Page 34 of The Billionaire's Instant Triplets

“That’s great. I’ll have a look around for a few good options and show them to you later.”

“Wonderful.”

They arrived at the ice cream store, where Jacob and Jasmine both ordered scoops of vanilla, while Jamie went for the more adventurous chocolate. The kids were getting excited and boisterous, so Ria took them outside to wait while Tristan paid for and got the ice cream. She corralled them around an outdoor picnic table.

“Shall we play a game?” she asked.

“Yay!” the kids replied in chorus.

“Okay, what animal am I?” Ria held up two hands beside her ears and snuffled her nose.

“Rabbit!” the kids replied.

“And me!” Jasmine announced. She folded her hands into paws and pretended to wash her face, letting out a dignified “meow.” The answer was easy, since she was always the same thing.

“Cat!”

Jamie stuck out his front teeth and mimed eating a nut. All together, Ria, Jasmine, and Jacob chorused, “Squirrel!” Jamie laughed with delight and nodded.

Tristan reappeared a few minutes later, ice cream balanced on a cardboard carrier. He handed the kids’ cones to them, then gave Ria a cone of Rocky Road.

“My favorite,” Ria beamed as she accepted the ice cream. “I didn’t know you were getting anything for me.”

“Of course I was.” Tristan winked. He’d settled on a lemon sorbet with a scoop of dark chocolate, which Ria thought was pretty impressive for a man who’d refused to eat sugar at all until a month or so ago.

The treat turned into a calamity as rivulets of dripping ice cream ran down the kids’ cones and onto their hands. From there, it dripped onto their clothes, smeared across their faces, and covered every inch of their tiny bodies in sticky goo. Ria and Tristan glanced at each other, smiling, before grabbing napkins and starting the clean-up process. The triplets were just happy to be eating ice cream — they didn’t care that they were also wearing it.

On the way home, the triplets ran ahead, stopping before each street as Ria had taught them. Tristan and Ria walked in the back, keeping a close eye on them. When they entered the yard, the kids ran straight for the slide Tristan had bought them a few weeks ago as Ria and Tristan sat on the steps up to the front door to watch.

“Oh, it looks like you didn’t escape the ice cream massacre unscathed,” Tristan said.

“What do you mean?”

“You have some on your cheek.” He grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m an expert.” He reached out and, with the tip of his thumb, swiped away the streak of ice cream. Ria’s breath caught at his nearness. He had that masculine peppermint-and-shaving-cream scent he always carried. She could see the faint line of five o’clock shadow already forming across the sharp curve of his jaw. Shivers ran across Ria’s cheek and down her spine, pooling in her stomach, at Tristan’s fingers on her face.

“Did you get it?” she asked, her voice coming out a little higher than she’d expected.

“I think so.” Tristan swiped his thumb across her cheek once more, then let his hand fall. They were sitting on the steps, leaning towards each other like magnets. Ria’s hand lifted, almost of its own accord, to rest on Tristan’s. The whole time, their eyes never left each other’s. Ria wanted, more than anything, to close the few inches of distance between them and kiss Tristan. She’d imagined, all too many times, how it might feel if he kissed her.

“I got a stick!”

Tristan and Ria pulled apart as Jasmine ran over to them, brandishing a small twig with a V at the end.

“It’s beautiful,” Ria said. She avoided Tristan’s gaze. She needed to bring her heart rate back to normal and banish her thoughts of his lips on hers.

“Thanks.” Jasmine ran off again and left Tristan and Ria alone. This wasn’t the first time they’d shared a tense moment. In fact, over the last few weeks, it seemed that they could barely spend time together without Ria’s cheeks beginning to heat and her imagination running wild. Each time, she hoped that Tristan might lean forward and kiss her, or at least give some indication he shared the attraction she felt, but he never did. She didn’t, either. After all, Tristan was her employer, and this was her job. She couldn’t risk everything she’d built here over a crush that could be entirely one-sided.

“Are you okay watching the kids for a minute?” Ria asked. “I think I have some ice cream on my clothes from helping the triplets. I need to change.”

“Of course.”

She hurried into the house, which felt quiet and very spacious after the bright energy of the kids outside. Upstairs, Ria stripped off her shirt, which was still relatively clean despite what she’d told Tristan. She swapped it out for a different shirt, ran her fingers through her hair, and was about to head back downstairs when she caught sight of her phone. Ria tried not to be on her phone around the kids, which meant that she barely checked her messages. Now might be a good time.

Ria saw a few texts from each of her sisters and one from her brother Thomas. There were a couple of checking-in messages from friends and a bunch of emails asking her to donate money, subscribe to a new nannying agency, or read about the day’s news. There was also one email from a company called Child First. Ria had worked with the agency a few years ago and had reached out to them during her frantic flurry of applications when she’d thought Oh Pear! was going to fire her. Curious, Ria clicked on the email.

Dear Ms. Hampton,

Thank you for your interest in working with Child First again. We’ve matched you with a new family looking for a long-term, live-in nanny. The family has one child, a five-year-old boy, and is located in Los Angeles. They are willing to pay a small relocation bonus, as well as a higher salary for an experienced nanny such as yourself.

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