‘Four people? Me and the children?’
Luca looked at Luke, wondering if he would sleep on the couch or the floor.
She glanced at the couch. The room was spacious enough to accommodate a bigger couch, but the bed was big, so the couch had to be smaller.
It was not going to fit Luke.
That meant that he would have to sleep on the floor.
Luca asked, “Where will you be sleeping then, Mr. Crawford?”
There was an ambiguous grin on Luke’s face. Through the dim light, Luca could not tell if he was smiling.
Before Luke answered the question, Tommy rubbed his eyes and said, “Daddy can sleep on the floor. Ms. Luca, can you read me a bedtime story?”
Luca could not bear to see the child so sleepy. She went over to the bed and patted the spot next to her. “Let’s sleep.”
Tommy lay down on the bed. Lanie and Rainie soon followed suit.
Luca glanced at Luke again. He was looking in the direction of the bed.
She was dressed in the silk gown, which accentuated the curves of her body.
As the nightlight shone on her scattered long hair, her figure seemed to have captivated his soul.
Luke swallowed, trying to keep the lump in his throat down. He watched Luca lie on the bed and, with her gentle voice, tell the children a bedtime story.
Rainie was a girl who enjoyed fairy tale stories about princes and princesses. Lanie did not have the habit of listening to bedtime stories, but he preferred to read science fiction stories. Tommy was about the same because of Lanie’s influence.
The three children on the bed had different preferences, but Luca somehow managed to tell a story that all three of them enjoyed.
They were listening to her story with great interest, and they did not make a sound.
The window muffled the sounds of the heavy rain outside. Luca’s voice was gentle as she tried to coax the children to sleep.
As Luke listened to her story, he could feel his eyelids become heavier and heavier.
A blanket was spread out on the floor, and a pillow was placed on top. Luca’s attention had been occupied by the children since she entered the room, and she did not notice those things on the floor.
Luke’s movements were very soft. Before Luca realized it, he was already lying on the floor.
Luca’s voice became softer and softer. She lifted her head slightly and saw that the three children were already asleep.
Tommy slept to her right, and Lanie slept next to Tommy. Rainie slept to her left. The soft nightlight illuminated the children’s faces. Rainie even seemed to be smiling, as though she was in a pleasant dream.
Luca was satisfied when she saw that. Suddenly, she thought of Luke.
She carefully sat up and noticed that he was not on the couch.
Where did he go?
Luca was wondering about that. She saw an arm raise from the end of the bed, then it went down again.
It seemed Luke knew she was looking for him…
Luca wanted to leave the bedroom. It would be hard to explain if Queenie found her sleeping together with the children.
However, Tommy was hugging her hand tightly. If she moved, the child might wake up. Luca sighed and lay back down again.
She decided that she would wake up early tomorrow and sneak back to the playroom before Queenie woke up. The decision made her feel slightly more relieved.
Luca was satisfied when she heard the slow and even breathing coming from the children around her. Even though Luke was in the same room, she did not feel as uneasy as before.
She found it easy to sleep when Luke and the children were nearby. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
The next day, Luca opened her eyes when she heard some sounds around her. She looked around and remembered that she was still in the Norman residence.
She had designed the interior of the room. Even though she had not lived there for a very long time, she was very familiar with it.
There was a knock on the door. Then, Queenie’s voice was heard. “Luke? Kids? Are you awake?”
Luca sat up. She planned to return to the playroom before Queenie woke up, but she had overslept…
Queenie was knocking on the door now.
The knocking woke up the other people in the room. Tommy sat up and rubbed his eyes. There was still a drop of drool on the corner of his mouth.
He looked half-asleep. Lanie and Rainie were not any better either.
Luca felt a wave of tenderness in her heart when she looked at the children’s faces. However, Queenie’s voice made her uneasy.
What should she do?
Luke sat up and replied, “We’re up.”
‘He’s been sleeping on the floor the whole night…’ Luca thought. Text content © .
Queenie said, “If that’s the case, brush your teeth and come downstairs for breakfast. Right, have you seen Luca?”
Queenie noticed that the playroom door was ajar, but Luca was not inside.
Luke glanced at the woman on the bed, then went to open the door. “She’s inside.”
Queenie was taken aback when she heard that. ‘Luca is in the room? They spent the night in the same room?’
Luca hurriedly got off the bed. Her hair was in a mess, and the gown was slightly creased…
“I’m here, Mrs. Norman…”
“You, you two…” In her shock, she could not complete the sentence. She had already assumed the worst-case scenario: Luke and Luca had done something in bed…
“The children couldn’t sleep last night, so I asked Dr. Craw to coax them to sleep.” Luke could tell that Queenie had misunderstood the situation. He took a step aside and showed his mother-in-law that he had slept on the floor.
Rainie added, “Yes, Grandma. We weren’t used to sleeping here, so Daddy asked Ms. Luca to come over and tell us a bedtime story.”
Queenie saw that the blanket on the floor was crumpled. Evidently, someone had been sleeping there.
Even though Luke had slept on the floor and Luca on the bed, Queenie could not eliminate the possibility that they had done something on the floor…
She was still worried that there might be some illicit affair going on between them…
However, she could not voice out her worries. She had to trust them and pretend that nothing happened. “I see, so that’s how it is,” she nodded and said. “I guess the kids miss their Mommy. Luke, you should tell Bea to call the kids whenever she’s free.”
“Mm.” Luke nodded. He was not going to tell them the truth behind Bianca just yet.
Queenie glanced at the people in the room and said, “Go and brush your teeth. Breakfast is ready.”
It had already stopped raining. Queenie hoped that they could leave so that Leia could come out of her bedroom.
“Mm.” Luke bent over and picked up the blanket from the floor.
Tommy reached out toward Luca and said coyly, “I wanna hug!”
Luca bent over and picked up the little boy.