Page 57 of Primal God

I ask, “Well, Clara, why do you and Diego think I’d be a good mother?”

“You’re pretty. You take care of us.Papailikes you. And you’re the best nanny we’ve ever had.”

Well, damn. Hard to argue with some of those.

Clara looks at her father. “Right,Papai? You like Nanny W.”

Why do I get the feeling she’s scheming to get me and her father together? It’s like a five-year-old’s version ofParent Trap.

“I do like her,” he agrees. “But Nanny W is right when she says that I want to find the right person.”

I glance at him. Well, that’s just rude.

Clara asks, “You don’t think Nanny W is the right person to be our momma?”

The room grows silent as we wait to hear what he says.

“I think Nanny W would be an excellent momma, Clara.”

My eyes water as I reach for Isadora.

“Come on,xuxuzinho. Let’s get you out of the water.”

Once she’s wrapped in her towel, I hand her over to Dimitri and then help the twins get out. They rush to their room to change into their PJs, and I let the water out of the tub.

When I turn, Dimitri and Isadora are gone, so I make my way to the nursery, where I find him putting her in her crib. She’s dressed in her purple sleeping pants and matching shirt, all ready for bed.

“You’re good at getting her down for the night,” I say in a low tone.

Isadora is slowly blinking as she looks up at us, her telltale sign that she’s about to fall asleep.

“Only because you tired her out in the tub.” He turns, leaning against the crib, arms crossed. “Are you going to tell me who your boyfriend is?”

I laugh before I can stop myself.

“Something funny, Lilith?”

“You’ve barely spoken to me since the…incidentin the pool and then you demand that I tell you my boyfriend’s name.” I shake my head. “You made it clear how you feel, Dimitri, and that’s fine. I get it. You aren’t ready for whatever that was in the pool. But that doesn’t mean I owe you anything. And I certainly don’t need to answer to you.”

He stalks toward me, and I retreat until my back is pressed against the wall. I’m not scared, though. Far from it. Which is the problem. I have to stop reacting like this, or I’ll never get over him.

He moves until his body is pressed against mine and it takes everything in my power not to reach out to him.

“You’re right. You don’t owe me anything, but that isn’t going to stop me from wondering who you’re talking to.” He brushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. “I’m a damn fool and that’s something I have to live with. Now. What is your boyfriend’s name?”

I lean in until our lips brush. “None of your damn business.”

I shove past him, leaving him in the nursery while I go check on the twins. They’re already dressed and sitting on their beds.

“Which book do we want to read tonight?” I ask, going to their bookshelf.

Clara glances at Diego before answering, “The one about the ducks!”

“Ducks it is,” I reply, grabbing their favorite bedtime story.

I settle on the end of Clara’s bed as Dimitri walks in. My stomach twists because I know he’s still got more to say. He sits across from me on Diego’s bed.

Clara asks, “What are you doing in here,Papai?”

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