“Wait, rent hike?”
Juliette tilted her head as she stared into his eyes. “The nearly double rent hike. If you thought offering me a new shop and helping me finance it was a way to cushion that blow, or that doubling my rent was a way to convince me to expand, I may have to look for another place for Bonbon.”
Wilhelm’s frown deepened. “I promise you, Juliette, my offer this morning had nothing to do with that. I think your shop will be perfect for the new location, that’s all. And there’s absolutely no way your rent should double. I don’t even think it’s due to be raised at all.”
“Your letter says otherwise.”
Wilhelm shook his head. “I’ll look into it, but I’m sure it’s some kind of mistake. I certainly didn’t sign off on it. Give me a day or two to get it straightened out before you start looking for a new place to rent?”
The fiery anger that had brought her here in the middle of the day had faded with Wilhelm’s news, and his sincere confusion made her feel even less upset. “Of course. It can wait, since you clearly have more important things to worry about right now.” If it had all been some sort of mistake, then she’d truly misjudged the situation. “And I’m sorry for accusing you of—”
“Blackmail?” One corner of Wilhelm’s mouth turned up.
“Yes. But you can understand where I might have gotten that impression.”
He nodded. “I can.”
Someone knocked at the door, and when Wilhelm told them to come in, Gunther walked into the room and stood next to Wilhelm’s desk, looking between the two of them. “Leanne has provided me with a copy of all the keys to your brother’s property, the phone numbers of his lawyer, all his employees, and the twins’ pediatrician. And she would like you to know, Wilhelm, that she thinks it would be best for the twins to stay in familiar surroundings for the time being. She seems eager to continue being their nanny. All their things are at the mansion, and the people they’re used to being around. She’s hoping they’ll remain there, at least until you’ve made permanent arrangements at your home for them.”
Wilhelm snorted, and the baby he held squirmed at the sound, but quickly settled again. “Leanne has no problem offering her opinions, does she, for someone who couldn’t wait for the twins to be picked up and out of her hair today.”
Gunther shrugged. “To be fair, she had no idea why your brother was late, and it is her day off.” He leaned against the corner of the desk and crossed his arms. “I know you’re uncomfortable with the idea of being in your brother’s house, but under the circumstances … it probably is for the best. She still wants the rest of the day off, but then you’ll have five straight days of round-the-clock help.”
“I certainly need it,” Wilhelm admitted softly. “I have a meeting with Cranston in twenty minutes, and you know how long it took to schedule it. Who in this office do you think I can trust to take care of these two today? Should I cancel and try to reschedule while Leanne’s taking care of them?”
Gunther stood. “I don’t know anything about cubs. I was a nervous wreck just picking them up and bringing them here.”
“Relax, I wasn’t trying to corral you into babysitting, Gunther. Calm down.”
Juliette had grown used to the weight in her arms, the scent of baby lotion and the slow, rhythmic pattern of Leah’s breathing. And she felt calmer than she had since that morning. The heartbreak of holding a baby had melted into something else and brought with it the same sort of easy, contented feeling that settled over her when she was making candies. She didn’t really think about what she was saying before the words spilled out of her.
“I’m happy to help you take care of them.” She should have been horrified at making such an offer. Why did it feel so right? Juliette had barely been able to look at babies since she was told she could never have any of her own and her dreams of motherhood had died. She’d smiled at new mothers and said all the right things about their babies, and blinked back tears at never being able to experience the thing she’d always wanted most.
She should be distraught, sitting there holding a stranger’s baby. Instead, she loved it, and really didn’t want to give it up just yet.
“I appreciate the offer, Juliette, I really do. But I know you didn’t expect to find these two when you walked in here. It’s all right.”
“No, Wilhelm, I’m serious. I’d love to help. Please let me? I love babies, seriously.” She wanted this. Even if it was only for a day or two, she wanted to take care of these cubs who suddenly had no parents and were thrust into the care of an uncle who seemed so out of his element.
“Are you sure?”
“Does a duck waddle? Yeah, I’m sure.” Juliette smiled at the cub in her arm. “I’ve always wanted children of my own, but the opportunity never came.”
Wilhelm’s grin spread slowly over his handsome face. “All right. Thank you, Juliette. How can I repay you?”
“Fix my rent problem, and we’ll call it even.” She smiled a genuine, happy smile and pressed her cheek against Leah’s soft hair.
This was heaven.
Chapter Five
Wilhelm hadn’t argued with Juliette when she’d written off her ability to quiet baby Leah as some similarity she might have with the baby’s mother. But he knew deep down that Juliette and Carol were nothing alike. Juliette was a natural with the cubs, and he was sure it had nothing to do with scent. He’d never given Juliette and motherhood much thought before, but Leah looked so at home in her arms, it sparked a tiny pang inside him.
Wilhelm was a workaholic, and though he shared some time with beautiful women now and then, it had only ever been casual. He enjoyed their company, they met his sexual needs, and then they parted ways. He didn’t have time in his life for things like setting up a family home and having cubs, and had never given it much thought. His brother had ensured their line would continue. That was enough for him.
