Page 69 of Sanctuary

“Wife, you look fantastic.” Solo wrapped her arms around Janie’s waist and kissed her briefly.

“You’re all set?” Janie asked.

“We are,” Lori said. “Go and enjoy yourselves.”

“We will if Solo isn’t checking the nanny cam every five seconds.” Janie rolled her eyes. “And we should be back around eleven.”

After they left, Lori grabbed Gabe’s arm. “Take me to the babies!”

Gabe laughed and led Lori to the playroom. “You have to watch out for that one.” Gabe pointed to Tia, who grinned at her like butter wouldn’t melt. “That smile doesn’t fool me, devil child.”

Lori whacked her shoulder. “What are you talking about? She looks like a little angel. They all do.”

Gabe nodded her head slowly. “You’ll change your mind by the end of the night. I promise.”

Lori scooped Tia into her arms. “Let’s put them all in the playpen in the kitchen to keep us company.”

Gabe picked up the purple-clothed one—Chloe, if memory served—and held her at arm’s length to follow Lori back into the kitchen.

After Lori had gently placed Tia into the play area, she turned and gasped. “You don’t have to hold them like one of your bombs, Gabe.” She took Chloe from Gabe’s grasp and placed her down beside the ringleader.

“Are you sure? Because I’ve seen them explode in much the same way a couple of times now.”

Lori chuckled and went back to get the third baby. “They have beautiful names,” she said, putting Luna alongside her sisters. “And the color-coding is genius.” She dropped down onto the sofa and stared at them for a while. “Although you can see tiny differences if you look hard enough.”

“Then it’s good that you have such a great memory,” Gabe said. “If we do this more often, we might end up bathing them, and if their nail polish wears off, I’ll definitely mix them up.”

Tia tossed a soft building brick in Gabe’s direction, almost like she was proving her individuality, and it bounced off the rails and struck Luna in the face. Her eyes went wide as she opened her mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream that lasted about five seconds before she went silent and picked up the brick to play with it.

“Except that one.” Gabe pointed at Tia. “I could pick that little troublemaker out even if they’d had sextuplets.”

“She can probably sense your apathy,” Lori said.

“Hey now, it’s not apathy. It’s self-preservation.”

Lori shifted on the couch to face her. “What do you mean?”

Gabe gestured to the kitchen island. She’d done enough soul-searching for tonight with Solo, and she was hungry because she hadn’t eaten after the gym. “Weren’t you about to rustle up another tasty dish for me to try? My muscles need protein.”

Lori flicked her gaze to Gabe’s arms then rose from the sofa and went to sift through the ingredients she’d assembled on the countertop. “I can cook and talk. Get over here.”

Gabe raised her eyebrows at the instruction but didn’t say anything because the only thing that came to mind was sexual. Solo’s countertop was ice-cool marble, and Gabe thought it wouldn’t take long for them to set it on fire. Dutifully, she followed the order and sat on one of the stools opposite Lori.

“Janie made us a fresh pot of decaf. Would you like one?”

“I’ll get it,” Gabe said and began to move.

“Nope. You stay right there.”

Gabe watched Lori move elegantly around the kitchen as if it were her own. Her movements were graceful and precise, like she was dancing around the space in her own little musical performance.

Lori located honey in the fourth cupboard she’d opened and added the perfect amount. It shouldn’t surprise Gabe that Lori remembered exactly how she took her coffee, but she took it as a sign of her thoughtfulness anyway. She placed the mug in front of Gabe and didn’t let go until Gabe met her eyes.

“Talk to me about self-preservation,” she said and released the handle.

“Or we could talk more about the restoration project. Did you get a chance to send an email to Bruce between all the instructions you were given?” Gabe picked up the long, handwritten list Janie had left them and studied it.

“No, I thought it would be rude if I tapped away on my phone while Janie was talking.” Lori slid her phone from her pocket. “I’ll do it now, and then I can put it out of my mind.”

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