Filed to story: The Alpha and His Nanny Luna (Tiffany & Asher) Book PDF Free
“Omelette du fromage,” Verona said with a chuckle. “And it’s Belgian waffles. Not bell-jam.”
“Right,” Ella said, turning back to face me. “Will you eat with us?”
I glanced up at Verona, who cast me a warmly approving look, then looked back down at Ella. She still had whipped cream on the side of her mouth, so I wiped it away with my thumb before it got smeared all over my silk pajamas and nodded. “Sure,” I said. “I’ll eat with you.”
Once Ella was back in her seat and happily shoving even more copious amounts of waffle and syrup into her mouth, I pulled out the chair beside her. I went to lift the silver dome that was covering my plate, but before I could, a servant scurried over and did it for me, revealing a steaming hot waffle with fruit on top and an equally steaming omelet on the side.
“Thank you,” I said. “This looks delicious.”
“Our chef is simply the best,” Verona said before popping a strawberry into her mouth, letting it sit on the inside of her cheek as she stirred cream and sugar into her coffee. I took a sip of my own coffee, feeling my worries slip away as the warm, sweet liquid filled my mouth. Even the coffee tasted as though it was made from the most expensive beans.
“Do you cook, Tiffany?” Ethan asked, cutting his omelet with a fork and a knife.
“Oh, I mean… I help the servants at the penthouse,” I replied. “I wouldn’t say I do so much cooking as I do peeling potatoes.”
“Tiffany makes me sandwiches for lunch sometimes,” Ella chimed in, sitting up on her knees to reach across the table for more syrup. Verona gently slapped the back of the little girl’s hand, growling at her under her breath to sit back down on her butt and not her knees, and poured the syrup for her. “Her sandwiches are the best.”
“Oh?” Ethan asked, raising his eyebrows. “I’m a bit of a sandwich connoisseur myself. I’ll have to try one of these sandwiches sometime.”
I felt my cheeks blush a bit, but it quickly turned to laughter as Ella practically shouted with her mouth full, spitting waffle everywhere: “What’s comeheresir mean?”
While we were laughing, Verona glanced up, wiping the tears from her eyes with her napkin. “Good morning, darling,” she said. Ethan and I both looked up as well to see Asher standing in the doorway; he was fully dressed, not in his pajamas like the rest of us, and had a sour look on his face.
“It’s time to go home. The car is waiting out front.”
Verona was taken aback by Asher’s overreaction, but I instantly felt a pit in my stomach as I saw Asher’s eyes flicker between Ethan and I for a brief moment.
If Asher wasn’t going to answer my questions about his poor relationship with his brother, then I was determined to find out in other ways. As soon as I had a chance, I would have to ask Ethan.
Tiffany
The following morning, I woke up early to get Ella ready for training. She was tired after the party, but was cooperative, and her sweet disposition distracted me from the strange experiences I had at the Sterling residence.
While Ella ate breakfast, I sought Asher out and found him in his study. Taking a deep breath, I quietly knocked on the door. He glanced up and gestured for me to come in before promptly looking back down at his work again.
“Did you need something?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable around the Alpha billionaire’s cold demeanor even though I thought I should be used to it by now.
“Well, spit it out.”
I swallowed. The last time I had done anything like I was about to ask permission for, it had ended horribly and completely stunted both Asher’s and the servants’ confidence in me.
“I would like to take some time today to visit the orphanage while Ella is at her training session,” I said.
Asher paused and slowly set his pen down, then looked up at me and leaned back in his chair. He folded his arms across his chest and looked down his nose at me, narrowing his eyes. I prepared myself for the inevitable.
“Are you planning on losing my daughter again?”
“Not at all,” I replied. “I was thinking, since the orphanage isn’t too far from there, I could get there and back before Ella even finishes her training. That’s how it would’ve worked last time, too, had I not gotten stuck in traffic.”
Asher was silent again for a few agonizing moments. “Well… You can’t predict traffic in the city,” he said. “It could happen again.”
“So I’ll make sure the attendant knows that I’ll be leaving,” I replied, the words flying out of my mouth quickly this time as I became more desperate. “I promise, it won’t happen again. Really.”
After I spoke, I could see something flash through the Alpha CEO’s cold eyes. It looked like worry. “Alright,” he said finally, picking up his pen again. “Don’t let anything happen to Ella again.”
“I won’t,” I replied softly, backing out of his office. I often forgot that Asher had feelings for anyone, but seeing such a strong emotion for his daughter flash across his face like that immediately reminded me that he wasn’t entirely cold to his core. Seeing the way that he interacted with his own father the night before also reminded me how sour behaviors like the one that Asher often exhibited were frequently a product of nurture, not nature… And I knew that Ella would grow up to be a sweet young woman, because deep down, I think that Asher knew that he had to break the cycle with her.
…
“Okay, Ella. Here’s your backpack. I’m just going to the orphanage to do some volunteer work, alright?” I said, crouching to Ella’s level as we stood outside the training facility. She nodded vehemently, and I ruffled her hair. “Okay. I’ll be here when you’re done. If I’m not, it’s just because of traffic, and I want you to go back inside and wait with the attendant until I do get here.”
Ella nodded vehemently again, her little face hilariously serious as though I had just given her marching orders to take to her grave.
I stood, watching as Ella ran to meet up with her werewolf friends. Once she was inside, I flagged down a taxi and headed to the orphanage.
I spent the next hour and a half playing with the children on the playground. While I always enjoyed every activity with the children, playing outside was one of my favorites; I always loved helping the kids cross the monkey bars, playing hide and seek with them, and participating in their games of kickball. By the time it was over, I was a bit sweaty from the summer heat, but it felt good to get some exercise.
I was just getting ready to flag down another taxi to get back to the training facility when an unfamiliar black car pulled up to me.
“Get in,” a familiar, friendly face said as he rolled down the window. It was Ethan. “I’ll give you a lift.”
I smiled and climbed into the passenger seat, buckling my seatbelt as Ethan pulled away from the curb.
“I’m headed to pick up Ella from the training facility,” I said. “You really didn’t have to do this. I appreciate it.”
“No worries,” Ethan said with a smile. “I heard about what happened last time, and I’m sure Asher is all over you like a cheap suit because of it.”
“That would be putting it lightly,” I replied, looking out the window. “He’s like one big ball of stress.”
