19. Evangeline

Every day, I find myself in the company of one of the Everharts, but this time I don't dread seeing them.

"Eva, come here, I want to show you something," Ryder says, catching me as I exit the kitchen after cleaning up breakfast.

Ryder shows me his phone, where he's got a little video pulled up. When he presses play, I watch as a kitten sneaks up to someone videoing him on the side of the road, and then an entire litter of kittens follows behind, emerging one by one from the long grass like a veritable army.

The sight completely melts my heart. I feel almost teary at the image of all those kittens, trusting some man they don't even know, understanding that he is safe and he will protect them.

"Are you alright, Evangeline?" Ryder asks.

"I'm fine," I say with a sniffle. "Honest. It's just so cute."

Ryder visibly relaxes. "Someone sent it to me, and I thought it would make you smile," he tells me. I'm touched by the thought that he wanted to see me smile.

He gives me an intense look. "You look beautiful when you're smiling. I should make you smile more often."

My cheeks turn pink at that, and he leans in, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "Let me walk you wherever you're on your way to next."

"I was just about to go clean Oliver's study," I tell him.

"I'll go with you," Ryder says. "I'm heading near there, anyway."

We walk together up to Oliver's study, Ryder chatting with me about his work at their club downtown.

After Ryder leaves and I'm in the middle of cleaning Oliver's study, he pops up unexpectedly.

"I'll be done shortly, sir," I tell him, stepping to the side in case he needs something from his desk.

"Actually, it was you I was looking for," he admits, pulling something out from behind his back. "I found this book and I thought you might enjoy it." He holds it out to me, and I take it, examining the cover. It's a fantasy romance about a shifter finding his human mate at a moonlight masquerade.

"Wow, this looks so good," I exclaim, smoothing a hand over it. "I can't wait to read it."

"I'm glad I grabbed it, then," Oliver says, a smile on his face that shows his dimples. "You'll have to tell me if you like it."

"Definitely," I agree, already mourning the fact that I'm going to have to wait to start reading it until later tonight.

"How's the baby?" he adds, glancing at my belly, which is just barely hidden by my uniform dress now.

"No movement yet," I confess. "So, I'm guessing things are fine in there for her. She's too small for me to notice anything, anyway. She's only the size of a peach."

"So tiny," Oliver agrees. "But she'll be growing fast."

"I feel like I've already started to experience some symptoms of the second trimester," I confess. "Just earlier, I almost started crying at a video of some kittens getting rescued."

Oliver hid a smile and nodded. "That happens, I hear."

I relax, realizing he's not going to make fun of me for being emotional. "So, when do you leave for work again?" I ask, knowing that Declan's been having Oliver travel around to deal with stuff relating to the family business.

"Not until next week," Oliver said. "I don't need to be anywhere right now. I can stay here and have some downtime."

For some reason, this makes me strangely happy. I've been feeling a craving deep down for their company lately, worse since the afternoon I spent with Theo and Ryder.

"So, I'll see you around the estate, then?" I ask, trying to hide how happy I am at this news.

"Definitely," Oliver says, then impulsively, he pulls me to him for a kiss. We break apart and look up at each other, but Oliver just smirks and leaves the room.

The next day, I'm working on dusting some bookshelves on the third floor when I hear footsteps approaching. "It's just me," Theo calls out. I look up to see him carrying a basket on his arm. "Come with me," he says. I follow, curious about what's happening.

He leads us down to a small room, a kind of study-slash-guest lounge, and sits me on the couch.

"What's that?" I ask, leaning back as I look at the basket.

"I brought you lunch," Theo offers. "You've been working hard and you deserve a break."

I gape at him, completely caught off-guard by his kindness. "Are you sure?" I ask, hesitating. A part of me thinks it might be a trick.

"Yep. I had the cook make us some stuffed salmon croquettes," he says. "I know pregnant women can't have certain foods, so I made sure this was alright."

My heart feels full to bursting in my chest at this revelation. Theo reaches in and takes out a plate of food and places it on the table next to me.

"You want some fruit?" he asks, lifting a platter of fruit out of the basket next. He offers me a strawberry, and I reach out for it, but he decides to hold it to my lips instead, and I part them, letting him slip the juicy berry between my teeth until I can bite down on the sweet flesh, a little juice dribbling down my chin.

