Page 33

Lux

I looked at Bella as she took heavy gulps of her sugary drink.

The drink was on the table in front of her, and her hands were filled with bags. She refused to let them go even as we sat down. I had a few by my feet as well.

All of them contained clothes, accessories, jewelry, and honestly anything that caught her eye. I wasn’t going to tell her no today.

Or any day, if I was being honest.

It was the first time I'd actually seen her enjoy shopping. When she came under my care, I’d brought her here because I didn’t have anything in my house that was suitable for her.

But she didn't seem very interested, which left me having to pick a lot of the things myself, and I had no idea what to buy for a little girl her age.

But now she happily looked through all the clothing and trinkets, carefully picking out everything she wanted. She would even stop and tell me which she saw people wearing at school. How they wore it. Who wore it better.

She was a completely different girl, and I kicked myself for not doing this sooner with her. Though I'm not sure if any time before this would've been right.

Back then, her mother and father had just died, and I wasn't any better to be around since I was deep in my grief as well. Neither of us knew how to be around each other.

While I had spent time with her now and then every time I visited my sister or we met up somewhere, those had been short amounts of time. Nothing like being forced together for hours or living together.

Nothing like becoming her new person.

But now, and because of Juliette, I could see us slowly healing. She was opening up. Enjoying school and life more. She smiled more than she frowned now. She didn't have any of those explosive tantrums anymore.

The pain would never go away, I knew that. Losing my sister was a trauma that would be forever scarred onto our psyche.

But we could take our lives back. We could be happy. All three of us.

And that brought me back to the conversation I needed to have. All the worry came back with a vengeance.

I was obsessed with Juliette. I loved her, and there was no denying it now. And it wasn't fair to her to hide our relationship or what I felt for her. She deserved someone who would love her out in the open and freely, not to be hidden away like some dirty little secret.

I wanted to do the right thing for both my girls. I wanted to give them the life they deserved in every way. And that meant not hiding Juliette but not keeping secrets from Bella either.

But I didn’t want Bella to feel like she was being left behind in any way. She never would be. So I had to get this right.

“Where is Juliette?” she asked, looking around the food court of the mall, no doubt hoping she’d be coming around the corner any minute now.

“She's meeting her brother,” I said.

Bella's face twisted, and she took another sip of her drink before whispering, “Uh-oh, should we… go save her or something?”

If it were any other time, I would have laughed, but I was just as concerned as she was.

Just because I loved Juliette didn’t mean I felt the same about her family, no matter how much she cared about him.

He had been awful to her last time, and I didn't want her to have to go through it again. Especially alone.

But I knew that he was probably there because I had done something I shouldn't have.

Something I would definitely be hearing about later.

But right now, it was about me and Bella. About coming clean to her that I was in love with her nanny, and I wanted to be in a relationship with her.

I took a deep breath, nerves racing through me. My heart was pounding in my chest. My palms were sweaty.

Facing the eight-year-old was more nerve-racking than most of the things I did on the daily as a CEO.

What if she likes her fine as a nanny but can’t accept her as my girlfriend? What if she gets mad at Juliette for taking her aunt away from her?

Bella didn’t have many stable people in her life, which was why I wanted to keep the lines between me and Juliette clean. So she could have me, her aunt, and Juliette, her nanny and confidante.

I wanted her to be able to tell Juliette anything she couldn't tell me. For her to lean on Juliette without worrying that she would instantly come running to me afterwards to spill her secrets.

At least until she feels comfortable coming to me herself with anything she needs , I instantly thought. Because I wanted to be that for my niece too.

“Bella, I have someone to talk to you about.”

Her eyes went wide. Shit. “Did something bad happen?”

“No, no,” I said quickly. “It’s actually a very good thing.”

She perked up at this and leaned forward as if to say, What is it? I'm all ears.

I swallowed thickly, nerves acting up again. It's now or never, Lux. You're a grown woman. You got this.

