“Where are moving to?” she asks.
I shake my head and shrug. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen the place yet. All I know is that it’s bigger than this one and in a nicer area. It’s closer to my office, too, so easier to commute.”
“Well, I have the girls’ necessities packed up in those overnight bags there. Just in case. I know what a nightmare it is to search through boxes. But these guys appear to be exceptionally efficient,” she muses as she eyes the movers.
I giggle softly, “Stella, did I just catch you perving on one of the movers?”
She scoffs. “And?” she challenges me with a wink.
Josiah sends a limousine to fetch us. It seems like overkill. But then again, I think he should be going out of his way to make this move as comfortable and easy as possible, considering I didn’t even want it.
When we arrive at his place, I am utterly stunned.
I can’t find words, but Stella is chattering for both of us.
“Good lord, this is a mansion!” she exclaims. “This place is bigger than a castle! How in the world…what in the world…. Girls, did you see the fountain at the front gate? That looks like a good tree to try climbing!”
She’s so bubbly and excited that her energy spills over to the twins.
The limo comes to a stop, and I spill out of it, feeling claustrophobic and in desperate need of a moment to pull myself together, but Josiah is standing there waiting to greet us.
My stomach clenches, and my heart drops to the pit of it as his eyes go to the girls.
He smiles, his entire face lighting up, and I wait for the inevitable.
I wait for him to introduce himself as their father.
But he doesn’t.
He pulls his eyes off the girls and walks over to Stella.
“You must Stella? Kayla had a lot of good things to say about you. Welcome. If there’s anything you need, you just ask, alright?” he says, as charming and smooth as ever.
Stella gushes as her cheeks flush pink, “Oh, thank you so much. You must be Mr. Belov.”
“Please, you can call me Josiah,” he smiles. “Dante here will show you to your room. We set up a private space for you in the east wing. It’s essentially like having your own apartment within the mansion. Your own kitchen, bathroom, living area, everything. And like I said, if anything is missing, you just ask. We wanted to make sure you had a space to relax when you weren’t taking care of the girls,” he explains.
“That is so thoughtful of you. I am really looking forward to seeing it.”
“Stella,” I call after her. “You can take the rest of the afternoon off. I’ll be with the girls. Get settled, and we can chat in the morning,” I say.
She smiles and nods, and when Josiah turns to speak to someone who looks like a butler, she throws me an exaggerated wink with her mouth wide open, perving on the man she knows only as my boss.
I roll my eyes.
Kira runs up to Josiah. I do my best to reach out and grab her to stop her, but I’m not fast enough.
“Kira,” I gasp when she grabs the hem of his black jacket.
“Hello!” she exclaims boldly.
“Hello,” he grins down at her. “Are you Kelsey?”
She shakes her head, horrified. “Don’t be silly! I’m Kira, that’s Kelsey,” she says, pointing at her sister, who is half-hiding behind me.
My heart is beating too fast. Stella is gone now, so at least it’s one less awkwardness to worry about, but I keep waiting for Josiah to introduce himself as their father, and it’s not how I would ever want them to find out. These things need to happen slowly, easing them into it.
Josiah crouches down to her height. “My name is Josiah. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kira,” he says, holding out his hand to shake hers.
