The rest of June flew by in a blur, and when the time came to host the party for Walker, she was beyond turning back. Whatever the two of them fell into was more than a fling. It was more than simply sex—not that she’d admit that aloud yet, and neither did he. Still, she couldn’t even count the number of times they snuck a quickie in the pantry or on the desk in his study. Or the living room couch, or the kitchen island. Once, they even did it outside at night under the blanket of stars, and she’d never felt so alive.

That morning when she woke up in his bed again, she ran her fingers down his cheek as he slept. The three dogs snored loudly around the room, and she let herself believe this could be her future. Waking up to his face every morning.

She slipped from the bed and took a quick shower before making her way downstairs to get the dogs fed and the kitchen prep started. Frankie would arrive in a few hours with his crew of cooks to get the food ready for the upcoming party. She’d barely started a pot of coffee when the door swung open and two strong arms wrapped around her waist. Walker nuzzled her neck and she giggled as he kissed her.

“You have to be hands-off today, remember?” she reminded him as he continued to hug her as she moved around the kitchen. “Walker.”

“What? We still have a few hours.”

“And you don’t think this is going to be weird at all? Me here with your three ladies roaming around?” She expected to feel a spike of jealousy knowing he would spend the day talking to them and ignoring her, but at the end of the day, she knew who Walker wanted to be with.

“It is, but my father will be present as well, so there’s not much I can do unless you’re ready to lose the restaurant.”

She spun in his arms and stared up into his face. Darien told her the restaurant wasn’t everything, and she knew that, she honestly did, but at the same time, she wanted Jaybird’s back. Wanted to run it and carry on her dad’s legacy.

“You’re right, I know. I just don’t want to make life difficult for you.”

He kissed her again and held out a purple bandanna for her hair. “The only thing you do is make my life about a hundred times better. Don’t forget it.”

“I’ll try not to.”

The back door opened and Douglas walked in, muttering under his breath about the dogs trying to get at the bones in the shopping bag. “You confounded beasts. No one’s going to get anything if you don’t settle down,” he tried, but the dogs kept bouncing around him. Walker clapped his hands to try and calm them, but that failed too.

Jaylyn rolled her eyes, put her fingers to her lips, and whistled. All three dogs turned on the spot and plopped their butts down, waiting patiently as they stared at her. Douglas and Walker looked to her, and she planted her hands on her hips. “You have to know how to talk to them.”

“Traitors,” Walker whispered to the dogs, and Strider yipped. “Right, I’ll be upstairs getting ready if anyone needs me.”

Jaylyn wanted to follow and sneak in a quick shower with him, but Douglas was there and Frankie wouldn’t be too far behind. She busied herself with setting up the kitchen before moving to the dining room. They would turn the table into a massive buffet line. Frankie’s boys would take care of the grill out on the gravel drive while he and Jaylyn managed the kitchen. When the horns started honking outside, she threw a towel over her shoulder and went outside to see Frankie stepping out of his catering truck with two more vans behind him.

“You look like you’re in a fantastic mood,” he said when he reached her.

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked and propped open the back door. “Mind the dogs! They won’t bite, but they’ll lick you to death!”

Douglas rushed out after the dogs to try and gather them up and take them around back. They would have to be put on leads for the party, but the day was cool and they had plenty of bones and water to keep them occupied.

“You ready for this?” she asked and lead the way inside.

“Catering a party for a bunch of rich ass people? What’s not to love?”

“At least we get to hide in the kitchen all day.”

Not having to watch Walker speak to those women was a bonus, or seeing Leo Allard walking around with that serious, smug face of his. She wondered if one day, his face would freeze in a permanent scowl.

* * *

Hours later as the sun made its downward descent in the sky, guests arrived and the festivities began. Walker set up lawn games out back, liquor flowed freely from the bar in the lounge across the hall from the dining room, and the house was filled with music and cheerful voices. The kitchen bustled with cooks and servers pushing food out of the kitchen and bringing in more from the grill.

“Jaylyn, Frankie,” Douglas said on one of his pass-throughs, “the food is a big hit. Walker wanted me to tell you how impressed he was. He’s throwing in a bonus for a job well done.”