“I really, really like Juliette, and I want her to be my girlfriend.” The words tumbled out in one breath. Too fast. Kind of low. Bella looked at me for a long moment, and I realized she probably hadn’t heard me.

Shifting in my chair and taking another deep breath, I tried again.

“I said that I really, really like Juliette, and I?—”

“I thought she already was your girlfriend,” she said with a confused look.

I sat up straight, palms on the table in front of me.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you guys look at each other like my friend looks at her boyfriend.” The grimace on her face was kind of cute. “All googly-eyed and gross.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I didn't really know how to respond to that.

Okay? You're right? I guess the cat’s out of the bag?

I guess Juliette and I weren't as secretive as we thought.

“Wow. I didn’t see that coming.” She giggled, and her smile radiated happiness, which had a weight lifting off my shoulders.

“I also saw you kissing one morning when you thought I wasn’t around,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.

Yeah, that would do it.

“And are you… okay with it?”

She shrugged. “As long as you don't take my time with her away, I'm fine.”

Their time together?What about our time? I felt a little bit insulted.

“You're worried about me taking your time together away but not her stealing me? Your aunt?”

She coughed and waved me off, taking a nonchalant sip of her drink and looking very grown-up. I wasn’t sure I liked it.

“You don't paint with me, or tie my laces, or pick me up from school, or braid my hair, or help me with my math homework, or get me out of school to go have a secret piece of pie… Oops. I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

I laughed and ruffled her hair. “I get it, you really like Juliette.”

She got serious for a moment, her eyes falling down to the table.

“I do,” she said quietly. “And I hope she stays around for a long time.”

“Bella, even though I don’t do a lot of those things with you, I hope you know?—”

“I really like you too, Auntie Lux. And I like it when you come get me out of school too for lunch and when you try to braid my hair, even though it doesn’t look as cool.”

The emotions were clogging my throat again, and I was at a loss for words.

“So don't mess it up, okay?” she finally added.

And all the heavy feelings were gone with a snap of her little fingers.

“I won’t,“I promised. “Now let's go find our girl, hm?”

She nodded and bounced off her chair, taking my hand as we walked back through the mall to the coffee shop where I knew she was waiting.

* * *

“You're gonna ruin it before you even start,” Bella said as we piled out of the car and back to our house.

Juliette had been noticeably quiet and angry at me since we met her in the café. Her brother was gone, but she was there with a matcha in her hand and a frown on her face, shooting daggers at me. Bella obviously didn’t miss that.

The worst part? Juliette would barely even talk to me. It was my first experience with her being actually mad at me.

“Oh, stop,” I whispered. “Go play in your room for a little bit, okay? Maybe try on your clothes and you can give us a fashion show later?”

She sent me a glance, but the promise of her very own fashion show was too enticing, and she happily skipped toward her room, her tiny arms carrying as many shopping bags as she could. I would take the rest in.

Once we were in the kitchen, I turned around and faced Juliette, who was staring at me with her arms crossed over her chest.

She’s cute when she’s angry.

And that is the wrong thing to be thinking right now.

“Well, Bella took it really?—”

“You know I hate my aunt, right?”

I rocked on the balls of my feet and shoved my hands in my pockets. “I don't think you hate anyone.”

Juliette frowned. “Fine, but you know I don't like her, right?”

“Yes,“ I said, my lips pursed.

She closed the space between us, looking up at me with fire in her eyes. This was a new side of Juliette that I'd never seen before, but I definitely wanted to bring it out again when we were alone and in the bedroom.

I knew my mind shouldn't be in the gutter, but I couldn't help it.

“Then why did you pay for her hospital bill?”

Of course he told her. Up until then, I tried to tell myself that maybe she was mad about something else. That maybe something her brother said pissed her off, but reality was sinking in. And I really wished Lucas would've stayed silent, but it seemed that was not his strong suit.

