Page 51 of Love Me Not

But she was always the favorite and Mother never lectured her like she did me.

It had shaped the way I saw family dinners, and I’d never thought twice about eating alone after that.But I also never thought about what Bella wanted.

“I’ll work on it,” I said and pulled out my phone.I had a meeting at five-thirty, so I canceled it.

Dinner it is.

Chapter14

Juliette

We stared at each other across the table.

All three of us—me, Bella, and Lux.The house was huge, probably the biggest house I'd ever had the pleasure of working in, but suddenly with all of us at the table, and Gina and Marcy no doubt somewhere close by, it felt… crowded.

Not in a bad way, though.I was grateful that Lux showed up, and I knew Bella had to be too, but since I knew this was not the norm, no one really knew what to do or say.

None of us spoke.The sound of our utensils scraping across the plates was the only sound in the room.Most of the meal was already gone, and I knew I had to do something.

“So how was school today?”

Bella lit up, excited that someone was finally asking her a question.I wanted to let Lux take the lead and try to bond with her niece, but maybe she needed a little bit of help.

“So good!”she replied.“Justine complimented me on my bow and everyone was so jealous that I got to go out for lunch.I even missed the first few minutes of math.It was great!”

“We’ll work on getting you back sooner next time,” Lux said, her voice causing Bella’s gaze to snap to her.A frown appeared on her face.

Yeah, Lux didn't seem like the type of person who would be excited to miss part of her class.She was probably one of those who would show up early, sit down, and have all her paperwork and homework out even before the teacher entered the room.

"Let the girl have a little fun!”I smiled, trying to lighten the blow.“Don’t you know all the cool kids show up to school late after lunch?It’s like a time-honored tradition.”

Lux pressed her lips together.

“I never got taken out of school for lunch,” she grumbled.“I was always on time too.”

I tried my best to keep a straight face.Yeah, Lux, I figured out as much.

But the way she said it was a little bit endearing.

The confident, overpowering, workaholic Lux, who clearly ran a tight ship at work and who had a way with words that made your knees go weak… was admitting that she was somewhat of a nerd in school.

“So… you weren’t cool,” Bella summarized.

There was a long silence before the laugh I was desperately trying to hold in slipped out.Bella joined me, laughing so hard that she needed to lean against me for support.

Lux looked mortified at our reaction.

“I was cool!”she huffed.“I got straight A’s and got accepted into an Ivy League school with a scholarship!"

“As if that’s what makes people cool,” I teased.

Lux’s frown deepened.

“Getting into a good school is pretty cool,” she muttered.

I leaned forward and touched her hand lightly, lingering for a few seconds.“It's very impressive,” I said, but there was still a smile on my lips.

Her being a nerd wasn't even the funniest part anymore.It was her reaction, that little pout when she realized we were making fun of her.The way she was glaring at the plate in front of her, as if it was the one that was teasing her and not us.She even went as far as pushing her food around on her plate.

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