He wipes it away with a finger. "Good?"

"Delicious," I murmur.

That's the only physical contact that happens, though. For the rest of the meal, he remains chaste, keeping his hands to himself.

When we're done, he cleans everything up himself and sweeps out of the room, leaving me alone.

My head is spinning. The Everharts have been so incredibly kind lately. Will it last?

Everything that I've been keeping from them is still hanging over me like a heavy weight. I feel like I've got so many secrets now, so much that threatens to tear us apart.

The baby, the files on Declan… it's so much to keep inside, and I feel like I'm going to explode from holding onto it. I just don't know what to do, but if I don't do something, someone is going to get hurt—and it's probably going to be me.

Things have finally started to become good between us. They've finally started to treat me with respect. They seem to like spending time with me. I'm loathe to break this fragile peace between us.

A few days later, I'm still mulling over what to do about all this when everyone in the staff begins whispering and gossiping that Declan is coming to visit the manor.

I wonder what he's doing by coming here. He hasn't come for a visit since sometime before I was hired on, since none of the staff except Fitz have met him.

"Where are the Everharts?" one of the maids asks another, brow furrowing. "Are they even home?"

Something about this twists in my gut. Why would Declan be coming to the manor if not to visit with his nephews? My stomach sinks, and I wonder if he knows something about the files I have in my suitcase.

I haven't had morning sickness in ages, but I feel like I might throw up right now, anxiety gripping me tightly in its claws.

Declan strolls into the manor like he owns the place, the sunlight casting shadows across his face as he scans the faces of the staff who have come to peek at him.

His eyes narrow, and he takes heavy strides across the tile, footsteps echoing as he approaches Fitz and begins asking questions. Fitz shakes his head, and this seems to incite Declan because he begins speaking louder, gesturing wildly.

Fitz still shakes his head and bows, turning on his heel and leaving. Declan yells after him, "Bastard!"

I decide that I don't want to stick around, so I escape, heading to the lounge to clean something.

My heart is hammering in my chest, certain that Declan knows the truth and he's come to confront me about it. I don't know why he'd know, but that's what my anxiety is doing to me.

"You have some nerve…"

I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear Declan speaking behind me.

"Me?" I ask, turning to look at him with wide eyes. "Sir?"

"I knew that someone here was distracting the boys," he says, stepping forward. "I came here hoping to find out. Fitz wouldn't say, but some of the staff were all too eager to spill the beans for the right price."

I breathe in and out slowly, trying to keep myself from shaking. His eyes flash dangerously as he steps forward, eyes falling to my belly, then flicking back to my face with sharp understanding.

"If you think you can come in and seduce these boys away, you have another thing coming, missy. They've been neglecting their duties. Oliver asked to postpone his trip. Ryder has no longer come running the second I asked."

I gulp. "I didn't do anything," I whisper.

"Bullshit!" he yells, startling me enough to have me jumping back. "You're nothing but a fucking maid, so know your place and stop distracting my boys from their work!"

He steps forward again, his hand reaching out, but just at that moment, Ryder walks through the door, taking in the sight in front of him.

"Declan," he greets warmly. "Why are you talking to the maid? She's supposed to be preparing my lunch. Come along, Miss Parker. You're not getting out of that just because you're so awestruck by the infamous Declan O'Malley." His tone is sharp, reminiscent of the early days of my working here.

I follow along, chancing a glance over my shoulder at Declan as we leave the room. He's got a bitter look on his face, but Ryder drags me along by the arm, pulling me down the hall, and takes me up the stairs, pushing me into his room.

"Are you alright?" he asks, dropping his fa?ade as soon as we're alone. I nod, running my hands over my arms to warm myself up. He shakes his head. "You know, I trust Declan with my life. He's a great uncle. But he's dangerous, Eva. I don't want you alone with him ever again. I don't know what he wanted from you, but the way you looked when I came in… I suspect it wasn't for a friendly chat. Promise me you'll tell us if Declan ever tries to get you alone again."

My eyes widen slightly, and I nod, relieved that Ryder came when he did.

"I will," I promise. Hopefully, this will be the last time I'm ever around Declan again.