Page 14 of The Boss's Triplet Surprise

“Did your parents have a lot of expectations for you?”

Leah smiled. “Not really. I mean, they wanted the best for me and for me to do my best, but I think they were mostly just happy to have me around.”

“That must be nice. Where did you grow up?”

“Wisconsin. Madison.”

“Right. That’s where you said your parents live now.”

“Exactly. We lived there for my whole childhood in a sweet little suburb. We were the kind of family who spent every weekend in the summer camping or hiking and every weekend in the winter cross-country skiing.”

“What did your parents do?”

“My mom was a high school English teacher, and my dad worked in IT, but they’re both retired now. I know what your dad did, or does, but what about your mom?”

“She’s retired now, but she was a teacher too. Third grade.”

“Nice.” Leah smiled. “We should make a note of these similarities. They could come up.”

The reminder that this was no normal conversation but preparation for a lie hit Dan harder than he’d expected. For just a moment, he’d found himself pretending that he and Leah really were on a first date. It was a disturbing realization. Dan would have to be careful to maintain a professional distance between the two of them.

“Good point. So far, we have: moms were teachers, and we both run.”

“True! How far do you usually run?”

“I do a lot of ten Ks and an occasional half marathon. How about you?”

“I mostly run around five kilometers. I’ve always wanted to run a marathon, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

“I’m sure you will someday.”

“I hope so.”

Dan steered the car into the parking lot of the restaurant. Leah’s eyes widened when she saw the bright façade.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but this place might be a little out of my price range.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”

“Oh, no.” Leah shook her head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You aren’t asking. I’m happy to do it. You’re doing me a huge favor, and the least I can do is buy you dinner.”

“You’re doing me a huge favor, too,” Leah pointed out.

“Then you can treat me for another meal.” Dan piloted the car into a parking space near the entrance and released his seatbelt. “Shall we?”

“All right.” Leah still looked a little suspicious, but she followed Dan in.

The inside of the restaurant was beautifully decorated. A friendly waiter led them to a table near a picture window and left menus. Dan and Leah sat.

As they perused the menus, Dan cast a surreptitious look at Leah. She’d taken the clip out from her hair, which now fell around her shoulders in a tangle of auburn waves. She really was beautiful.

“Dan?” Leah was looking at him now. “What do you think?”

“Hmm?”

“Splitting nachos?”

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