“You can tell that man thanks very much,” Frankie said with a wide smile. “You need to make friends with some more rich men. I could make bank in a few years and retire early. Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”

Jaylyn nodded, but she wasn’t really paying attention. Frankie had asked her earlier how living there was going, and she’d lied and said it was boring but doable. She was making money and that was what mattered, but the truth tugged at her annoyingly until she wanted to blurt everything out to her friend.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” He nudged her, and she set down the knife she’d used to chop vegetables.

“The usual. I’m worried about Dad and the restaurant.”

“Both of which, I think, are doing fine,” he mused.

The kitchen door swung inward, and she caught a brief glimpse of Walker speaking with some men, drinking beers, and having a good time.

“I knew it,” Frankie whispered and she flinched.

“Knew what?”

“Don’t lie to me. You’re turning bright red, woman. I told Hannah. I told her you were hiding something! Are you and him? Are you two…you know…” He bumped his fists together, and her face burned hot.

Grabbing his arm, she dragged him to the mudroom and closed the door. “Stop with the hand gestures and close your mouth, for God’s sake.”

“You’re having sex with him. Jaylyn, what the hell are you thinking?”

“It’s a long story.”

“No, it’s not. You made a deal with this guy to get your restaurant back, and now you’re sleeping with him? You really don’t think this is a bad idea at all? In any regard?” He pressed his palm against her forehead and she shoved it away.

“I’m not sick and I’m not crazy, all right?” she snapped and paced away from him. “I like him, Frankie. I like him a lot and he likes me, too.”

Frankie was frowning when she faced him again. “I thought you said he was engaged.”

She crossed her arms nervously. “Like I said, it’s a long, complicated story.”

He blew out a heavy breath. “What did you get yourself into, woman? Do you even understand how wrong this could go? Do you really think he’s going to give up this rich life of his to marry you?”

“Not at first, no.”

“Not at first?” he repeated confused. “Jaylyn—”

“He has to marry one of the women his dad approves of first, get the restaurant under his control, and then he can divorce her and we can be together,” she rambled. The second she said it, she realized how bad it sounded and why Frankie stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “I’ll admit it sounds worse than it is.”

“You’ve landed in a goddamn soap opera!” he yelled and she hurried to shush him when a few of the people in the kitchen turned to look at them. “I have to tell Hannah. We’re having an intervention or something. This is insane. I can’t let you be with a guy who’s clearly using you!”

“He’s not sleeping with anyone else.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better? None of this makes sense, you see that, right? To a normal person, none of this makes sense!”

“I never was much for sanity,” she muttered and stalked towards the door. He blocked her path, but she glowered at him and he stepped aside.

“I’m trying to look out for you.”

“Well, you’re doing a shitty ass job,” she snarled and whipped around on him. “I’ve put up with some shit before, but with Walker, the world does make sense. I’m happy with him, happier than I’ve ever been, and he’s willing to put himself in a horrible situation so I can have my dream and we can run it together.” She sucked in a deep breath and yanked her bandanna from her hair, her heart pounding. “I’m sorry if you don’t approve, but things aren’t always easy. I’m not walking away from him and I’m not leaving my dad’s restaurant behind either. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get some air.”

She stormed out of the mudroom as the words she nearly let slip rattled around in her mind. Love. She’d almost admitted she loved Walker. She cut through the hall that led from the kitchen, around the house, and towards the foyer and ducked her head low as she marched upstairs to wash her face and cool off before she accidentally set something on fire, like Frankie’s hair.

She tried to tell herself countless times falling for Walker was a bad idea and the chances of them actually winding up together happily ever after were slim. But no matter how hard she attempted to stay away from him, she always wound up back in his arms. Jaylyn couldn’t walk away now. She would have to see this through to whatever end.

* * *

Brittany’s laughter cut short when she caught the woman darting upstairs. No one ever went upstairs in Walker’s house, but that woman had. Excusing herself from the gaggle of women she gossiped with, she walked to the stairs and glanced up in time to see the woman disappear down the hall.

After all the times she’d come here, Walker never once gave her a tour of the upstairs, and Brittany swore she saw a chef’s jacket. She hurried quietly up the stairs and peeked down the hall. The woman disappeared into a room and Brittany bristled. Was that her bedroom? Or Walker’s room? He was outside with his father and a few other business men, discussing how well the lodge was doing. So why was she up there?

