Chapter 86

Judy’s POV

Later in the evening, we had dinner in the dining hall. I told the kitchen staff and Harper that on the days Gavin isn’t here, I’ll just eat in the kitchen. They seemed to have understood; so far, everybody here was very nice.

The food was delicious as well. I glanced at Gavin who was cutting into his steak and when he felt me staring at him, he glanced in my direction.

“I need to talk to you about something,” I said quickly as I put down my fork.

“Go on,” he said, raising his brows; he was trying hard not to smile, and I could tell because the corner of his lip twitched.

“I need my best friend,” I blurted. “I need to be able to talk to her about stuff and I hate lying about what’s been going on in my life. She’s going to ask questions once she realizes I’m no longer living at the Cash family manor and I’d like to tell her the entire truth about… well… this,” I said, motioning between me and him, and then gesturing to the mansion.

He studied me for a moment; I was holding my breath as his eyes scanned my face and then he put his fork down. His face was shining with indifference, and it made a knot form in the pit of my stomach. I worried about what he was going to say; maybe I was looking way too into this and there was nothing to tell. Either way, I still wanted her to know that I was living in the Landry mansion. But what if he said no… then I would have to continue lying to her.

My mind was spiraling, and I was very aware of that, but then he cleared his throat, bringing my attention to his face.

“Is it that girl that works at the Carter resort?” He asked.

I was surprised he remembered her, and I felt a strange sense of jealousy rising in my chest, but I swallowed it down and nodded.

“Yes,” I told him. “Nan. We grew up together and I usually tell her everything about my life and vice versa. She’s my best friend.”

He studied me a bit longer, neither of us saying anything and I started to squirm in my seat, feeling uncomfortable.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, he nodded.

“Okay.”

I raised my brows, watching as he grabbed his fork and continued to eat as if this conversation hadn’t happened.

“Okay?” I asked him, wanting clarification.

“Hmm.”

“I can tell her?” I asked, not satisfied with his short response. He glanced at me, the corner of his lip twitching again; he was finding this amusing I realized. He liked watching me squirm and giving me indifferent answers.

“Yes.”

My heart swelled with excitement. I was going to call Nan first thing in the morning and invite her to lunch with me so we can talk properly. I would have jumped across the table and kissed him, but just then, one of the kitchen aids walked in and started to clean some of the mess off the table.

I was expecting Gavin to spend the night with me, but he had to return to his Villa. I couldn’t blame him. His children were there after all. But that didn’t stop him from rocking my world another time before he left.

I ended up falling asleep before he officially left, so I didn’t get to say goodbye. But when I woke up the next morning, I felt a sense of loneliness. The bed where he was once lying was cold and I felt my chest becoming empty. I sighed and got out of bed; the sun was rising in the distance and a smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I watched the different rays of colors expand across the Silver Crescent pack.

I went into the bathroom and spent some time utilizing the giant whirlpool tub. It was the best thing I’ve ever experienced. It was like a hot tub in the middle of the bathroom. By the time I was finished, my entire body felt like Jello, and my mind was put at ease. I had never felt more relaxed in my life.

I was surprised that breakfast was ready when I reached the kitchen.

“Good morning, mam,” the head chef said with a polite smile. “Breakfast is ready for you.”

“You can call me Judy,” I assured him.

“Then, you can call me Chester,” he replied.

Chester looked to be in his late 30s and was honestly not bad to look at. The female kitchen staff certainly made their interest known because they blushed every time he spoke to them. I wondered if they were new because they didn’t seem quite used to him yet.

“It’s nice to officially meet you, Chester,” I said, grabbing a fork out of the silverware dish.

I took a bite of the eggs and smiled at the deliciousness.

“This is really good,” I told him.

“It’s not hard to make eggs,” he teased. “By the way, you still haven’t sent Harper your favorite food list. You can always give it to me, so I know what to make for future meals.”

I nodded.

“Honestly, I’m not picky. You can literally make anything, and I’ll eat it,” I told him.

“It’d make me feel better if I made your favorites though.”

I shrugged.

“Everything is my favorite,” I assured him. “So, do you live here too?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I’m here 24/7, so if you ever need a late-night snack…” he trailed off suggestively, I knew he was joking because he had a twinkle of humor in his eyes. I’m sure everybody in this mansion knew about my relationship with Gavin by now. I felt like it was quite obvious. “But seriously, ever need food or something late at night, I’m your guy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, taking another bite of the food.

“All of the staff here live in the quarters on the main floor,” he continued to explain.

I nodded.

“And your quarters are decent?” I asked him; the thought of them living anywhere remotely like the servants in the Cash manor made my stomach twist. I hoped their living situation wasn’t like that.

He nodded.

“Better than my apartment before I got this job,” he told me. “I love it here; a lot of space, private bathroom, gorgeous views, I get to do what I love, and I’m paid well. We are all paid well. I’ve been told our rooms aren’t much different than the ones upstairs. But obviously, some are bigger than others.”

I nodded thoughtfully.

“And Gavin treats you well?” I asked him, biting my lower lip.

Chester raised his brows at me, and he studied me for a moment before answering.

“Well, yeah,” he said with a shrug. “When he’s here. He’s not always here. It’s nice to have someone to cook for consistently. However, a couple of times a week, he has me cooking for large gatherings or for his charity house, so I always have a job to do when I’m not cooking for him personally. But now I get to cook for you, and I’d like to do that well. So, please… send me a list of your favorites.”

I laughed.

“Will do,” I assured him.

We fell into a comfortable conversation while I ate and I could tell from the small interaction I had with him, along with the way he was with the kitchen aids and even Harper, he was a flirt. But the harmless kind; he was definitely friend material.

After breakfast, I insisted on cleaning, but Harper wouldn’t let me.

“The Alpha would have a fit if he knew we let you clean,” she would tell me.

I sighed and eventually relented.

Later in the morning, once it was a reasonable enough time, I called Nan and told her I needed to talk to her about something. We agreed to meet at our favorite coffee house near the campus. The moment she saw me, a big smile broke out on her face as she hugged me.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” she murmured as she pulled away from me.

“It’s only been a couple of days,” I chuckled.

“They’ve been keeping you so busy, I couldn’t even get through to your phone.”

She was partly right, but mainly it was because the room I was in didn’t have a place to plug in my phone, so it died a couple of days ago. It only turned on again when I got to the mansion, and I was glad that Taylor had the sense to plug it in for me so it would be ready when I arrived.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called,” I told her. “There’s a reason for that.”

“You look a lot better,” she said fondly.

I nodded and bit my lower lip.

“I feel a lot better, Nan,” I told her.

We ordered our coffees and then took a seat in the corner of the room.

“So, tell me what’s been going on with you,” she said as she took a sip of her expresso.

“Okay… so, I don’t want you to freak out,” I told her, watching her warily from across the table.

She frowned and lifted her gaze to meet mine.

“You are starting to freak me out,” she told me, raising her brows.

I took a deep breath; it was like ripping off a band-aid.

“I moved in with Gavin Landry.”