Page 89 of Love Me Not

“I know.It's my fault.I went after you, but I didn't think hard enough about what we would tell Bella.I should've prepared for this.I'm sorry.”

The vulnerability in her words caused my chest to tighten.

“It's not your fault,” I told her, grabbing her hand.“We'll think of something together, okay?But if we're serious about this…”

“I've never not been serious about you, Juliette.”My heart soared at that.“Even though I knew we shouldn't, I couldn’t help myself.There is no one better for me in this world than you.We just happen to have met under not-so-great circumstances.”

I couldn't help but smile.

“I actually think thecircumstanceswere pretty great,” I joked.

“I’ll show you circumstances.”

And even after it all, Lux made me forget everything else in the world.

* * *

We were both sitting in the kitchen when Bella came out, dressed in a sparkly pink dress.This time, she had a small bandanna on her head, but it was slightly tilted, so I took the chance to fix it for her.

“Very cute,” I commented with a smile.“Where did you come up with this one?”

“I saw a couple of girls wearing one at school,” she replied with a big smile.

I had seen a couple of girls wearing them in the pickup line, so I had actually added a few of those to my shopping list.

Lux cleared her throat, causing us both to look at her.

“If you want to go to school, I'll definitely take you, but I wanted to offer… a mental health day?”she asked, sounding almost unsure.“We can do whatever you want.Go get ice cream, go to the park, go to Adventureland… Just me and you.Juliette gets the day off today.”

I looked at her suspiciously.

What is this about?And why is it the first time I’m hearing about it?

Bella let out a noise of excitement and jumped up and down quickly.“Let's go to the mall!”

Lux smirked.“Deal.Then maybe, since it's Juliette’s day off and all, she'd like to join us.We can split ways and then meet again in, like, an hour or two?”

I still didn't understand what she was up to, but I agreed, so we packed up to go to the mall.

Lux called in for Bella, citing that she wasn't feeling well and that she would be back tomorrow.I had to sit in the backseat with Bella and try to stop her from giggling and blowing her cover.

It was cute—even a little wholesome—and I was glad to see both of them enjoying themselves.

It wasn't until we got there, parked, and entered that Lux pulled me aside and explained in a little voice, “I decided how to tell her.We’ll have a fun day, and then before we meet again, I’ll let her know that I've liked you for some time and I want you to be more than our nanny.”

Ah, I see.The talk.

My heart warmed.She might have made these plans on a whim, but they were both gentle and attentive.

“I think it’s perfect,” I said, giving her a smile.

Only then did I realize how nervous she was.Pulling at her clothes.Her eyes moving back and forth, shooting between me and Bella.Even her hands were a bit shaky.

I wanted to kiss her, but I quickly brushed her arm and mimicked taking a deep breath instead.

“It'll be fine,” I reassured her.“It's really thoughtful of you to do it this way.”

“Do you… want to do it with me?”she asked, her voice unsure.“I feel bad about making you go off on your own.”

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