Why did I let Pie in my bed? Uh, and my bath tub? Because I was an idiot who was easily seduced with a few words and a sexy body. Both things that Pie had. In spades.

  I needed to get up and get on with my life. I had told myself yesterday that I needed to get Pie out of my head, and today was going to be day one of no Pie.

  Cold turkey.

  No more of the sexy biker.

  Being back at Wyndemere was going to make it much easier. There was no way for Pie to sneak in and Princeton, Apollo, or Murphy not know he was here. Of course, I had to deal with the fact that Princeton knew about last night, but I could totally just play it off. We were playing Monopoly or something like that.

  Who knows if he would actually believe me, but that was the story I was going to stick with.

  I needed to get up and stop thinking about Pie.

  This was Marco and Royal’s first morning back in the house, and I wanted to make it a good one. I knew I was just a chef, but I firmly believed that life revolved around food. Most good times you had in life, you could trace it back to a certain food or meal you ate. I wanted an amazing breakfast to be part of Marco and Royal’s memory of their first morning in their home with Kane.

  I quickly dressed and piled my hair on top of my head, then mentally ran through everything I had in the fridge and freezer and put together a solid plan for breakfast.

  “Morning.”

  I skidded to halt at the sight of Royal standing in front of the stove. “Uh, hi?”

  Royal laughed and glanced at me. “I was thinking of making eggs, but first I had to figure out how to even turn on the stove.”

  No one ever came into the kitchen and wanted to make breakfast. Sure, Marco and the guys helped themselves to things when it was just a snack, but meals were mine. I was the one responsible for keeping everyone fed.

  “Is that okay?” Royal asked.

  I blinked twice. “Of course,” I called. No, it wasn’t. The kitchen was mine.

  Royal waved her hand and stepped away from the stove. “Since you’re up, you can do the cooking, and I can just take a tray up to Marco. I’ll pass it off as if I cooked it,” she laughed.

  “Oh, uh, sure,” I chirped. “What did you want me to make? Eggs benedict? Maybe a quiche?” I suggested.

  Royal shook her head and smiled. “If I’m going to try to pass this off as if I made it, we’re going to have to stick to scrambled eggs and toast. Marco would know instantly I didn’t cook if I handed the man a quiche.”

  I nodded and moved to the stove. “Good thinking.”

  Royal made her way to the island and pulled out a stool. “Sorry for scaring you when you walked in. I know the kitchen is your domain.”

  She was right, but this was her house. I was just hired staff. “You can do anything you want, Royal. You are the lady of the house now. When Greer comes here, I know she’s the one to run things by.”

  “And what happens when Greer isn’t here?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “Leo or Marco are in charge, but they don’t care what I make as long as it’s something good.” I grabbed a large fry pan and set it on the stove.

  “I guess I also don’t really care what you make as long as it’s good,” she pondered.

  I grabbed a dozen eggs and started to crack them into a bowl. “Is there anything you don’t like?” I asked. “Foods that you are allergic to or just don’t want to eat?”

  Royal tipped her head to the side. “I mean, I will eat anything, but if I have to say something, I would say I’m not really into fancy stuff.”

  “Fancy stuff?” I had no clue what that could mean.

  “You know. Caviar or those little squidy things. You can skip all of that.” She cringed and gave a little shiver.

  I laughed and grabbed a whisk from the drawer. “I’ll make note of that, but I never have anything like that in the house unless it’s requested. I’m just a small-town Midwest girl, Royal. I like to make meat and potatoes.”

  “And dessert, right?” she guessed.

  I pointed at her. “Now that is where I might get a little fancy, but fancy desserts don’t have caviar or squid in them,” I laughed.

  Royal cringed. “I want no part of a dessert that has either of those things. I guess you can put that on the list of things I won’t eat.”

  I tapped my temple. “Got it. No squid or caviar desserts.” Though that was going to be an easy one to remember. “Anything like onions, mushrooms, or maybe dairy?”

  Royal shook her head. “You can add all of those to the things I love to eat. Honestly, Bristol, anything you make is delicious. I’m not going to be picky or anything.”

