Page 8 of The Prince's Secret Twins

“We can work out an arrangement,” she began, starting the conversation. She sniffed back the tears and walked over to her dresser, grabbing a brush.

“What sort of arrangement did you have in mind?” he asked, his tone as smooth as dark chocolate.

She closed her eyes, then remembered he could see her reflection in the mirror. “How about if you get our boys on the weekends and I’ll take them during the week?” she offered hopefully. “That way, you can work and they won’t interrupt you.”

Please, please,pleasedon’t take my babies for longer than a weekend, she chanted mentally. Not for longer! Tila didn’t think she could stand being away from her babies for longer than a couple of days. Well, hours. Okay, she’d missed them during the twenty minute shower.

“How about if you marry me and we’ll raise them together?”

Marriage? Tila spun around, the hairbrush pointed towards him like a weapon. “Don’t you dare!” When she spotted a dark eyebrow lifting in silent inquiry, Tila had to think fast, trying to come up with a reason to reject his suggestion other than her hatred for how he’d abandoned her.

“A marriage between us wouldn’t last.” She sniffed and turned around, brutally pulling the brush through her hair.However, her hormones were still working overtime and, with every stroke of her brush, more hair came off, tangled in her hairbrush.

Rationally, she knew that she wasn’t going bald. The pregnancy hormones had given her extra thick hair and now, as the hormones normalized, her hair would return to what it was before.

But she wasn’t rational. The pregnancy hormones were still overwhelming, so the sight of the long strands of hair in her brush made her burst into tears.

Immediately, she felt strong arms wrap around her and Tila pressed her face against that strong, familiar chest.

For several moments, Tila allowed herself the luxury of crying, reveling in his soothing words and the soft caress of his hands against her back. Thankfully, the emotions left her just as quickly as they arrived. So after only three or four minutes, she pulled away and sighed, wiped her tears, and…she was back. Her sanity returned.

“Thank you for that,” she whispered and started brushing her hair again, more slowly this time. She didn’t laugh at the confusion in Joran’s eyes. But it was hilarious.

“We were talking about a custody arrangement,” she continued.

Joran ran a hand through his hair and stepped back. After several more confused and wary glances in her direction, he shook his head. “No, we were discussing marriage.”

Tila tamped down on the traitorous flare of joy. Marriage was out of the question. She could never trust Joran again. He’d left her without a word and she’d gone through a terrifying pregnancy and birth all alone.

“Well, then the answer is no. I won’t marry you.” She glanced at him in the mirror again, still brushing, painstakingly working out the tangles that had built up over the past …however long it had been since she’d had time to brush her hair. “So…custody arrangements. Are you okay with having the boys on the weekends? You’ll need to get car seats for them. I’ll text you the names of the car seats I have so that we have the same brand. You’ll need to install them in your vehicles.” She looked at him again. “How many vehicles do you have?”

“A few,” he replied. Tila could tell he wasn’t telling her the truth.

Spinning around, she glared at him. “You don’t have to lie to me, Joran. If you don’t have a vehicle, then I’ll lend you mine. I traded my roadster in for a minivan several months ago.”

His surprise sparkled in his eyes and Tila felt a small thrill of retribution. “You don’t have the roadster that you drove the last time I saw you?”

“Nope,” she snapped, remembering how much she’d enjoyed driving her little red roadster with a slight pang. It had been so exciting, so liberating. She’d driven that little car all over town, down country roads and along highways. Yeah, she might have acquired more than one speeding ticket because of her…exhilarating…driving tendencies, but that was all in the past now.

“Why did you trade it in?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because a woman pregnant with twins can’t fit in a roadster, Joran,” she replied flatly. She sniffed as she continued brushing her hair. “The minivan is much more practical. Also, it’s easier to get the car seats in and out of.” She glanced at him through the mirror. “You should consider a minivan. It’s much better for the boys.”

She fought down a snicker at his grimace. She luxuriated in brushing her hair without either son…! She spoke too soon. A loud squeal rent the air.

Without a word, Tila put the brush down and stepped across the hallway to the tiny second bedroom where she’d barely managed to fit two cribs. If it hadn’t been for Ahmed across the street, she never would have figured out how to put them together. She’d heavily relied on the help of everyone in her community to prepare for her sons’ arrival.

“That’s unfortunate,” he replied softly. “I remember how much you loved that car.”

Tila swallowed back the sudden ache of memory. She wasn’t sure if the pain was caused by the tenderness in his eyes, because she knew he truly understood, or because her hormones were still all over the place.

“My neighbors seemed to applaud with delight when I got the minivan,” she told him wistfully, looking out at the sky that was starting to lighten. Morning was coming. Time insisted on passing, even when she wanted it to stand still, to give her a moment to breathe…and rest.

Blinking, she glanced at Joran and sighed. “Look Joran, I’ve had maybe one hour’s sleep in the past…” she looked around but she had no idea where her cell phone was. “I don’t even know how long. Every part of my body aches.” She thought about her breasts that literally throbbed now. “I need to…do something. Would you give me some privacy?”

Joran stood up and moved to stand in front of her, placing warm hands on her shoulders. “What’s wrong, love?” he asked softly.

A tear slid down her cheek and she pulled her eyes away from his, staring at his chest. “I slept through the boys’ lastfeeding,” she whispered. “Now I need to…” she closed her eyes, too embarrassed to explain in detail. “I need to fix that.”

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