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“Life is never fair,” I said with a sigh.

“I will make it fair for you,” Matthias promised. “If fists aren’t the answer that only meansIcan’t solve this. But I’m not alone. And neither are you.”

He pulled out his phone and started furiously typing.

Once I was sure he wasn’t going to storm off I returned to my work but I couldn’t help but throw curious glances at the man who was texting back and forth with someone.

The mystery unraveled when Tristan came knocking on the door to the laundry room.

“Miss Victoria, if you would be so kind as to accompany me to a late lunch?” he asked with a smile.

I looked at Matthias and raised my eyebrows.

“He will take care of you,” the man said as he straightened to his full intimidating height. “Tristan, I will be back in half an hour, an hour tops.”

“Take your time,” Tristan said. “You have a very important mission.”

With a last firm nod, Matthias stalked off and left us alone.

I was pretty sure lunch with the ‘honored guest’ was only going to gain me more scornful looks from the staff but as the offer has already been made I straightened out my work space then joined Tristan.

He led me to a secluded spot in the garden where a table for two was already waiting. The steaming dishes made my mouthwater. It has been a long time since I had the chance to eat anything smelling so heavenly.

Not going to look a gifted horse in the mouth, I took my place at the beautiful wrought metal garden table and dug in.

“Where did you lose Theo?” I asked, once I satisfied myself with a few bites.

“He was planning to join me for the between-the-talks lunch but now Matthias has co-opted him for his task,” Tristan explained.

My appetite soured. I was the reason the sunshine personified couldn’t eat this delicious meal? Was I stealing it from him? And Matthias had to go hungry to guard me as well…

“We should save some food for them,” I motioned at the side dishes a bit frantically. The main plate with the delicious meat in a creamy sauce and sauteed vegetables was already ruined by my appetite but surely the side dishes could be put aside.

“Don’t worry, Miss Victoria,” Tristan waved his hand. “I’m sure they will get a bite to eat on the way. And if they are still famished they can just order more food to our rooms.”

Oh. Of course, they could do that. My brain just automatically went into survival mode, presenting me with the worst that could happen to someone in my position. But they were Jonas’ personal guests.

I let myself relax and enjoy the meal.

The other positive side of the lunch was the chance to get to know Tristan better. As much as I appreciated Theo’s bright youthfulness and Matthias’s protectiveness, I always had a bit of an eye for older men. Back in the days when my father was alive, it was a game to shoot looks from under my eyelashes at older gentlemen when I had to attend socialite events. I liked flirting with men who were polite but who had an undercurrent of danger around them. I had a feeling there was enticing darkness, hiding just under the stoic surface, and that Tristan wouldn’thesitate to fulfill some of my more wicked fantasies if I asked him to.

“How do you find the Sunset Mansion?” I asked and made sure to take the next bite off the fork as sexily as I could.

“It’s beautiful, of course, but can I tell you a secret?” Tristan leaned towards me conspiratorially. “Mine is better. Here, the architectural artistry of days begone is treated like a museum and not a living space.”

“It’s all for show,” I snorted. “The living quarters of the family are completely modernized. You step from a Victorian-style corridor into a room that could be a penthouse at the top of some New York tower.”

“It’s possible to mix the old and new but you need to know what you are doing. And the Cornello family, even if they have roots in Europe, is very much new money here. They often fall into the fallacy of ‘if it costs more it’s better’,” Tristan commented. “I, on the other hand, know that sometimes it’s the dubiously cheap things that bring you joy.”

“Yeah? Like what?” I asked cheekily.

“Let’s see… A few years ago, Theo fell in love with a particularly ugly stick-and-peel wallpaper and decided to plaster it all over our state-of-the-art fridge.”

I had to cover my mouth to smother my laugh at the vision.

“What kind of design was it?”

“Hexagons. A sci-fi inspired pattern with a silver foil finish,” Tristan looked heavenwards in his exasperation. “And a few days later Matthias decided that since we were modifying the fridge he was going to get some magnets. Now the fridge is infested with dozens of tiny magnetic vegetables and other frequent shopping items. We put the magnets on designated hexagons to indicate if the product is in the fridge or if we have to buy it.”