Seeing Juliette take so easily to comforting his niece made him wonder if he hadn’t been hasty in deciding that family life didn’t interest him.
He’d wanted Juliette from the day he met her, but he’d never wanted her more than he did at that moment.
He took a deep breath and inwardly scolded himself. How could he think of such things when he’d only gotten the terrible news of his brother’s death a few hours earlier? What the hell was wrong with him?
He stood and carefully lay baby Thomas in the crib next to his desk. Of course he was devastated at the loss of his brother, and it broke his heart even more what it would mean for his niece and nephew, to grow up never knowing their parents. That was the hardest part of all this—the unfairness of it for their sakes. But the truth was that he’d almost mourned the loss of his brother years earlier, when he refused to have anything further to do with Wilhelm and had cut him out of their lives.
He’d never even met Leah and Thomas until today, when he was forced to become their caretaker. So it hurt to lose the chance at reconciliation he’d always hoped for, but he’d truly lost his brother long before today.
“The rent problem will be fixed today, don’t you worry, Juliette. Gunther, please look up the records and find out why Juliette got a letter stating her rent was going up.”
“Was going to double,” Juliette reminded him.
“Yes, that. Make sure to figure out how such a mix-up could happen, because I know I didn’t authorize any such thing.”
Gunther nodded, and headed back out into the larger office. Wilhelm dropped into his large desk chair with a huff of breath. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your offer of help. But I know you have a shop to run. Are you sure?”
“Noelle and Andy can hold down the fort. We sold out of a few things that only I make, but I can do that tomorrow, no problem.”
“Excellent. For the record, Leanne wouldn’t be my first choice as a nanny.” Wilhelm would immediately hire a new one if he knew what to look for and believed he could find a good one on such short notice. “I’ve only spoken to
her on the phone, but I find her disagreeable. She’s been taking care of the babies since they were born about three months ago, so she’ll do for the time being.”
He watched Juliette holding Leah for a few more moments. “I suppose the best place for them really is at their home. I have some formula, but … it was a mistake to bring them here. Not enough supplies they need. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Juliette tilted her head. “Like you said, Wilhelm, you’re most comfortable here. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“You really mean to stay?” Was it too good to be true?
“Am I imposing on you?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Then I will. Since my hands are full, would you mind calling the shop for me?”
Wilhelm called Bonbon and explained to Noelle that she and Andy would be minding the store, and even got Juliette to agree to let Andy try his hand at a couple of candy varieties she typically liked to make herself. She could see no harm as she wasn’t able to do it. Wilhelm was in a considerably better mood when he hung up the phone. His heart lightened.
“I think Dusfrene was a little too excited that you won’t be back until tomorrow. I suspect a mutiny at hand. You might not have a store anymore when you’re back.”
Juliette snorted. “Andy wants to be a patissier. I should’ve let him practice more at the shop, but I am too OCD. I worry my sweets won’t be perfect if I don’t do it myself,” she said. “But that’s okay. Noelle and Andy know how to run the shop and I get to spend time with these precious cubs. Look at them, Wilhelm,” she turned at him, “your niece and nephew are so beautiful. Guess the gene runs in the family, yes?”
“So, you think I’m beautiful?” Wilhelm couldn’t resist to tease.
Juliette’s cheeks colored. “I’d kill for eyelashes like yours.”
Wilhelm let the grin dominate his face. The Subzero Queen was melting. Who would’ve thought that her kryptonite was babies? Juliette went back to gazing at the cubs with adoration. Her face looked so serene and her eyes glowed beautifully that Wilhelm wanted to round his desk and kiss her. No. That would be a bad move. He didn’t want to jeopardize anything at this stage.
“I’ll have Gunther arrange to take the twins back to my brother’s place, and you can go and grab anything you need, or you can ride in the limo with them and have them stop for you. I’ll provide anything you ask for, including anyone in my office you may want to help you. Of course the housekeeper will be there as well, and while she does not seem matronly, she’s a sweet person. If it weren’t for her bad arthritis, I’d feel comfortable leaving the twins with her.”
“Sounds fine by me.”
“I have someone to meet here very shortly, so I’m going to go arrange things with Gunther and see to that. Are you sure this is all right? It feels like an incredible imposition.”
“Oh my God, Wilhelm, stop asking. I offered and I meant it. I want to help.”
As he walked around the desk, he stopped and put a hand on her shoulder. Without giving it much thought, he cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her jaw. “Thank you. So much.”
The urge to bend over and kiss her was so strong, Wilhelm almost did it. Leah’s sniff brought him back to reality—a reality where he couldn’t even get Juliette to go on a date with him, let alone welcome his kiss—so he pulled his hand away and went to set things up with Gunther.
Chapter Six
Halgar Sorenson’s mansion might be spacious and decadent, but it somehow felt empty and hollow. Juliette wondered if that was because she knew the owners had died that day, and it felt wrong to be a stranger in their house. Although, despite the grandeur of the place and its dozens of rooms, the nursery was cozy and comfortable. The room dominated with pink and blue and had a cushy play rug on the floor. Matching designer cribs sat side by side, flanked by two changing tables. A cheerful pink and blue sunshine-and-stars mural on one wall was the focal point for the decor.
