Page 50 of The Boss's Triplet Surprise

He considered going to Leah’s house to talk to her in person, but if she didn’t want to see him, he didn’t want to just show up. Plus, at this point, just talking to her and giving a few gifts wasn’t going to be enough. He needed to do something big.

Towards the end of the week, a plan began to come together. Dan had one more idea, something that would prove to Leah where his priorities lay. If this didn’t work, he didn’t know what would.

Dan put together a team and got to work.

CHAPTER 20

LEAH

Leah stared at her phone. It showed half a dozen missed calls from Dan, plus several texts. He’d written that he was sorry and that he wanted to talk. Dan had been sending these messages every few days for the past couple weeks.

These were the words that Leah had secretly dreamed of hearing over the past months, but now that she saw them, she couldn’t bring herself to reply. Yes, Dan was sorry now. But he’d still shown both of them that his work was more important than her or their children. Even if he wanted a part in Leah’s life now, she wasn’t sure if she could let him back in. After all, as Leah had reminded herself over and over again during her pregnancy, her babies deserved only the best.

Yet not replying to Dan was hard, too. Leah missed him terribly. Each time one of the triplets kicked, each time she ate lemon sorbet or walked in a park, each time she thought of work, Leah thought of Dan. There were so many moments she wished she could share with him.

Even this moment. Leah was doing nothing more than sitting on her couch, her swollen ankles propped on a footstool, flipping through a book of baby names, and she wanted nothing more than to ask Dan what he thought. They’d talked about baby names back in her first trimester, and Leah smiled as she remembered the names they’d discussed. Her smile widened as she remembered how they’d argued over the sex of the baby. Maybe, with three babies, Leah was having at least one boy and girl — she didn’t know. She’d decided not to find out until delivery day.

Then her smile faded. As much as she might want to joke with Dan about baby names, she needed a partner for the hard times as well as the lighthearted moments. Dan couldn’t just show up when he felt like it. He couldn’t just participate in the fun parts. He had to be ready to choose her, even when things were tough. And he wasn’t.

So, she was better off on her own.

It was probably the thousandth time she’d come to the same realization in the past few months, but it hurt even more this time. Before, she and Dan weren’t together because of a mutual decision. Now, they weren’t together because of her decision. That made it all the harder to stand her ground.

With a sigh, Leah put down the baby-name book. She needed to choose six names — three girl names and three boy names — just in case, but she hadn’t even started. It just didn’t feel right. And now she was caught up in thoughts of Dan, so her pleasant morning was pretty much out the window. Maybe she’d take advantage of the fact that there were fewer crowds in the daytime and go to the store.

As Leah heaved herself up from the couch, she marveled at the fact that she still had two weeks to go before her planned C-section. She wasn’t sure how she’d be able to move at the end of the pregnancy, if she was already waddling this much now.

Slowly, she gathered her purse and slipped on her shoes — when she’d finished her final day at work, she’d also given up on any shoes with heels or laces. It was all about the slip-ons from here on out. As she made her way to the door, she felt a twinge in her stomach and paused, her hand resting on her bump. She’d been having a few Braxton-Hicks contractions, which Moira assured her were normal at this stage of pregnancy.

“Hello in there.” She rubbed her stomach, feeling a round something that could be a head or a bottom, and smiled. It was wild to think that she’d be meeting three brand-new humans in just a couple weeks. At least she had a bit of time left to prepare. She’d need every second if she was going to get herself ready.

Leah took the elevator to the ground floor and began her slow walk to the supermarket down the street. It was a cold December day and she was chilly, despite a warm coat and hat. Christmas lights twinkled at her from the nearby shop windows, which made her smile. She loved the holidays and was excited about the fact that her babies would be born just after Christmas. Maybe she should consider some holiday names, like Noelle.

She waddled slowly towards the supermarket. As she went, she thought through her shopping list. She had taken advantage of the last few weeks away from work to relax and prepare. She’d been trying to cook extra food and freeze it, to prepare for the postpartum period. Several friends and her mother had volunteered to move in to help, but Leah had turned them down. She’d accept all the meals and visits and help they had to offer, but she wanted to do this alone.

As Leah entered the supermarket, she glanced at the stack of newspapers near the front. She had never been good at keeping up with the news, but she liked to see at least a few headlines so that she’d know what was going on in the world. Today, she was surprised to see RMA Pharmaceuticals on the front page. She hesitated. She wasn’t sure she wanted to read about her employer, not if Dan might be mentioned. Still, she tossed a paper into her cart and continued into the store. Maybe she’d read it later, back at home.

Leah perused the supermarket. Late in pregnancy, her love of carrots and sorbet had changed to a deep craving for olives and peanut butter, so she put a few jars of each into the cart. Then she added a few ingredients to make meals, some for now, and some to freeze for later. Finally, she hesitated in front of the diaper section. Did she have enough? Leah had a very well stocked cupboard at home, but babies needed a lot of diapers…

“Leah?”

Leah turned, surprised to see her friend Brandy from work. Brandy was holding a small plastic box of sushi and an orange juice.

“Oh, hi, Brandy!”

They exchanged an awkward hug around Leah’s belly. Although they’d been in frequent contact via text and calls, Leah hadn’t seen her friend in person since her last day of work.

“How are you doing?” Brandy looked Leah up and down. “You’re glowing!”

“I’m not so sure, but thank you.” Leah smiled. “How are you? How’s work?”

A slight grin appeared on Brandy’s face. “Well, I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but there’s something going on that you are going to love. Keep an eye on the papers.”

“Um, I will. Thanks.” Leah considered pressing her friend for more information, but Brandy was already moving away down the aisle.

“Sorry, I have to get back to work. But call me anytime, okay?”

“I will.”

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