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Was he actually nervous--nervous to see Julia?

Running a hand over his chest, he headed down the hall When was the last time he’d actually been nervous to see a woman? He could not remember

Hell

Unsure of what to think about that, he rounded the hall and saw that his sister’s bedroom door was open

Maddie was at the easel God He still couldn’t believe that his sister was sitting up and painting All thanks to Julia’s idea Which ht about Daniel As much as he didn’t want Daniel around, if it would help his sister, he would convince his brothers to allow it

His gaze shifted to where Julia sat in a nearby chair She atching his sister while nibbling on her lower lip Her expression was pinched, like she was lost in a world of thoughts

Lucian wondered if he she was stressing over last night Cocky to assu on in her life, but he illing to bet it was on her rocery list of reasons why it shouldn’t have happened

Leaning against the doorframe, he cleared his throat

Julia jumped as her head shot up and over Pink splashed over her cheeks, and his heart slaazes locked

Neither of the moment Lucian found himself oddlyvoiceless

It was Julia who broke the silence

Folding her ar"

One eyebrow rose "So prihes"

The pink deepened as her lips pursed "What can I do for you, Lucian?"

The sound of his nah him If his sister wasn’t in the rooination for so away from the door, he strode across the roo his sister side, he knelt down "Good , Maddie"

His sister didn’t respond as she drew the paintbrush across the canvas His brows knitted together as he studied the canvas Out of the pale paint, he thought he saw facial features He looked over at Julia "How many sheets has she done?"

"Three This is her fourth one," she answered "I’ve been keeping them in the closet, out of the way"

He nodded and then refocused on Maddie "So, I was thinking," he said while his sister moved to dab more paint on the brush "Hoould you feel if I invited Daniel over this weekend?"

Maddie’s hand stilled

He held his breath as his sister sat there, unn? Bad? "Possibly on Sunday, for lunch? Would you like that?"

Her gaze lowered A ain

Lucian remained crouched for several moments in silence "There was a response" He looked over to Julia "You saw that, right?"

Surprise filled her gaze as she nodded "It was definitely sohly as he rose "I have no idea if it’s good or bad"

Julia unfolded her arood I mean, they were close friends I don’t see how it could be bad--bad for her"

Lucian had to agree with that Scrunching his fingers through his da to talk to Dev He’s usually out most of Sunday, so he won’t be here If he was, the whole thing will go downhill fast"

"Then that would probably be the best tireed "We don’t need her to be stressed"

But how could they tell? Even though he agreed with Julia, what if bringing Daniel into the picture did stress her out? He had no reason to believe that would happen other than the fact that he didn’t like the little prick He was going to have to let that go