Page 19 of The Prince's Secret Twins

“I need to…” she whispered, but wasn’t exactly sure what she needed to do. Her life had revolved around her sons for so long, so she turned to go check on them.

But an arm wrapped around her waist, stopping her.

“Tila,” he said, his deep voice close to her ear, “come with me. You need to understand how safe you and our sons are here.”

Tila pulled away and leaned her head back so she could see his eyes. “What?”

“Come with me.” He released her waist and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

He done that so often in the past, but it felt different somehow now. She wasn’t quite sure why or how, but his touch hummed under her skin, and she wondered if he could make her glow just by holding her hand.

“What do you want to show me?” she asked again, wary now. All of the memories that she’d suppressed for so long rushed back with his touch.

“Eventually, you are going to have to learn to trust me, Tila,” he warned with a smile in his tone. He tugged at her hand gently. “This way.”

He led her to her sons, and there were two large men standing next to the bassinets.

“This is Jon and Sven,” Joran explained, gesturing to each man in turn. “They are the personal bodyguards for Laith and Rafi. They are the only two right now, but my guards have all volunteered to add extra hours until additional bodyguards can be hired and trained. It’s going to take a few months because guarding infants and children require different skills than guarding an adult.”

“Guards?”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, smiling faintly as she leaned into his side without noticing she did so. “Yes, Tila. They will be guarded twenty-four hours a day. They will never be left alone until they are older and can speak for themselves. Then other arrangements will be made.”

“But…why?”

“Because Prince Rafi and Prince Laith,” he paused, letting her grasp that she’d given birth to princes before he continued, “have the power to influence world events. If anything were to happen to them…,” he paused, clenching his jaw tightly for a moment. “Well, nothing will happen to them. I won’t allow it.”

Both guards stepped forward and bowed. “I will guard your babies with my life, Ms. Ayad. Nothing will happen to them on my watch.”

“Nor mine, Ms. Ayad,” the second guard agreed.

Tila eyed the guards for a moment. They weren’t as tall as Joran, but they looked like they had the muscles and experience to protect her babies from practically anything.

“Thank you,” she replied, not sure what the appropriate response was to someone who vowed that they would die to protect her sons. She didn’t want anyone to die, much less be hurt.

“Also,” Joran said, pulling her attention back to him, “I have hired two nannies already. I have six nannies that are waiting to be interviewed. You can hire all of them or none. They will work with you, at our direction. They will take care of our sons when we have work or official obligations, and will disappear when we want time alone with our children.”

“Nannies?” she parroted, unable to fathom the idea of having a nanny. This really was an entirely different world, she thought.

“Yes, multiple nannies. I’d suggest that we hire night and day nannies. In fact, we should hire enough nannies for three shifts, plus weekend shifts. It’s not fair to ask a person to work overtime consistently. Everyone needs a work-life balance.”

Tila couldn’t imagine being able to afford hiring three shifts of people to care for her children. She’d been doing it alone for the past two months. Eleven, if she counted the months she’d been pregnant.

“Surely we only need one,” she said to him. “I just need an extra set of hands.”

“You need at least three. One for every eight hour shift. And even two during the daylight hours.”

She scowled at him. “I can take care of my sons during the evenings when I’m not working, Joran.”

“You’d think so, right?” he asked, tucking her hand onto his elbow. “And yet, you’ve gotten maybe twenty hours of sleep a week, and I know I’m being generous there, since the babies were born.” He led her towards a table. “Am I right?”

It felt as if he were taking her children away from her. “I can handle it, Joran.”

He stopped and looked down at her, understanding blooming in his eyes. “Tila, do you think hiring a nanny means I don’t think you are a good mother?”

She tried to match his stare, but she felt her lower lip quiver. “Isn’t that what this is all about?”

“Not even slightly,” he told her, leaning in to look her in the eyes. “You have done an amazing job with our sons, Tila.” Hekissed her and it was such a surprise, she didn’t have time to pull away. “You’ve done more than most mothers could have done. Our boys are healthy, happy, and thriving. All because of you.”

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