Page 31 of The Billionaire's Instant Triplets

Over the next few weeks, Tristan felt more and more like a father to Jamie, Jacob, and Jasmine.

He began joining them for breakfast each morning, even eating alongside them instead of fasting as usual. He hurried home from work each day to be there for dinner and bedtime, and on the weekends, he spent the day playing and visiting local parks and pools with the kids. He read bedtime stories and dried tears and cajoled the triplets into trying new vegetables.

More and more, Tristan felt confident in his new role. When one of the kids started crying, he no longer felt panicked. When they were full of energy and bouncing off the walls, he now knew that he should suggest something active to burn their energy. And when they turned their noses up at dinner, he had an idea of how to help encourage them to eat. He even understood more and more of their babble.

Part of his newfound confidence came simply from the time he was spending with the kids, but most of it came from Ria. She was by his side every step of the way, gently offering tips and advice when he stumbled. She made breakfast with him while teasing him about eating so early in the morning. She danced around the living room with the triplets when they had clean-up parties. She advised him on toilet training and balanced diets and nap requirements with the instructive tone of a teacher.

And after the triplets were in bed, she joined him in the kitchen for dinner. Tristan cherished his time with the kids during the day, but he cherished this time alone with Ria, too. They talked, often into the night, about everything and nothing. Often, their conversations circled back to the triplets, but they also had long discussions of everything from Tristan’s college days to Ria’s first nannying job to their hopes for the future. He found out that Ria hoped to resume her teacher training someday. He told her that his dreams revolved more and more around the three tiny people sleeping upstairs — though he didn’t mention that she’d begun to feature in his dreams, too.

Every day he spent with Ria confirmed for Tristan that he had more than just a fleeting attraction. Ria didn’t just have superpowers when it came to toddlers. She was an amazing woman on every level. Yet Tristan made sure to keep his distance from her, still. Ria was his nanny, and he couldn’t make her uncomfortable by suggesting that he had feelings for her. No, he had to wait for the right moment. He had to make sure she felt the same way too.

“What’s for dinner tonight?” Ria asked, sidling into the kitchen and breaking Tristan’s train of thought. She’d taken a shower and changed into her pajamas after a particularly messy toddler dinner of sloppy joes. Her red hair was wet and hung loose around her shoulders. As always, she was smiling.

“Leftover sloppy joes and celery,” Tristan told her. He’d put on the radio in the background, and a pop song he didn’t know played softly.

“Really?” Ria made wide eyes as she slid into the seat opposite Tristan. “There’s no kale in that. No turmeric, either.”

“Ha-ha.” Tristan rolled his eyes. “I know. Here, I made you a plate, too.”

“Thanks.” Ria twirled a celery stick between her fingers. “How was work today?”

“It was fine. We’re working on an acquisition, but it’s mostly boring legal stuff. I prefer the tech-development side — there’s always something new and interesting going on. How were the kids today?”

“They were great. Jacob is a talented artist — did you know? He’s completely stopped drawing on the walls, and his pictures actually look like the things he wants them to look like — at least some of the time. You should be proud.”

“I am.” Tristan took a celery stick. “I’m proud of all my kids.”

“Tristan.” Ria’s face lit up as though she’d just won an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii. Her green eyes were sparkling.

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you notice?” She was beaming now, and her cheeks were pink with excitement. “You saidmykids. I don’t think you’ve ever said that before.”

“You’re right.” Tristan took a breath. “I did. I guess I’ve started to think of them as my kids, not just my nephews and niece. I hope my sister wouldn’t mind.”

Ria reached for his hand across the table. “Your sister would bethrilled.I’m thrilled, too. This is great progress.”

“Thank you.” Tristan smiled at her. Carefully, he flipped his hand so that he could intertwine his fingers with hers. Warmth thrummed between them. “Thank you for everything. Any progress I’ve made as a father has been because of you and all your help.”

“No.” Ria shook her head, causing her hair to fan across her shoulders. “I may have given you a bit of advice, but the hard work was all you. I’ve seen how much you’ve shown up for the kids. Foryourkids. I think my work here is almost done.”

Fear surged in Tristan’s chest. He wasn’t ready for Ria’s work here to be done, not at all. It was a good thing that she considered him ready to parent his triplets, but it wouldn’t be a good thing at all if she left. Not before he had a chance to see if she shared his feelings.

“I think I still have a lot to learn,” he said, as casually as he could. “You might need to stick around.”

“Sure. I could do that. For a little while, at least.” Ria looked up at him from beneath her long lashes, then quickly took her hand away. “All right, we’d better try these sloppy joes. I’m excited to see if we can eat them any more neatly than the triplets did.”

“As long as you don’t get any filling between your toes, you should be good,” Tristan said with a wink.

“That was pretty funny, though. Jamie seemed so proud that he’d done that.” Ria giggled. Then she lifted her sandwich and took a bite.

“So,” Tristan said, “you told me a few days ago that your sister was applying for an internship. The one who’s in college, Nora.” He bit into his own sandwich.

“Yes.” Ria swallowed her food as she nodded. “And she found out yesterday that she got it. Isn’t that wonderful? She’ll start in a few weeks, at the beginning of June.”

“Is June really just a few weeks away?” Tristan shook his head. “That’s hard to believe. Time’s really been flying since the triplets arrived. Anyway, good for your sister. You must be proud.”

“Very.” Ria smiled. “I was on the phone with her for almost an hour last night after you went to bed. She told me all about the professor she’s interning with and the other students she’ll be working with.”

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