But the baby in the crib was sleeping.
Wilhelm spun his chair so that he faced Juliette. He held a small baby in his arms, bawling at the top of her lungs. The infant was actually a werecub: she had small, striped feline ears poking out beneath the wispy clouds of cornsilk hair and her tail whipped out beneath her pink onesie. Other than that, werecub looked just like humans’ babies. At that moment, the cub’s face was splotchy and red from tears. She had healthy lungs. Her screams could induce a migraine in minutes.
Goodness! Juliette blinked. How come I didn’t notice a baby crying earlier? Either Wilhelm’s office is sound-proofed or I’m so totally consumed with a bone to pick with him, I ignored my surroundings.
Juliette’s eyes drifted to the man she was ready to give a good scolding. Usually the Mr. Impeccably-dressed, Wilhelm looked as if he had been put through a wringer. His jacket suit crinkled around the lapels and his tie was undone. There was dampness on one spot that the bawling cub might have used as a napkin. Wilhelm plucked the pacifier that had fallen out of the cub’s mouth and gave it back to her. It quieted her down instantly. She still sniffled and squirmed as if she was upset she couldn’t get comfortable. Wilhelm raised his red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes to Juliette.
“I’m sorry, Juliette. Now is really not a good time.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds, Juliette unsure what to say or do or how to handle seeing Wilhelm so … vulnerable. He looked so different than the man she saw that morning.
The baby in the crib wriggled, took a deep breath, and wailed. Wilhelm jumped up and carefully lay the sleeping baby in the crib next to the crying one, then picked up the baby boy and cradled him the same way he’d held the little girl.
It was clear he wasn’t used to holding babies because he seemed so lost and unsure of what he was doing. He rocked the child a few moments, and it quieted to small sobs and snuffles, until the baby girl in the crib realized she was no longer being held and began to cry too.
My goodness.
Wilhelm looked like he didn’t know what to do. He arranged the boy in one arm as he bent over to attempt to pick up the girl in his other one. Juliette hurried forward and gently lifted the baby girl, a hand supporting her neck and head, the other arm under her body, to help him. “Here,” she said, but instantly the baby stopped crying.
She’d babysat distant cousins as a teen, and had a lot of experience with babies. Experience she’d hoped to use with her own one day.
Juliette pulled the girl close, let her head rest in the crook of her elbow, and held her against her body the way Wilhelm held the baby boy. She breathed deeply, that sweet baby smell making her heart ache and her eyes tear up. It felt so natural, so right, and it ripped open a wound deep inside of her.
“Juliette?” Wilhelm said softly.
She blinked away her tears, feeling foolish. “I’m sorry for intruding, Wilhelm. I didn’t realize you had children, and—”
“I don’t,” he said quickly. “Or … I didn’t. I … I don’t know. These are my brother’s cubs.”
“So you’re babysitting your niece and nephew … at your office?” It felt wrong as the words came out, but she couldn’t imagine what else it could be. The situation was kind of weird. Couldn’t he get one of his employees experienced with babies to look after them?
“I wouldn’t feel right in Halgar’s home, and the office is the place I’m most comfortable, the place I think best. This is the place easiest for me to make plans and figure things out.” He raised his eyes to Juliette, and while he still looked distraught, she could see the strength and determination underneath. “My brother and his wife died in a car crash this morning. And now I have to figure out how I’m going to take care of their babies.”
Chapter Four
Juliette sat in one of the large chairs in front of Wilhelm’s desk and looked at the sweet, sleeping face of the baby in her arms. “Oh, Wilhelm. I’m so sorry.” Now, she felt like a jerk for storming into his office. Her problem seemed minuscule compared to his. The man grieved.
He nodded and sat in the chair next to her. “Thank you. I’m sure I’ll manage. If I can manage a company, I can find a way to raise two babies.” The corner of his mouth tilted as he said it. He looked into her eyes, as if he realized there wasn’t much comparison between the two.
“Of course,” she agreed. The baby in her arms rub
bed its face against her shoulder, then settled down with a sigh. A sob welled up inside her, but she swallowed it and nodded. “I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job.”
Wilhelm patted the back of the baby boy he held and smiled at her. “You’re doing a good job, yourself. This is the longest Leah has been quiet since she was brought here. Seems you’re a natural.”
Leah. Such a pretty name for a pretty girl. Juliette shook her head, because something like that was the last thing she needed to hear. “Maybe their mother and I have a similar scent. Or she’s simply exhausted and needs to be held. I’m sure these babies can pick up on the tension you’re feeling.”
Wilhelm nodded. “Probably. But whatever the reason, thank you.”
Neither of them spoke for a moment, until Wilhelm raised his head with a frown. “Juliette, you came to see me despite being told it wasn’t a good time. I assume it must be important?”
Crap. She’d forgotten all about her ire the moment she saw the babies, and of course with hearing that his brother and sister-in-law were dead, she hadn’t thought about the rent another moment. Now that the babies were both calm and sleeping, annoyance pulled at her again.
“I got your letter about the rent hike a short while ago. And I’d come here to give you a piece of my mind about offering me a spot at your new building the same day. I don’t appreciate—”
“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.”