Page 46 of The Au Pair Affair

“Mrs. DeSoto sounds like a wise and stylish woman,” Tallulah sniffed.

The girl humphed. “We’re going to get assigned roles in class, so we can act outRomeo and Juliet. We don’t have to memorize the script or anything, you get to hold your book while you do it. But... all the girls want to be Juliet.”

“Including you?”

Lissa picked at the edge of the couch. “Maybe.”

In other words,yes, desperately.

“Thad Durst is probably going to get picked for Romeo.” Lissa’s face started to turn pink. “He’s, like, the best reader andhe’s Mrs. DeSoto’s favorite, even though he goofs off in class. He never raises his hand, he just blurts things out and everyone laughs. It’s not even fair.”

“Every class has a Thad, I think. Mine was named Nolan. Let me guess, he’s constantly fixing his hair. Like this.” Tallulah did a microscopic head flick. “Over and over again.”

Lissa burst out laughing. “He does do that!”

“They all do. It’s in the cool guy DNA.”

“A bunch of girls like him.”

“Hmm.”

“Idon’t.”

“Okay.” Tallulah surreptitiously studied the flush coloring Lissa’s usually pale complexion and decided they would be turning the corner into crushes soon. Maybe they already had, but she wouldn’t push Lissa to talk about it. Instead, Tallulah cleared her throat and raised the script up in front of her face. “You’re up, Benvolio.”

“I want to play Juliet, too,” Lissa said quietly.

Tallulah put her arm around Lissa’s shoulders. “Then I hope you get picked, but no matter what happens, you’ll always be my Juliet.”

A thoughtful smile plucked at Lissa’s lips. “My parents are kind of like Romeo and Juliet, I think. They were meant to be together.”

That statement dropped into Tallulah’s stomach like a brick into a swimming pool.

Just over a week ago, she’d made out with Romeo outside of a club. Who did that make her? Rosaline? Some other off-script side chick? “What do you mean?”

“Sort of like Romeo and Juliet, they were just star-crossed. The timing was wrong. My dad was more famous when they were married, so he was always doing interviews and filming commercials. Now he has more time. They just have to figure itout.” She slumped a little. “I’ve been begging my mom to bring me to the opening night game, so they can see each other, but she said no.”

Probably because Mom was busy with her new fiancé.

Or maybe they simply weren’t the type of divorced couple who could make a friendship work. Conscious uncoupling wasn’t for everyone. Sometimes a split was clean, without a second act friendship. Whatever the reason, it worried Tallulah that Lissa wanted a reconciliation so badly and it didn’t seem to be remotely in the cards.

Was it her place to discuss it with Lissa, though? Not even close.

Especially considering the idea of a reconciliation between Burgess and his ex-wife made Tallulah feel pretty... weird. And jumpy. A touch jealous?

Certainly not, she mentally scoffed.

But when she heard the key turn in the apartment door and her pulse took off like a racehorse, the possibility of getting jealous over Burgess didn’t seem that far-fetched.

Great.

“Dad’s home,” Lissa said, bounding off the couch with her script in hand, skidding to a stop in front of the door as her father walked through. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, kid.” With an equipment bag slung over his shoulder, Burgess pulled Lissa over and dropped a kiss on the crown of her head. “How was your day?” he asked while his eyes searched out Tallulah across the room. Nodded once at her.

She nodded back.

They stared for a moment, then averted their gazes at the exact same time.

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