Page 48 of Love Me Not

And that has nothing to do with a panic attack.

“We blow out candles!”Bella said, pulling my attention back to her.

“Exactly.”Juliette patted the top of her head.

Her hair was in one single braid with a bow at the end.The same bow Juliette had brought that morning.

God, why is she so good at this?

I couldn't believe how easily she’d gotten along with Bella.I couldn't even count the number of nannies we’d been through to get here.But somehow, as soon as she showed up, everything changed.

She even messed up on the first day, something that none of the other nannies would have recovered from.

But she did.

Maybe because it was meant to be, I thought, before pushing that delusion out of my head.There it was again, the obsession.

“Oh, yeah, Lux,” Juliette said, turning serious.“There’s no good time to say this, so here goes.My landlady is ending my lease early, and I need to find a place to stay.I’m going to try to do it over the weekend, but I may need to take some days off here and there for viewings.”

My heart stopped.

A sinful thought flashed across my mind.I didn't want to say it out loud.I couldn't.But there had never been a time in my life when it felt like the universe had been more on my side than right now.

We had a spare room.She could stay there.I made sure to keep at least one available just in case and turned the rest into more functional rooms, like a gym.

It was supposed to be for guests, but let's be real, when had I ever had a fucking guest stay there?I didn’t plan on bringing anyone in there anytime soon either.

Plus, having her at home would actually be very beneficial.She could help Bella get ready in the morning and maybe help me set up a nighttime ritual for her that didn’t involve her going to her bedroom alone.They would never be late to school or breakfast.

She would always be with us.

Which is dangerous, so you can’t go there.You can’t have her that close?—

“You could stay with us!”Bella blurted out, putting a stop to my spiraling thoughts.

She could.Shesocould, and I wanted her toso badly.

“I’m sure Juliette doesn't want to stay at her place of work,” I said quickly.

A bit too quickly.

Juliette laughed and leaned against Bella.The sound of it brushed against my skin, heating it.Embarrassment had my ears burning.I was being way too obvious, and Juliette clocked it, hard.

“That’s sweet of you, Bella, but I need to find my own place.”

Right.Of course.I cleared my throat.

“I mean, if it’s an emergency, you can stay with us… for the time being,” I said after a pause.“You know, if you don't have a place.”

Juliette looked up at me, her thoughts clear on her face.

That would be an epically bad idea, Lux.

I knew it, but what kind of person would I be if I just let her struggle?

I imagined her close, just a door away.I could sneak into her room in the middle of the night.No one would know.We could keep it to ourselves.Our dirty little secret in the dark.

“And it’d be easier for you to be near Bella,” I added, shifting in my seat.

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