  Royal had stayed at Wyndemere before the accident, and she hadn’t been picky at all about what I was cooking or baking. Thankfully, Marco had fallen in love with a very laidback woman.

  “How was Kane last night? Did he sleep in his new crib?” I asked.

  Royal cringed. “I tried, but then he started crying, and I was tired so I brought him into the bed with us. Thankfully, Marco wasn’t too upset. Once I got Kane settled down, I moved him to the bassinet next to the bed, and he slept. He did wake up two times to eat, but he went right back to sleep.”

  I laughed and whisked the eggs. “Sleeping is hard work. Sometimes you need to wake up, have a little snack, and then go back to sleep.” Pie and I had a little snack in between the tub and bed last night. We needed a little fuel to keep our energy up.

  “Well, you and Kane think alike, then. Maybe you can grab him on the way to the kitchen every night.”

  I grabbed the butter from the fridge and plopped some into the pan. I laughed and shook my head. “I don’t think I have the goods that Kane wants.”

  Royal clicked her tongue. “You may have a point there.”

  “I thought you were going to make me breakfast?” Marco walked into the kitchen scratching his stomach with his hair all disheveled.

  “Oh,” Royal gasped. She jumped out of her chair and dashed over to me. “Uh, Bristol was just getting things set up for me,” she lied. “Heating up the eggs.”

  “The pan,” I corrected her. “I was just heating up the pan for Royal.”

  “Right,” Royal laughed. “If you were heating up the eggs for me, then you would be cooking them,” she cringed.

  “Royal,” Marco drawled. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you that Bristol is here to cook, and if you come in here trying to cook, then Bristol can’t cook, which is her job.”

  “But I’m your fiancée, and I’m supposed to cook for you,” Royal whined.

  “Who the hell says that?” Marco asked. “There are things I need from you, but cooking is not one of them.”

  “I just…” Royal sighed and leaned against the counter. “Those damn society standards got me thinking I need to be Betty Crocker in the kitchen I guess.”

  “Next thing I know, you’re going to tell me you need me to be able to cut the grass and trim the bushes because you think that’s what a man is supposed to do. The typical stereotypes don’t apply to us, Royal.” Marco moved to Royal and gathered her in his arms. “I’m a busy man, and that means you’re going to be busy keeping up with me. We have Bristol to help make our lives easier. I have a yard crew to cut the grass. I have my men to keep us safe. Me delegating those things to others is necessary. I’m not missing anything with you not cooking for me. With Bristol here, that means when we sit down to eat, you can sit with me and not have to worry about cleaning up or anything like that.”

  “I just don’t know if I’m cracked up for this fancy life, Marco.” Royal rested her forehead against his. “Way different than my life back in Florida.”

  “You want to go back to Florida? You can, but you should know I’m coming with you. We’ll live wherever you want, but just know my men come with and so does Bristol.”

  My eyes bugged out, and I stared at Marco. “Uh, I’m not too sure about moving to Florida. I’m a Midwest girl who loves her changing seasons.”

  Royal chuckled. “Don’t worry, Bristol. I don’t have any plans to move to Florida or from here. I guess I’m just feeling a little out of whack today.”

  “Did you take your pills the doctor gave you?” Marco asked.

  Royal shook her head. “Not this morning. I normally take them after I eat.”

  Marco pointed to me. “Get breakfast done, Bristol. Royal needs to take her medicine.”

  I nodded and dumped the eggs into the pan. “Give me ten minutes and you’ll have full plates in front of you.”

  Kane’s cry came from the baby monitor Royal had brought down with her.

  Marco pressed a kiss to Royal’s forehead. “I got him, amore mio. I’ll get him changed and then bring him down for breakfast.”

  He jogged from the kitchen and called to Kane that Daddy was on the way.

  “I never thought I would see that side of Marco,” I chuckled. The hard, stoic mafia man was replaced with a sweet, caring dad.

  Royal sighed. “He’s such a good guy. I really hit the jackpot with him.”

