r r

yance. "No lunch, so I had to just deal with it. And now it's din

anding off to the side

ealt wi

hole bottle of soda-who exact

ey'd explode in another argument, he jumped in quickly, "Mrs. Perkins, did you forget? Madam

she pointed to herself. "You want me to make dinner? Is this a

Madam Henrietta comes over to dine with Mr. Perkins and you. She

that's

ietta came over-so she could micromanage their marriage and rush them into having a

eyes locked on Lucas, teasing out the r

it's getting late. You should really head to the kitchen. Otherwise,

a huffed, turning her head aside, though t

mily meal-it was a performan

the Perkins family because some so-called fortune teller claimed Caitlin's birth cha

re over a year and not

ndchild and was fuming. Now she came monthly, under the pretense of family din

t? Probably mo

ared push her to sleep with Alexander... she'd ma

ied into a rich family, sure-but stuck with a husband col

ife was that s

ns Group in Lichester, was no joke. But Samantha was

her eyes sharp and deadly. Unfortunately-or perhaps not-she didn

ightly. That glance jus

sure fifty grand landed in her account every month. She didn't lack for

the two of them were little more than strangers-he didn't c

five-day disappearance, glaring at everyo

the kitchen, Alexander's gaz

ays. Who she's met." Samantha walked into the kitchen, obviously not in the mood. Her sister ha

lin might be tough. Since Alexander was filthy rich, there was definitely something in it she could use. So, for now

ll-when it came to Calverian food, she could barely ge

rphanage until a Calverian family living abroad adopted her. But by then, they'd fully emb

hough? That was a wh

owned a top-tier restaurant. Every time they went out to eat, the dad would personally cook for them. The food was so good, she practi

work in the oversized, near-professional

ned up like they belonged in a gourmet catalog. As she rummaged through the shelves, her eyes lit up-there were

d her: no matter how good Caitlin's cooking

n't like Cal

round at all the Farsenian ingredie

ome cooking, huh? Well then-watch me blow you

Chocolate glazed pancakes, seared duck breast with balsamic glaze, hearty seafood stew, roasted lamb and potat

Samantha calmly tossed together the final one bac

ust the right tang, super refreshing. She grabbed a handful wearing

ips. With one arm still holding the salad bowl and the other too messy to wipe her mo

ddenly came into view,

tching the salad bowl and backing away

hows up like tha

mly wiped his fingers clean, that usual po

es hard. "You scared the hell outta me! Wha

unreadable, but there was definitely

the dining room... it had

was this woman