“Because she's your family, and I knew it was stressing Lucas out since he is the one who lives with her.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but I held my hand up.

“And I know that as soon as Lucas is unhappy, you're unhappy. You didn't need to spend your heart and money on her. She doesn't deserve it. But I have more than enough money to go around, and if it makes your life easier and someone you care about happy? I am willing to spend it.”

She frowned, her eyebrows pulling together.

“She really doesn't deserve your money.”

“No, she doesn’t. I know.” My hand went up to cup her cheek.

“But you do. Remember what I said? I'll keep saying it until you get it. Every cent I spend on you, whether directly to you, your family, or whatever else, is a cent I’m glad to spend. That especially includes the new lingerie I know you bought. Yes, I saw the bag.” I was hoping for a smile at that, and I got one.

“The point is, I want to help, Juliette, wherever I can.

I don't want you to worry about anything. Not anymore.”

She let out a sigh and then quickly buried her head in my chest, her arms wrapping around my waist. I hugged her back.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “You know me better than I thought.”

“No need to thank me, Angel. Your heart is too kind. Your mind may tell you to cut ties with your aunt, but I know you’d feel guilty as soon as you saw how it would affect your brother.”

She looked up at me. “Even so, it’s too much money. I'm really not used to spending this much on myself. Or for a partner to spend it on me.”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?” I asked, and she gave me a nod.

I leaned down to kiss her lips. Just a quick peck before I was pulling away.

“Well, you better get used to it, Angel, because I have years to make up for. All those years you were struggling, alone, and hurting. All those years you had no one to take care of you. All those years you worried about where your next meal was going to come from or if you could keep your place. All those years you wished you had someone— anyone —to turn to, but your side was empty.” I kissed her lips again and held her face in my hands.

“I’m going to make up for all of it. I'm going to show you, and not just with money, how important you are. You deserve to be cherished . You deserve to be taken care of. You are important to me, and as each and every day goes by, it gets harder to imagine a world without you in it.”

“Lux…”

Her eyes watered. Her lower lip trembled. She looked so vulnerable in that moment.

“You don't have to say anything,” I said as I ran my thumb across her cheek. “Just know that I will remind you every day until, finally, you get it in your head just how important you are to me… and Bella.”

She was silent for a moment. “So she took it well?” I didn't mention how shaky or thick with emotion her voice was.

“She already thought we were together,” I answered with a laugh. “I think she realized before we did. Apparently, we make googly eyes at each other.”

She let out a laugh of her own. I left out the part where she’d seen us kiss. It would probably mortify her.

“Are we that obvious?”

“Yes.” A voice came from behind us that caused us both to look. Both Gina and Marci were standing there. Marci’s hands were on her hips, giving us a wicked grin. Gina was holding a fresh batch of groceries, her expression flustered.

Marci leaned toward Gina. “You owe me twenty.”

Gina sighed and handed her a crumpled twenty-dollar bill from her pocket.

“What was the bet?” I asked.

“I voted you'd get together in less than three months.”

Gina shrugged. “I knew Juliette had really high professional standards, so I thought it would take longer to break her down.”

Juliette’s face turned a beautiful pink at the jab.

This is how it was meant to be.

It was everything I wanted. Fun, easy, seamless. My girl, my niece, everything was slowly fitting into place and giving me a life that I never could've imagined just a few months ago.

I thought losing my sister was the end of the world. I loved her, and I had no idea how to give her child the life she deserved. But Bella and Juliette were teaching me how to live a better life for them—how to enjoy what I have.

Before this, more often than not, I would go to the office seven days a week, even if just for an hour. Nothing else mattered.

But I wasn’t that person anymore.

She truly is my angel.

No one could convince me that she wasn’t sent to make my life better, and I wouldn't stop until she knew how much she meant to me. How obsessed I was with her. How much I loved her.

I didn't care if it took weeks, months, or years.

Because she was mine.