At the sight of the nursery, Juliette’s heart ached at how similar it was to what she’d always imagined her child’s nursery might look like. And how that dream had died after a series of tests and sad looks in doctors’ and nurses’ eyes.
She scolded herself for her envy.
Carol Sorenson had what Juliette wanted and never would, but she’d also tragically lost her life and would never see her children grow up. There was already too much heartbreak there for Juliette to focus on her own problem.
So she focused on the babies. While they slept, she found their formula and bottles in the kitchen and set up everything to make feeding time easier. She sat in the rocking chair in their nursery and watched them sleep, noticing the differences in them and the similarities. Perhaps they sensed more tension than she expected, because once they settled down, they slept soundly for a few hours. More than once she rose and put a hand gently on their backs to feel them breathing and assure herself they were fine.
Bonnie popped in once and offered to help feed one when the time came. She combed her short, dark hair back with her fingers and shook her head. “I can’t believe under the circumstances Leanne would just abandon them when they need the help most.”
Juliette only nodded. She didn’t want to say something when she wasn’t sure whether the woman was a gossip or not, but she couldn’t help but agree.
When the twins woke, after diaper changes and a dash to get their bottles, Juliette found she didn’t need Bonnie’s help. She lay the babies on the floor, propped up on pillows, and sat between them, facing them, to hold both bottles so they could eat at the same time. They watched her with wide blue eyes while they ate, and she talked to them softly, smiling. She took turns burping them, and lay them back down to hold their little hands and watch their expressions change as she talked. Their tufted tiny cat ears moved in cadence of the tone of her voice and their little tails that peeked beneath their onesies flicked back and forth. Shifter babies were terminally cute. At three months old, Leah and Thomas were still practically infants. Unlike human babies, shifter cubs were born with their eyes closed, pink and fragile, channeling their spirit animals. After a few weeks of nothing but eating and sleeping, they began opening their eyes and grew active. But once they learned to crawl, they were a handful and needed constant supervision. When human babies learned to walk at the end of their first year, shifter babies already ran, sneaked, pounced, stalked, and mostly got into mischief. Their full transformation wasn’t until their third year when they mastered their human or animal form. Some were species took even longer, like bears for instance. Their cubs didn’t master the change until well into adolescence. In today’s society, one wouldn’t see bear cubs out until they could blend in with the public.
Thomas let out a soft chuff of contentment. He started drifting to sleep, but Leah still had fight in her. She was alert and curious and purred. Juliette found an insane urge to shift and groom the babies like any feline mother did. Her maternal instinct went haywire the moment she laid eyes on them.
No, Juliette. They aren’t yours. Don’t let yourself get too attached or you’ll end up hurting yourself along the way.
Juliette sighed. She had fallen in love with both of them.
And when I go back to making candy in my shop tomorrow, these feelings will pass. I will miss them, but these cubs aren’t mine. She told herself that, but something in her didn’t believe it.
A sliver of ache pricked her heart.
She wiped at her eyes and marveled at how differently the day had turned out than she’d expected.
And that’s when she sensed someone behind her.
She turned to find Wilhelm standing in the nursery doorway, a slightly bemused smile on his face.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “I would have assumed you’d heard me long ago.”
“You didn’t startle me. I was just … distracted.”
“I never knew you were so good with babies. One day you’ll be a great mother.”
She turned aw
ay, focusing on the babies again. He couldn’t possibly know how painful it was for her to hear such a thing. “I thought you had business to tend to?”
“I did. The meeting went well, and I found myself unable to get anything else done, so here I am.” He approached and stood next to her, then knelt on one knee, his arms resting on his other. “If you need to leave, I’m sure Bonnie and I will be fine.”
Juliette shook her head. “And let you enjoy the easy part watching them sleep? You weren’t here when Thomas had a diaper mishap.”
“Ugh.” Wilhelm made a face, semi-horrified. “Was it bad?”
“Let’s just say that I narrowly avoided an epic disaster. Thomas is a future troublemaker, so you’d better watch him closely. I’d say you’ve got your work cut out for you.” She looked at him then, and realized that she truly didn’t want to go. Not now. And not just because of the babies. Just for a moment, let me bask in this fantasy, let me pretend that I have a family, a man by my side, and cubs before me. I’m complete and happy.
“I’m not afraid. I love challenges,” he said softly, then with a sigh he reached out and took Leah’s hand, her tiny grip circling his finger. “Juliette, you know what this means?”
“Hmmh?”
“I’ve got to be their father. Imagine me, a single DILF?”
Juliette snorted a laugh. She didn’t know he could joke like that. It was refreshing to see this side of him. So down to earth and humble. He was totally different than the haughty man she knew, a busy exec who ran a multi-million dollar company. “I bet you’ll be popular with the PTA moms.”
“You think? I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. I do know that I’ve got this devastating effect on women.”
Juliette’s eyebrow raised an inch. “Are you bragging?”
“Does it sound like it? I’m just trying to woo you. You know, emphasizing my good points since my efforts have failed so far. Does it work?”
“Keep working on it.”
Single Weretiger DILF Page 3