Page 81 of Beneficial Misfortune

That is until I walk downstairs and find Alex and Addison in an absolute mess of ingredients at the kitchen counter.

“Oh my,” I can’t help but laugh at the state of them. I try to cover it up with a cough, but I don’t think Alex is buying it. “What happened here?”

“We're making French Toast!” Addison exclaims, bouncing around, and I swear cinnamon flies off of her like fairy dust.

“Cooking is apparently the Princess’ new favorite pastime, thanks to someone.” Alex raises a brow at me, and it only makes me laugh harder. “She wanted to make breakfast, and of course, I couldn’t tell her no. Though it does seem a bit unfortunate that neither of us knows what we're doing.”

Despite how adorable they are like this, I decide to take pity on him. Moving around the counter to better see what they have towork with, I quickly help them whip up a mixture for the bread and show them how to dip it and place it on the griddle.

“Mommy saved the day!” Addison claps in excitement as she dips the next piece of bread, and I smile down at her.

“Yes, you’ve saved my reputation. Remind me to thank you later, Cherry.” Alex’s voice is deep and husky as he pulls me back into his chest so that I can feel his hard length. I have no doubt about what he means by that.

Clearing my throat, I move out of his arms and tuck a piece of stray hair behind my ear, nervously fidgeting.

“Maybe we should spend some time in the kitchen so you can learn, too. That way, you won’t need saving.” I half expect him to laugh and wave my comment off. After all, they have a chef. What do they need to learn to cook for?

He does laugh, but he nods while he does it, catching me off guard. “You're probably right. Besides, if we make a mess, I wouldn’t mind cleaning you up.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me suggestively, and I roll my eyes.

I swear I’ll never get used to the way he and Desmond make everything sexual.

“Ready when you are, Kat.” I almost jump out of my skin at the sound of Vincent’s voice behind me. He hadn’t been here when I came down, and with a man his size, I feel like he shouldn’t be able to sneak up on people so easily.

I blame it on Alex distracting me and quickly wash my hands before dropping a kiss to the top of Addison’s head. Alex, of course, doesn't let me leave without also kissing him, and despite my concern with PDA in front of Addison, she doesn’t seem to notice or care.

Moving rooms sounded simple enough, but it ended up taking the better part of the day. The room I’ll be taking over used to be for a higher grade, and as such, I have a lot to move around and change so that it will fit my students. I hadn’t even realized how much stuff I had until it was time to move it all. Every wall decoration, supply, and even the desks need to be swapped out. Thankfully, the janitor is going to handle the desks and the large carpet. He gave me a roll of painter's tape and told me to mark where I wanted everything for him to handle later this week.

The room, while bigger than my old one, isn't exactly better, but after a while I get it to a point where I’m happy with it, mostly. Anything else will be left to finish after the janitor moves everything around.

I quickly go to the bathroom and clean up. The room had been dusty and kind of gross, and I don’t want to sit in the car like that, even if I still needed to shower when I got home.

Desmond is already home for the day and has been messaging me just about nonstop about anything and everything he can. From pictures of Addison and Alex on the playground to him dripping wet in the pool, with his trunks sitting super low on his hips. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a great motivator for me to call it quits for the day.

Walking back into the room, I stop in my tracks when I come face to face with a huge bouquet that sits on my desk.

Those were not there before…there’s no way I missed them.

There’s nobody here. I look around to make sure, but it’s not like there’s anywhere to hide. Nope, it’s just me. The only person I’d seen while here this whole time was the janitor, and somehow, I doubt he left them.

The flowers are a beautiful mix of lilies, roses, daisies, and a few other things I have no idea the names of, but they're no less beautiful. They’re all shades of pink and light purple with white mixed in, and as I get closer, I can smell how fresh they are.

I’ve only received flowers a few times in my life, and they were mostly for events like graduation, never just because.

A smile tugs at my lips as I reach them, leaning in to really breathe them in. They have to be from one of the guys, maybe Alex? Or it could be Desmond. Nathan had just given me a necklace last night, so I don’t think it would be him, but honestly, it could be, especially after the way he talked about spoiling me.

The edge of a note sticks out, just barely visible through the flowers. I snatch it out, excited to see who it was. I’ll have to make sure I thank them properly later.

Always on my mind,

I saw these and knew I had to get them for you.

I know we’ve been apart for a while,

but don’t worry,

soon we’ll be together again.

You were made for me.

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