Page 74 of Christmas with the Denton Billionaires

“To play with the—” she stopped herself before her acidic tone turned into even more acidic words. “Noelle issick, and she needs to becared for.Whatever. I’ll take care of it.”

Mitch headed for his bedroom, his voice growing more distant as he walked away. “Call the nanny. I’m sure she can help out for a few hours.”

“You think I haven’t tried that route?” Jules spat, feeling more frustrated than ever. She couldn’t get past what he’d said.Play with the baby.Like this was all fun and games. “There’s no nanny available tonight because they’re busy with all the other guests’ children.”

But of course he couldn’t hear her, because she was muttering angrily to herself in the living room. When he reappeared a few moments later, wearing a Henley shirt and casual slacks, the sight of him softened her frustration for a moment.

“This is a meeting?” she asked.

“Yeah. Casual, though. Per the investor’s request.”

She sighed. “Well, as I was saying, there’s no nanny available tonight. So make it quick. Because I might not make it past nine p.m.”

He came over and pressed a kiss to her forehead and then Noelle’s. “Promise.”

The front door clicked shut a moment later, and she was left in irritable silence once more, her own frustrations and to-do list and sense of aloneness boiling over, ready to drown her.

So this was mom life in the early months. Now she got it. She sighed, settling Noelle into a safe spot on the couch before getting up to pour herself a glass of wine. It was six thirty. This was allowed.

Noelle fell into a fitful nap, which allowed Jules to open her laptop and stare distractedly at her screen while thinking about the interaction with Mitch.

It had felt like they were working together so well as a team, but now? All this just reminded her that she’d been in some sort of blazing bright foster babymoon. Tinted by the holidays and the great sex and a healthy, sleeping baby. Now Jules was dealing with sleep deprivation and deadlines with half the help and support she’d grown accustomed to.

If Mitch couldn’t be counted on to help during a few stressful days during their time as a makeshift family unit, then what could she count on from him in a relationship overall?

And why was she even thinking that a relationship with him was a possibility?

Yes, she’d fallen head over heels for him. Even now, when she wanted to throttle him for leaving her with a sick baby for the second day in a row, she stillwantedto spend time with him. To listen to him talk about his day and for Jules to share hers. To be on the receiving end of one of his smiles or the butterflies that danced inside her when he leveled her with one of hislooks. But what did he feel about her? Was he even thinking about might happen after the holidays?

Because if Jules had her way? Playing the role of heroine in a Hallmark Christmas movie, she’d take up permanent residence in this penthouse. She’d already imagined moving her things here, thinking how convenient it was that she hadn’t fully unpacked at her apartment. What an unwitting foresight that would make life easier once she decided to make the move over here! And little Noelle would of course become theirs, and probably would take the Denton name. And if Jules was lucky, so would she. Since Mitch would most likely—probably definitely—ask her to marry him within a year.

All these thoughts felt ridiculous and dangerously hopeful, yet she couldn’t avoid them. Despite her mother’s constant warnings not to grow too attached to men. That the richer they were, the less likely they would stick around when they were needed most. Dammit, he made herexcitedagain for a life she’d only ever wished for and never thought she could have.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a brash ringing. Something between an alarm clock and a tornado warning, ringing repeatedly from…somewhere. Jules leapt to her feet, trying to track down the source of the offending noise. Her first thought was the service elevator—maybe there was an issue with it and someone was stuck inside—but the noise was softer over that way. She wandered through the kitchen, following it until the sound rang the loudest.

The mahogany buffet in the dining room seemed to be the culprit. She frowned, tugging open the small drawers in the piece of furniture until she spied the offender.

Something suspiciously similar to a fitness tracker blared, and she picked up the thin black wristlet, turning it over in her hands. The accessory had startling volume for being so small, and no amount of pressing buttons made it shut up.

Her chest tightened as she struggled to turn it off, but the alarm continued ringing.

The failed attempts made a baby headache spring to life, and she swore under her breath. After enough frustrating attempts, she tossed the thing against the wall. As if this would help, or maybe prompt it into shutting off on its own accord.

But no.Reeeeep. Reeeeeep. Reeeeep.The end-of-times step tracker continued its death wail.

Jules huffed with a sigh and headed for her phone. Now that she’d spent so much time hating the thing, it was all she could hear, even as she put distance between herself and the accessory. She tapped out a quick text to Mitch, but the waiting grew unbearable.

So she called him. It rang seven times and then clicked over to voicemail.

She called again. And it went to voicemail again.

“Dammit.” She pinched at the bridge of her nose, her blood pressure pitching upward. Sleep deprivation and sick baby was one thing. Add a shrieking device on top of everything, and she was damn near meltdown mode.

Noelle stirred on the couch, and then she let out a wail.

“Oh, hell no!” Jules stomped her foot and looked between baby and device, unsure which to attend to first. Maybe she could break the thing with the meat tenderizer she’d found in the kitchen the other day. If it didn’t stop ringing, she couldn’t be held accountable for her actions.

But Noelle needed comforting first. She scooped up the baby, trying to stop the crying. While she shushed Noelle and tried to get her calm, Jules drifted back toward her phone. She called Mitch again. No answer.

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