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My eyes practically bulge out of my head. I was not expecting him to say that.
“What?”
“You can live here, Juliette. At least temporarily until you find a home for yourself. It makes sense. Lisabell’s leaving and my kids are still going to need a nanny. They already like you and I don’t feel like going through the hassle of picking someone else. It’ll be better if their new nanny is someone they’re already used to.”
“So, you want me to be a live-in nanny for your kids?” I ask slowly.
He nods. “I’ll pay you a decent salary plus room and board. There are lots of rooms in this house. Pick one.”
I raise an eyebrow. “It’s not that simple, Xander.”
“Why not? You have a problem, I’m providing a solution. Come on, you know it’s a great idea.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I can’t live here with you.”
“Why not?”
There’s a challenge in his eyes and I’m forced to look away from his piercing gaze. I can’t give him the answer to that question. I can barely answer it on my own.
“Because.” I pause. “It wouldn’t be right. Professionally.”
Xander smiles. “That’s bullshit and we both know it. But I know it’s a big decision. You can think about it.”
“Thank you,” I tell him. I have no idea how to show how grateful I am to him right now. “And thanks for taking care of me.”
“You’re welcome, Juliette.”
It’s nice to see him smile. He really is beautiful. My stomach does a small roll as I struggle not to focus on how alone we are in this room.
Xander clears his throat. “We should probably head downstairs. The cook prepared some soup for you before he left. You can have dinner too.”
He helps me down the stairs. Thankfully, we don’t run into the kids, but we do run into the British billionaire. Declan White stares at us both as we enter the kitchen with a glint in his green eyes. He’s having a sandwich. I swear the man is always eating.
“Well, if it isn’t my two favorite people in the world at the moment,” he drawls.
“You barely know me,” I point out.
“True,” he agrees, nodding his head full of blonde hair. “But what I do know is enough, Julie.”
“Move,” Xander says to his friend and Declan promptly does so.
He gets to work on reheating the soup while Declan and I watch him.
“This is the most domesticated I’ve seen him in years,” Declan whispers to me.
“I can hear you, asshole.”
“Seriously, it’s weird. Alexander Callahan doesn’t warm soup. You must be pretty special, Julie,” he says with a wink.
I roll my eyes at his words, even as my heart rate quickens. I can’t allow myself to hope, though. Hope and heartbreak are synonymous in my book. Xander finishes reheating the soup and places it in front of me.
“Aren’t you supposed to be with the kids?” he asks his friend.
“I was but then Mads fell asleep and I carried her to her room. Mason kicked me out of the game room when after I beat him the third time around. The little guy’s sulking and now he’s practicing. He says he isn’t going to stop until he’s able to beat me.”
“He turned playing a video game into work?” I ask, incredulous.
“Exactly what I said,” Declan states looking at me. “I told him it wasn’t work and that it was supposed to be fun. He said he could do whatever he wanted.”