  I gently stirred the eggs in the pan and glanced at Royal. “Uh, you need to take some medicine? Is everything okay after having Kane?”

  Royal closed her eyes. “Uh, not really, but it will be.” She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. “I’ve got a bit of that postpartum depression going on. I think I’m driving Marco crazy with my mood swings. Last week, Dr. Hamm prescribed something that will help.”

  “That’s good, right?” I grabbed the loaf of bread and popped four pieces into the toaster. “There’s no reason why you need to suffer when there is a little pill that can help you feel normal again.”

  “I know,” Royal sighed. “I just kind of feel like a failure since I can’t seem to get my moods under control on my own.”

  “You are far from a failure, Royal. You’ve been through a hell of a lot, and if you need a little help to make it through, there isn’t any shame in that.” I reached out and squeezed her hand. “You’re amazing, and you are being an amazing mommy to Kane.”

  Royal burst out crying. “That was so nice,” she cried.

  Oh, no. This was not my intention. I had hoped that Royal would be happy to hear that I thought she was amazing, and I had not anticipated she would burst out crying.

  Royal sniffled and waved her hand in front of her face. “Ugh, I thought my crazy hormones would go away once I had Kane. It’s like they’ve gotten worse and now I have postpartum depression on top of everything. Having a baby is amazing, but there are so many things that people don’t tell you.”

  “But you’re handling everything amazingly.”

  “Let’s just stop talking about it. I have to deal with so much in my head, so I don’t want to have to waste my time talking about it.”

  “That’s fine, but if you need to talk, you know I’m always in the kitchen.”

  Royal laughed. “That is the truth, and you have no idea how much I appreciate that. I need to appreciate that you’re here to make things easier for me and not to make me feel bad.”

  “You can always help me,” I suggested. “If you want to grab the plates and figure out what you guys want to drink, that would be a huge help.” I could delegate small things for Royal to do if she wanted to feel more helpful.

  Royal smiled sincerely. “And that is your way of getting my mind off of everything.” She squeezed my arm. “Thank you, Bristol.”

  She worked on setting the table and filling coffee cups for herself and Marco. By the time I was spooning the eggs onto the plate, he came down with Kane in his arms.

  “There’s Mommy,” he cooed to Kane.

  Kane’s face lit up at the sight of Royal.

  That sweet baby was the thing that pasted a huge smile on Royal’s face and made her forget about worrying about all of the small things.

  Things had changed pretty quickly for Royal, and then, she also had a baby. She would have been Superwoman if none of this hadn’t affected her.

  Kidnapped, her brother murdered, whisked away to this mammoth house, falling in love with Marco, and then having a sweet baby to top it all off. Definitely whirlwind.

  Marco insisted on holding Kane while they ate, and Royal tried to argue with him. I cleared my throat and gave her a knowing glance.

  “Fine,” she sighed. “But if he gets fussy and wants to eat, you’re handing him over.”

  “Agreed,” Marco smiled. “I need the ketchup.”

  Royal plopped down on her stool and wrinkled her nose. “I’m not getting that because ketchup does not belong on eggs.”

  Marco walked over to the fridge and whispered softly. “Thank you, Bristol. She needs someone to talk to that isn’t me.”

  I nodded gently. “I’m always here to help.”

  “Are you two whispering about me?” Royal called.

  Marco chuckled and turned back to Royal. “I was telling Bristol that from now on, she always needs to serve ketchup with the scrambled eggs.” He grabbed the ketchup from the fridge and bumped the door shut with his hip.

  Royal gagged. “You’re a perfect man and then you say something crazy like ketchup belongs on scrambled eggs.”

  “Make sure you put that on my headstone when I die,” Marco laughed. He sat down next to Royal and cradled Kane in one arm. “Maybe add in something about being me being a good dad and husband, too.”

  Royal rolled her eyes. “No, sorry. All it’s going to say is ‘Here lies Marco Banachi. He was loved even though he liked ketchup on his eggs.’”

  Marco laughed. “I guess I don’t really have a say about it, do I?”

