched it all go down. Jennifer
was in total social butterfly mode, currently performing what she called dance routines for Dad
and the elder Clark, loudly instructing them to clap every time it ended.
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
pr epared 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 brothers and a 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 had been 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 r eplace him.”
She scoffed and looked away from me. “I never had a dad.” Surprise snaked through me,
but so did pain. Louis doing this to her, 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.”
Her chin lifted a little, that stubborn streak coming through clear as day. “My dad was mad
when I wasn’t a boy. Will you be mad at my mom like my dad was if you don’t have a boy?”
Good Lord. I did my best to hold it together, but what the fuck had that man done to them?
I reached for her little hands slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wanted, but when she
didn’t, I folded my fingers gently around hers. “Girls are more fun. I like watching princess
movies and buying sparkly, girly boots for you, and frankly, I’d rather play with Barbies than with
trucks. If your mom decides that she wants another baby, I hope it’s a girl. Just like you.”
Her suspicion of me eased just a fraction. “Are we going to live in Wisconsin again?”
“We’ll spend time there. For vacations and school breaks. We could even go some
weekends, but we’ll live here. In Chicago.”
She looked around the library again. “In this house, right?” “Only if you like it,” I reiterated.
“It’s close to your new school, so I could run beside you if you want to ride your bike to school in
the mornings. It’s up to you, obviously, but it’s a possibility.”
“Would I get my own room?” she asked thoughtfully. “You’ll get first choice,” I said. “In fact,
you could have Uncle Theo’s room if you want. It has the best windows and probably a ghost or
two.”
A smile finally broke through. “Do you think he’d let me have it?” I shrugged. “He might be
going on vacation for a while, so he won’t mind, but there are tons of rooms for you to choose
from if we do decide to live here.”
Lu let out a broken laugh and looked around again for a few long moments before she
nodded. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Zach.”
I grinned, relief inching in where previously there had been uncertainty, worry, and more
than a little sk epticism about how she was going to react. If I had Lu’s seal of approval, that was
already a huge leap in the right direction.