Brittany hustled down the hall, struggling not to fall in her four-inch heels and tugging her short dress down when it rode up her ass. The door was open, and when she peered inside, she had to swallow a gasp of shock. The room appeared well lived in, as if this woman lived in the house with Walker. Her Walker. She glared around the room and her gaze landed on the messed-up bed as her thoughts darkened. Was he sleeping with the help, or was she sleeping with him thinking she’d be able to weasel her way into his life? She crept further into the room when she heard water running and assumed the woman was in the bathroom. There was a photo on the dresser of a woman with two older people Brittany assumed were her parents. A quick glance in the closet showed nothing of taste and there was no jewelry in sight. Nothing that told her who this woman really was. She should have left, but her jealousy rose like a violent beast, and she parked her ass on the foot of the bed to wait.

The door opened a few moments later and a woman Brittany had to grudgingly admit was pretty jumped when she saw Brittany.

“Damn it, what are you doing up here?” she asked, confused.

“I could ask you the same thing. You are the cook, are you not?’ she snapped, though a smile remained on her face.

“Yes, I am.”

“Then why are you up here? Do you live here?”

The woman glanced around the room with an arched brow. “Clearly, so if you would be so kind to get out of my room, that would be great. I have to get back to the kitchen.”

“Yes, the kitchen.” She sighed as she stood and sauntered towards the woman. “I want to remind you that the kitchen is your place and your only place in this household.”

“Is that right?”

“Quite. Walker Allard is not for you, or any other woman of your…stature. He belongs with a woman like me.”

The woman stared at her blankly and burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, it’s amusing is all. You think you’re his favorite, don’t you?”

Brittany huffed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“No reason, except I know for a fact you’re not,” she whispered as she passed her on her way out the door. “You know what? I don’t care. Stay up here, snoop around. You won’t find anything, but whatever makes you feel better.”

“Are you fucking him?” Brittany yelled, hoping to shock the woman, but she kept on grinning. “Are you?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself if you’re so insecure?” She winked and waltzed out of the bedroom, leaving Brittany to fume alone. She went through the woman’s things, but aside from a poor taste in clothes, she found nothing to give evidence she was sleeping with Walker or they had any relationship at all.

But she was living in his house, and when Brittany finally exited the bedroom, she spotted another open door at the end of the hall and cursed. The woman slept in the room right beside Walker’s. No one’s help slept that close to them unless it was for a reason. As she rejoined the party, she sought out Helena and Georgette and pulled them away from their conversations.

“What do you want?” Georgette drank her martini and appeared bored as she always did.

“Do you know who the cook is?”

“Which cook? The one Walker hired who makes incredible food?” Georgette asked. “Why do you care so much?’

“Did you know she fucking lives here?”

Helena’s eyes widened in shock as she choked on her drink, but Georgette merely blinked.

“I’m not sure why that’s surprising. She does work here all day long. He probably wanted to save her the trouble of commuting.”

“Or he’s doing something else with her,” Brittany seethed. “She’s digging her claws into him, manipulating him. She’ll turn him against us.”

“Now you’re being paranoid,” Georgette argued.

“Or I’m onto something. Has he ever made a move on any of you?”

Helena and Georgette shook their heads. “You think he’s having sex with her?” the first asked, horrified. “Why would he do that to us?”

“We’re not married to him yet,” Georgette reminded them, “and we all know he’s dating all three of us. He’s not exclusive. He can do what he wants for now, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Seriously? You really want this tramp with him? Why doesn’t this piss you off more?”

Georgette finished her drink and offered a polite smile, but Brittany saw the gears turning in that woman’s eyes. She knew something the others didn’t, but whatever it was, she kept it to herself. “Good afternoon, ladies. I’m heading back to the party.”

Brittany fumed as she walked away, her hips swaying as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I hate her.”

“Ditto. What are we going to do about this cook?”

“I already warned her to stay away, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll come up with something to get rid of her. Walker needs the three of us. He can always hire another cook.”

Brittany shot back the rest of her whiskey and pop, and went to grab a second one. She glared at Walker from across the room. All this time, she knew that man hid something from them. No man turned down a night with her, but he flat-out refused to give in to her flirting. Soon enough, she would change the game, and Walker would be eating out of the palm of her hand and the rest of the women could watch from a distance, envious of all she had gained.