  “For the record,” I called. “I like ketchup on my eggs, too.” It was a weird combination, but it was delicious.

  Marco pointed his fork at me. “See, Bristol likes it, too, and she has way better taste buds than anyone in this house. She’s got those chef taste buds.”

  “You’re right. When I graduated culinary school, they gave me a pretty blue velvet box with my taste buds tucked inside.” I winked at Marco and laughed.

  “You don’t have to lie to him just because he pays you,” Royal giggled. “I promise you’ll always have a place at Wyndemere.”

  I smiled wide and nodded. “Good to know.” I really did love my job and it wasn’t entirely because I was able to cook and bake all of the time. I loved the people who filled Wyndemere. Marco and Leo, while being big-time mafia bosses, were some of the best people I had ever met in my life.

  Apollo walked into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee cup. “Morning,” he called.

  Princeton and Murphy soon followed in behind him.

  “Eggs?” Murphy asked.

  I grabbed the pan from the stove. “I made plenty for everyone. Grab a plate and I’ll put some toast down.”

  Princeton rubbed his hands together. “I love your scrambled eggs. I don’t know how you do it, but they’re light and fluffy.” He grabbed a fork and scooped some out of the pan into his mouth.

  “You stick that fork back in the pan, and you’re gonna be eating all of them.” Murphy bumped Princeton out of the way and grabbed the spoon. He filled his plate with eggs and snatched a fork out of the drawer.

  “I’ll bring toast over once it’s done,” I called, popping four more pieces of bread into the toaster.

  “What are your plans for today?” Apollo asked.

  I glanced over at him. “The usual.”

  “Not another bread baking day?” he chuckled.

  I shook my head. “That happens once every two weeks. I’m good for a while unless there is an impromptu party happening that you know about.”

  Apollo shook his head. “God, I hope not. I’d love to go for some good ol’ boring days.”

  “I do think I’ll run to the store today or tomorrow. I need to stock up on a few pantry items I am running low on.” I grabbed the toast when it popped up and buttered them.

  “Oh,” Royal called. “If you go tomorrow, I’ll come with you. I need a few things.”

  “Just make a list and give it to Bristol. She’ll get it for you,” Marco replied.

  Royal shook her head. “Uh, no. I get that Bristol is here to help me, but I can still do things for myself. Besides, I think going to the store is going to be the only peace I can get.”

  “Does that mean you are leaving Kane with me?”

  Royal bumped her shoulder into Marco. “I think you can handle him for an hour.” She pointed at me. “We should check out the coffee place in town when we go.”

  I nodded. “Sounds good to me. I can use my chef taste buds to see if the coffee is actually good.”

  “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Marco groaned. “I just meant you have much more experienced taste buds than we do.”

  “Experienced taste buds?” Murphy laughed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s kind of like you just judged her by how much food she’s tasted.” Princeton shook his head. “Don’t food shame her, Marco,” he laughed.

  I laughed so hard that I snorted.

  “Look what you did,” Marco called. “She’s going to hyperventilate because of your lame humor.”

  “I’m gonna get a shirt made for you that says ‘chef taste buds’ on it.” Royal sipped her coffee. “I bet I could make a mint if I printed a bunch of them.”

  Marco leaned toward her and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “You already have a mint, amore mio.”

  Royal rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I want to sit around counting your pennies all day?”

  “I don’t have pennies,” Marco grunted.

  “He’s got hundos laying around for you to count, doll,” Princeton chuckled.

  “I really wish you wouldn’t refer to my money as ‘hundos.’” Marco wiped his mouth and sipped his coffee. “You sound like you’re fifteen, not forty-one.”

  “Someone has to act young and hip around here.” Princeton snagged one of the pieces of toast I buttered. “We all know that isn’t you.”

  “We can do it tomorrow, Royal,” I called, ignoring the bickering between Marco and Princeton. “I’ll take an inventory of my pantry again and see what I need.”

  Royal smiled wide. “Great. We can make a girl’s day of it.”

 

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